Canaan Land
looks like an exciting story. Can you
tell us a little about it? Canaan Land is the story of a con man preacher named
Brother Billy, who fleeces the flock by performing fake miracles, like claiming
to call down gold dust from the golden streets of Heaven. He falls in love with a sincere Christian
woman, an evangelist named Sister Sara Sunday.
Billy realizes his con game isn’t a game anymore. I draw upon my own experiences and memories
as a young man when I was involved in the world of televangelism and conducting
large healing services.
There is a movie coming out, as
well. When is that being released and
what can you tell us about it? We finally got back to work yesterday editing
the Canaan Land film. We had a three
month work delay due to the covid situation.
The film is coming out for the holidays this year, which is good timing
because the story bookends at Christmas time.
In the beginning, Brother Billy is kicked out of the Beverly Hills
mansion he is living in with his girlfriend.
She catches him cheating and is tired of supporting him. He begs her not to kick him out at Christmas
time, but she yells, “Out!” Billy ends
up homeless and jobless until he meets Sister Sara and sees her and her
ministry as a Canaan Land, which means a
Promised Land, a chance at prosperity, one last con he can pull. The end of the film is Christmastime a year
later. Sara has kicked him out after
realizing he isn’t a true believer, just a fraud. Billy, though agnostic, prays for one
Christmas gift, to get his faith back again.
What inspired you when writing Canaan Land? I’ve known a lot of
sincere friends who have been taken by Christian con men. The gold dust stunt Billy does in my novel,
as far-fetched as it seems, has really happened. A church in California put
gold glitter from a craft store into the HVAC system of their church building,
and claimed it was a miracle. Thousands
flocked to them. They charge gullible
young adults $3000 a semester to attend
their unaccredited school of “supernatural ministry” to learn to do
miracles. It is like a Christian
Hogwarts. I have a passion to get people
to think critically, and realize they don’t need to look outside of themselves
for guidance from the Brother Billys.
They can trust the still, small voice inside them. The Bible says in 1 John 2:27 “The anointing
of truth abides inside you, you don’t need to follow a man to teach and guide
you.” I was inspired by seeing these
victims of religion to set the captives free and expose the faith healing tricks
of the Brother Billys. Televangelists
have sent me nasty messages because they don’t like the tricks of the trade
revealed. I was also inspired by
experiencing recovery from religion myself and reclaiming my life and my mind
after years of indoctrination in the fundamentalist and evangelical world. 1 Timothy 1:5 says a healthy faith expresses
itself in love and a sincere heart. I
was inspired by my experience in changing my worldview, changing my concept of
God from an angry judge to a loving Heavenly Father. My own journey from fundamentalism to
freedom, from guilt to grace, gave me the inspiration to write the novel
contrasting faith that hurts with faith that heals, the wheat versus the tares,
the fake versus the true.
What will readers get out of your
book? Readers will
journey into a whole new world. the
story takes place in Hollywood.
California is the modern day Canaan Land where people since the Gold
Rush seek their fortunes and reinvention.
They will not only enter the world of 21st century Los Angeles, and
Pentecostalism, but a whole new place of colorful and eccentric characters
including dancing clowns, plastic surgery divas, Me Too women, battling lady
preachers, the miracle man, vigilant reporters and much more. They will hopefully examine their own
spiritual journey and be challenged to test the preachers they listen to and
see if they really walk the talk. They will also learn compassion for all, even
the narcissistic evangelist Brother Billy is given a shot at redemption. We learn Billy is messed up due to abuse in
his past. He carries his own private
burdens.
What motivated you to become a
writer? I have a
burning passion to express myself to the world.
I first started writing in a notebook I carried as a boy. To this day, I carry a notebook and write
down my thoughts and feelings every day. It is a form of meditation, catharsis,
and therapy for me. Writing helps me take my experiences and observations and
make something out of them.
Did anything stick out as particularly
challenging when writing Canaan Land?
We were 90% done with the Canaan
Land film when the covid virus struck and we had to be sequestered for several
months. I turned my attention to finishing the novel since we had to stop
working on the film. I had the challenge
of finishing the novel working by myself which was different than working on
the film which is a collaborative art form with a team of people.
What do you like to do when not
writing? Play guitar, write songs, play word games, watch
vintage films and classic television shows.
Where can readers find out more about
your work? There is a
website for the Canaan Land film and novel which is canaanlandmovie.com The Facebook page is
facebook.com/canaanlandmovie and the
Twitter and Instagram is @canaanlandmovie
I have an author’s page at Amazon There is also a fan club site which is
richardrossistore.com