God created Man for a purpose, to live on Earth and enrich his soul throughout lifetimes of experience so that he may be allowed entry into Heaven. Feminine residents of Heaven demanded representation and God was forced to allow, paving the way for Women. Now, to oversee God's ambition, residents live amongst them, creating a system for them.

 

We spoke with Eli about his writing journey, his spiritual connection and how he has brought the two together for a highly individual debut novel.

 

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You have shared with us previously that your interest in creative writing stems from a very young age. Can you talk a little about the journey which has led to the publication of your first novel, TESTAMENT?

 

To be honest it has not been a journey but rather a bit of an epiphany. One day I decided to write, and it happened all at once. The fact that I could write never occurred to me even at that young age when I was interested in creative writing. When I realized I could write, it became creating content. The ideas, the inspiration, just flowed through me and - yes - there is always the inkling feeling that I am literally downloading divine inspiration from somewhere outside of me.

 

I write because I enjoy it and creating Testament has brought me great joy!

 

 

Also, whilst growing up, you attended a Catholic school, which familiarised you with the Bible and its stories. What has drawn you to creatively engage with this religious text?

 

I have never been religious. I am more spiritual. Whilst in school I learnt that the son of God, Jesus Christ walked amongst us. I was enamoured with the concept that a living person made all those miracles happen.

 

I am a pragmatic man; I believe that all those years ago Jesus Christ was more spiritually evolved than others around him. He achieved everything conceptually and with divine inspiration. I decided then that I would draw inspiration from this man and create a story around it.

 

Parts of Testament are based on the events in the Bible, but the book is a spiritual undertaking conceptualized as a fantasy genre novel.

 

 

This story tackles the worth of Man, the judgement of God and the spiritual existence of all. How did you approach these colossal themes? Was there any trepidation when writing?

 

Trepidation. HA. Writing should never be curated for your readers. One can never know whether created content will be appreciated by everyone or not. I say write what you will, and your readers will come.

 

All the themes and all my concepts are bold! I know they are. If you don’t express yourself, it will stay out of view, and no one will ever know what you wanted to share. I simply approached those themes with nonchalance. That’s how I did it!

 

 

TESTAMENT is a highly unique novel, with few clear inspirations. Where have you drawn your ideas from?

 

I can seriously declare that when I began to write it just flowed through me. Every idea I had turned into a part of my story, and it all came together in the end. Apart from the Bible, some of the concepts and parts of the story are from my own life.

 

 

Drawing on your Christian upbringing in this debut work, where do you see your writing heading next?

 

I am five thousand words into my next novel which is a sequel to my novel Testament. I wish to write a trilogy. I would also love to write non-fiction. I am working on a story called ‘How to be?’

 

 

Testament is available now in paperback and on the Kindle Store.