New!
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 13, 2022

Quests

Join our monthly digital book quests.

Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, January 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Archives

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

Lorehaven issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ SpecFaith /

Inspiration

We are God’s creation, His greatest creation, and He made us in His image. By doing so He made us gifted to be creative like He was. Not only did He make us creative, but He surrounded us with things to inspire our creativity.
Brock D. Eastman on Jan 13, 2012
No comments

Where does inspiration come from?

The quick and purest answer is God — the Master and Creator of the whole world, the universe for that matter. We know from the very beginning of the Bible that God created a wonderful place for His beloved creation to live within. He thought of everything and as John Hammond in the movie Jurassic Park said of his genetically engineered animal park, “I spared no expenses.” Neither did God.

He created man in His own image, and gave us control over all creatures on land, in the sea, or in the sky. He handcrafted a world with soaring mountains, seemingly bottomless sea trenches, puffy white clouds, rolling liquid rock (lava), animals that run, birds that fly, fish that swim, water as ice, fog, or rain. He gave us emotions so we could feel. God crafted a beating heart that would work within our body to provide life blood to our systems, each of which was also handcrafted — from kidneys that clean, a stomach to digest, a tongue to taste, ears to hear, and eyes to see, to a brain to take it all in and make it all work together.

All the above to say, we are His creation, His greatest creation, and He made us in His image. By doing so He made us gifted to be creative like He was. Not only did He make us creative, but He surrounded us with things to inspire our creativity.

What inspiration do you draw from?

I’ve been blessed to live in Colorado where mountains abound and our weather varies hourly. In the winter we get snow in the morning and have it melt by the afternoon with wonderful warm sunshine. We have sunny mornings, and rainstorms passing over in the afternoon to cool us off in the summer. The mountains are just a fifteen minute drive away, and I can be lost in pine forests and soaring peaks after pulling off the asphalt and walking a short ways into the wilderness. Animals abound, and while I hope to see a bear someday (at a distance of course), I’ve seen elk, antelopes, fox, eagles, owls, mountain goats, deer, and a lot of other wildlife. God surrounds us with beauty, and it’s easy to draw inspiration from something so majestically created. Some might say, “Well that’s Colorado! I live in ___(Fill in the blank)___.”

Well, I grew up in Illinois, where my writing all started. Illinois — flat cornfields, muggy summers, frigid winters — but God laid His beautiful handiwork there as well. There are nothing like the spring rains that drizzle for hours against your window and the ominous thunder and lightning that accompany each storm. The summer, while humid, brought along the warmth to swim in wooded lakes and to roast marshmallows over campfires at night. The autumn harvest and the orange, red, and yellow leaves that cloaked the trees made fall my favorite time of year. Seeing the bright orange pumpkins lying in waiting amongst the black earthy fields or running through huge corn mazes with friends were all parts of the season. And although the winters were cold, cold, oh so cold, those first snows were wonderful and glistening as we walked at night with large fluffy snowflakes flittering down.

Those are some of the scenes and memories that float through my mind as I write, but inspiration comes from more than just the nature around us. God has gifted others with a talent I do not possess. Music! I like to listen to soundtracks while I write. Some of my favorites are from movies like, The Village, How to Train Your Dragon, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Patriot, Jurassic Park, and Last of the Mohicans. While I’m in no way musically inclined, I did win a blue ribbon for a church talent competition singing a duet of “Awesome God.” (Okay, I admit, as I recall everyone won blue ribbons.) The talent to create imagery and invoke emotion through sound is clearly a gift from God. These composers create the music that sets the mood for my writing while not distracting me with lyrics.

Often I’ll be pecking away on my keyboard and find myself flying down a path I’d not expected my characters to take, then I reflect on what tracks I’ve just listened to, and lo and behold, the tempo or theme of the scene matches the music. Sometimes it’s comedic or dark, fast paced, or a relaxing conversation. But it seems the stories always fit together well, and for that I must thank God.

So again, where do you draw your inspiration from? Ultimately you’re drawing it from God, but what medium has He used to get it to you? The whole Earth is His canvas. It’s wonderful to serve such an awesome and inspiring God. He so often is there when we don’t take the time to notice.

– – – – – –
Brock D. Eastman is 28 years old and lives at the base of America’s Mountain with his wife and two daughters. He has the pleasure of working for Focus on the Family and on the Adventures in Odyssey brand. He loves movie nights with his wife and their homemade popcorn, as well as playing pretend or reading with his daughters.

Brock started writing his first series, The Quest for Truth, in 2005 and 5 years later with his wife’s encouragement signed a publishing deal. Two months later he signed to write the Sages of Darkness trilogy, and a month after that to write one of the new Imagination Station series books about David and Goliath. He’s always thinking of his next story and totes a thumb-drive full of ideas.

To keep track of what Brock is working on visit his web site. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and YouTube.

His titles include
The Quest for Truth: (P&R Publishing/Focus on the Family) Taken (2011), Risk (2012), Unleash (2012), Tangle (2013), Hope (2013)
The Imagination Station (Adventures in Odyssey): (Tyndale/Focus on the Family) Showdown with the Shepherd (2011)
Sages of Darkness: (Destiny Image) HowlSage (2011), BlizzardSage (2012), CrimsonSage (2013)

Brock D. Eastman
Brock D. Eastman is 28 years old and lives at the base of America's Mountain with his wife and two daughters. He has the pleasure of working for Focus on the Family and on the Adventures in Odyssey brand. He loves movie nights with his wife and their homemade popcorn, as well as playing pretend or reading with his daughters. Brock started writing his first series, The Quest for Truth, in 2005 and 5 years later with his wife's encouragement signed a publishing deal. Two months later he signed to write the Sages of Darkness trilogy, and a month after that to write one of the new Imagination Station series books about David and Goliath. He's always thinking of his next story and totes a thumb-drive full of ideas. To keep track of what Brock is working on visit his web site. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and YouTube.
Website ·
  1. Galadriel says:
    January 13, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    A very timely question, considering that I have a story summery due on Wednesday and am entirely lacking the above quality. It doesn’t help that the genre is modern realistic, one I have no experiance in.

    Reply
  2. Melissa Craig says:
    January 13, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Excellent interview with Brock Eastman! An insightful view into the mind of a Christian who expresses creativity through writing! A wonderful example of how God’s grace permeates our lives when he grants us the faith to believe and follow him throughout life. Thanks for sharing your many talents Brock!

    Reply
  3. Paul Lee says:
    January 13, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    One of the things that inspires me the most is stories themselves.  Not only epic speculative fiction stories, although those provide some of my most engaging and moving experiences.  All stories about great suffering and enduring and overcoming that suffering inspire me, whether fiction or stories that really happened, in all genres, I think.

    That might not be an adequate answer for writers, whose job it is to make the stories, but I think that’s my best answer. 

    Reply
  4. TheQuietPen says:
    January 17, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    I draw my inspiration primarily from real-life experiences and ideas.  In fact, I found my fiction to be pretty dry and lackluster until I began to study history, language, and culture in earnest.  The more I learned and experienced in the world, in the beautiful variety of peoples that God has brought into being, the more I felt inspired to write.  I also draw inspiration from real-life stories–not only from news articles or memoirs, but from speaking with and learning from anyone around me.  I’m not much of a talker, but I do love listening to the life stories of others.  Somehow, it all ties together with a bundle of “what-ifs” that fly through speculative fiction, and I have a story.

    Reply
  5. Brock Eastman says:
    January 31, 2012 at 11:43 pm

    Awesome insight. Isn’t God amazing with how he gives many people different ways and avenues to experience creativity and inspiration? Praise be to Him!

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • The Poison Pill Of CultureThe Poison Pill Of Culture
  • Thanksgiving Day And Speculative FictionThanksgiving Day And Speculative Fiction
  • The Soundtracks Of Other WorldsThe Soundtracks Of Other Worlds
  • Getting The Most Out Of ConferencesGetting The Most Out Of Conferences
Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven

Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter