Children of Angels
Kathryn Dahlstrom
Interview Questions with Answers
1. Q. In Children of Angels, 13-year-old Jeremy
is a human/angel hybrid. What was your inspiration for that idea?
A. When
I took producer Hal Croasmun’s intensive screenwriting course, the Pro Series,
I was required to use his brainstorming methods to come up with a blockbuster
movie idea. I prayed hard, pondered many fantasy premises, and then hit on the
Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6 and Numbers 13 in the Bible. Angels came to
earth, took women as their wives, and their children grew up to be
Nephilim—“Heroes of old, men of renown.” For me as a writer, that was a fantasy
up for grabs! I wondered, what if the genes of the Nephilim resurfaced today in
a kid? What if he could suddenly do everything an angel could do?
2. Q. What
do you say to parents who might be concerned about fictionalizing the Nephilim?
A. Today’s
Christian parents know good make-believe when they see it. Nephilim means
“fallen ones,” and it’s a very apt description of a human/angel hybrid. It’s
pure fantasy to have their genetic material resurface today in a
super-concentrated way, giving the new Nephilim angel powers. And that’s where
the fun comes in! Yet I want parents to know that the fundamental truth in this
story is that God is real. Heaven exists. Jesus Christ is Who He said He was:
the Son of the Most High God.
3. Q. Does
Children of Angels contain any
references to magic?
A. Not a bit. I know that glorifying the occult
is a real danger with children’s fantasy. Children
of Angels does the opposite. My main character, 13-year-old Jeremy, fights
dark spiritual forces in all-out warfare using heaven-wrought weaponry. It’s
medieval sword fighting—sometimes in mid-air, since these combatants have
wings.
4. Q. Are
you concerned that some young readers might be frightened when Jeremy fights
demons face to face?
A. Children
of Angels is clearly labeled for 9-to-14-year-old readers because yes, this
story is too intense for most younger kids. For tweens, I kept the demons
stout, animal-like, and knobby rather than gruesome, dark, and oozing evil.
They’re loud and obnoxious. I don’t show them possessing anyone. They’re nasty
fighters, so they give the story all the action it needs. Remember Frank
Peretti’s demons? I pulled mine back a notch or two. Evil, yes, but more in a
mean way.
5. Q. Beside
demons, who else opposes Jeremy?
A. Jeremy has to contend with Louisa Prouse,
director of the Higher Humanity Institute, a private school that she created
for the handful of Nephilim teens in the world. She lectures that they’re the
first to reach humanity’s next level. When Jeremy counters that they’re
half-angels, she scorns him in class for believing in such things. And the
conflict is launched!
6. Q. How
does your story portray angels?
A. I make them as close to scriptural angels as
possible. Therefore, they don’t have angst or identity crises! Their one
passion is to serve the Lord of
Hosts. Primarily, they’re warriors. Jeremy’s
own guardian angel, Asiel, cares as deeply for his young charge as a brother
would. But he can’t understand human foibles and weaknesses and doesn’t let
Jeremy dwell on them.
7. Q. Spiritual
warfare is a heavy topic. How do you adapt it for kids?
A. I put as much fun as possible in this story.
Lots of humor, lots of exciting action. The first part deals with Jeremy’s
shock when he learns he’s a Nephilim and then as he tries to get his head
around what’s happened. Every fantasy needs to do that. It’s called giving the
reader a feel for the new world or the fantastical things in the story. Then
the problems start, leading to the showdown.
8. Q. What
do you hope your readers will get from the story—in addition to a good read?
A. I want them to realize that they can be
warriors, too. Even kids! Jeremy learns to use heavenly weaponry. My readers,
younger and older, can learn to use the weaponry we have as Christians: prayer!
9. Q. Many
authors would love for their stories to go book-to-film. What have you done, if
anything, to help the project go in that direction?
A. I
trained in screenwriting, a very specialized and difficult craft. By the push
of God, I’m gaining a large, fast-growing Hollywood
network, many of them Christian filmmakers. And to be a producer on a friend’s
project, a family fantasy more in the “Lemony Snickett” style, is immensely
exciting!
10. Q. What
other writing have you done for kids?
A. I’m
the author of the six-book Good News Club series, published by Child Evangelism
Fellowship Press. They’re tween fiction set in inner-city Los Angeles, based on the real Good New Club
I ran at Jordan Downs Housing Community.
