Montrose - Daily Press

James Shea

Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — Author Ted Dekker sits in his office, located in the basement of his new house. He speaks with a New York agent, whom Dekker wants to represent him, about the movie version of his book “Thr3e,” which is being shot in Poland.

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He hangs up the phone and sits in a chair near his computer. A hardcover copy of his newest book “Obsessed” sits on a shelf, along with several other Dekker novels — he has written 11.

“I’m a fiction writer,” Dekker said. “I write fictional stories that are rip-roaring rides.”

Things are going well for Dekker. He sold 500,000 books last year and has a new title published every six months.

“I can’t believe I’ve written all these books,” Dekker said with a wry laugh.

Dekker was raised in the Indonesian jungle, the son of missionary parents. He attended college at Evangel College in Missouri, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. After college, Dekker worked in marketing and later started a company that bought and sold businesses in Colorado Springs.

He said he enjoyed being a businessman but the urge to write tugged at him. The journey into writing started slowly. In the evening he wrote and found he could construct a story. In the mid-1990s, Dekker took a leap of faith, quit his job and moved to Montrose, wanting to devote full-time to writing.

“I came out here for a quiet place away from Colorado Springs,” Dekker said.

Theology and philosophy are the foundation of Dekker’s writing. Dekker said he lost his Christian faith at college, getting stuck in the quagmire in the existentialism and other humanistic philosophy. But Dekker said he eventually turned to the Bible and found truth and inspiration in Christianity.

“My stories are totally formed by my faith,” he said.

In the publishing world, Dekker is known as a “Christian” writer, but he said his stories appeal to a wider audience. He compares himself to Dean Koontz and Stephen King, writers who mix elements of the supernatural with a fast pace.

“I don’t like that designation,” Dekker said of being a Christian writer. “What is a Christian writer? I write stories.”

Dekker said he works through problems of good and evil in his novels. His characters struggle with faith and the meaning of evil in the world. “Thr3e” is an example. The book begins with the main character, a seminary student, talking with his professor about evil and its relationship in the world. The character is then faced with a moral dilemma and must confront the sins of his past.

“My books are inspirational,” Dekker said. “They ask very difficult questions.”

Dekker said the evil nature of characters in his novels upsets some people. He said readers feel a Christian novel should not be violent and graphic, like certain sections of the books.

For Dekker, the writing process is laborious and methodical. Before he writes the first chapter, he outlines the story and constructs the characters, so everything is planned out. Dekker said when he writes he is “in a zone” and spends six to eight hours a day.

“I drift into my fantasy world,” Dekker said.

When he writes, he often isolates himself from the world and his family and listens to music. Sometimes, Dekker gets in his motor home and stays at Ridgway State Park, where he writes for weeks at a time.

“When I write, I write pretty much write all day, every day,” Dekker said.

He broke into the publishing world with “Heaven’s Wager” in 2000 and never looked back. He turned “Heaven’s Wager” into a trilogy and then launched into a fantasy series called the Circle Trilogy.

Earlier this year, Dekker turned his attention to non-fiction writing with “The Slumber of Christianity.” He said many Christians in the United States worry too much about events in this world and not enough about heaven and the afterlife, which he calls the slumber of Christianity.

“Christians use this life as a crutch to prop up this life,” Dekker said.

He said Christians should focus on the goal of going to heaven and not on the material world of everyday life. Dekker said the non-fiction book was something his publisher convinced him to do and he said he has gotten good feedback.

He added, however, that he wants to be known as a fiction writer.

Earlier this month, Dekker flew to Poland where “Thr3e” is being filmed. The movie is the first of his novels to be turned into a film, and Dekker said working with Hollywood executives has been an experience.

“It’s a whole separate business; it’s icing on the cake,” Dekker said and added, “Most of Hollywood sucks.”

He said he has never been on a movie set and was looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’ve been a student of watching it all come together,” Dekker said.

He said the book is set in Los Angeles but costs are cheaper in Central Europe, so a lot of movies are made there.

Dekker said fame comes with the territory of being a well-published writer, but he said living in Montrose is nice because people don’t recognize him.

“Here, I’m just Ted,” Dekker said.

He said the isolation of Montrose is good but admits that he misses the culture of the big city.

“As an artist, I find this place very dull,” Dekker said.

Dekker’s next novel, “Showdown,” will be released in January. He said he wants to move more into a mainstream market and away from being labeled a Christian writer. This is one of the reasons he was speaking to the agent. Dekker said he tries to surround himself with good management team and feels a new agent might help him move his career forward.

“It’s been good,” he said. “I can’t complain. God has blessed me in this venture.”

Contact James Shea via e-mail at Jamess@montrosepress.com

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