Rev. Robert Griffen

Griffen was born and raised in Portland, OR. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland and received his BA in Sociology from Columbia University in New York. He is the only White student to receive a Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. He was ordained to the ministry in 1977 by the Presbytery of the Cascades (Western Oregon) in the United Presbyterian Church, USA.

Griff is the eldest of three siblings. He has a severe case of Eldest Son Syndrome, making him personally responsible for things over which he has no power (World Peace, Hunger in Somalia, The War in the Middle East, Global Warming...). While he does not walk on water, he does swim well and periodically performs minor miracles (not enough to qualify for Sainthood). Griff has eclectic tastes in food, music and friends; and has an appreciation for new and different things and ideas. He has a low tolerance for intolerance and deliberate ignorance. He cannot abide a bully and has been known to wade into some dicey situations. He has an odd sense of humor (just nod and smile when he tells a joke), enjoys the outdoors (who doesn't?!), and is a skilled photographer (just ask him).

What motivated you to become an independently published author?

I did not believe I would ever get published by a traditional publishing house. My religious stories (The Gospel According to Griffen) and the attitude that underpins them would be unpopular with most people who read religious literature. They will probably become controversial in ecclesiastical circles, if they become widely known, which might actually help sales. (I recall that books which were "Banned in Boston" got a leg up in sales.) But who would want to gamble thousands of dollars in printing and publicizing an unknown, unproven author of Bible Stories? While "These Ain't Yo' Mama's Bible Stories" might encourage some readers, I believe they would have been too risky an investment.

My other work tends to be of the "Dime Novel" shoot-em-up variety. Again, once widely circulated, they could become popular. But I believe it would be more of a gamble than a traditional publisher would like.

So I helped form a group of self-published authors who assist other authors get published - not just "in print," but with promotion and sales, too. It can be a steep learning curve at first, but very manageable with guidance. The Portland Publishing Group meets regularly to teach and coach fellow writers in the business of getting their work "out there."

What is your greatest Joy?

The greatest joy? Probably having people whose opinions I respect read something I wrote and become genuinely excited about it.

I experience joy whenever I complete a section of a story and it comes together better than I had hoped.

I experience joy (and relief) when I finally stop tweaking and picking at words and call a story "finished."

I experience a new level of joy when I see it that finished piece appear on a retail shelf or a website where people can find it.

That makes the book Real.

The best is good feedback, however.

Bad feedback?

I just have a good cry and go back to work.

What are you working on next?

I have a few things in the works.

"Geezer" is about a 65 year-old semi-retired hit man. He worked for U.S. Black Operations when he was an idealistic college student. (It covered his tuition and fees and let him go out to dinner once in a while.) He gets drawn back in when he interrupts an assassination attempt. "Old age and Treachery will win out over Youth and Enthusiasm every time."

"The Evangelists - The Three Furies" is the second book in a series about co-men who become televangelists and "find themselves." This volume is about their mothers, who escape from a dangerous back-woods Mormon splinter group to form an alliance of their own.

"The Towne Sanction" is about Leisel Towne and Tracy Rose - modern "warrior princesses" who fight with The American Free Army against the religious fanatics and their Prophet who run the U.S. Government in the not-too-distant future.

"How Not to Screw Up Your Own Wedding" is a light-hearted presentation of Street-Wise Wedding Advice - learned the hard way during more than thirty years in the wedding business.

All will appear soon on Amazon.

Who are your favorite authors?

Dude, Man!! Steven King! He has rarely disappointed me (though I have liked some of his books better than others.)

I grew up on Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury and their ilk. The list seems endless! As soon as I was allowed into the Adult Section of the Public Library, I was reading all the science fiction and fantasy I could get my hands on. ("Tom Swift" and "The Mushroom Planet" never held much interest for me.)

As a boy, I read from a much broader spectrum of literature, as well: Stevenson ("Kidnapped' and "Treasure Island" and others), Forester (the Hornblower series), Burrows (ALL the Tarzan books) and Mark Twain ("Connecticut Yankee..." a few of the Tom Sawyer adventures and of course "Huck Finn."). Non-fiction about the second world war caught my interest when I was about thirteen, as did books by African American authors (they were "Black" in those days) like W.E.B DuBois, Eldridge Clever, James Baldwin.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

My Day Job! I still have one. Time for writing comes when I can squeeze it in around what I do to survive financially... for now.