Author Interview: Yeral E. Ogando Author of The Hero Within: Awareness #interview

Yeral E. Ogando was born on May 18th, 1977 in Las Matas de Farfán, Dominican Republic. Yeral is polyglot or a multilingual person.

He has been able to learn Spanish, English, French, Italian, Haitian Creole, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Modern & Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew.

Yeral E. Ogando has earned several degrees:

Master of Arts in Theological Studies
Master of Arts in Languages and Linguistics
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

He has been a Bible professor for many years and teacher for several languages locally and internationally, such as Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole.

He has also been able to write the following books:

* The Hero Within – Power (Volume Two)
* The Hero Within – Nede Land (Volume Three)
* Teach Yourself Italian by Yeral E. Ogando.
* Teach Yourself Haitian Creole Conversation by Yeral E. Ogando.
* Teach Yourself Haitian Creole by Yeral E. Ogando.
* And many other books for language learning (English, Spanish, Creole and Italian)
* Coming Soon From The Hero Within Series (Volume Four – Volume Five – Volume Six)

His hobbies are reading and listening to music. He is passionate for teaching, learning and starting new ministries and businesses.

He is the founder and owner of the successful internet business www.christian-translation.com, thus reaching the world in more than 200 languages since 2004.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website:
www.yeralogando.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TheHeroWithinC1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/yeral.ogando.9

Anthony Markson sat on the barstool nursing his fifth beer of the evening, when his iPhone binged an alert.

Coming to church with me in the morning?

Shish. Not likely. He slipped the cell into his right front trouser pocket.

The stinky-sweet smells of the bar were starting to get to him, and he figured he should stop after this one. Anyway, he was pretty sure the bartender was watering down his drinks.

Besides, Becky would worry about him if he wasn’t home soon. The sun had set 20 minutes ago, and it wasn’t long till darkness would fall.

The Rat’s Nest Bar was Anthony’s favorite place to let down. The hole in the wall was one place he could be incognito, and where people only knew him as Tony.

Since this was his only real relaxation for the week, was it too much to ask for a few hours on Saturday night?

The Hispanic bartender eyed Anthony’s nearly empty glass. “Another one?” he asked.

Anthony was tempted, but shook his head. “Better not. The old lady will raise a ruckus if I don’t leave soon.” It simply wasn’t worth putting up with the guilt and ridicule he might find at home.

 
--From The Hero Within: Awareness

 

Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

Several years ago, I was praying and reflecting after publishing some of my learning languages books and it occur to me that writing a Christian fiction book would be an adventure.

I’ve always had some stories in mind about the Gifts of the Spirit and fighting with demons. I wanted to share with others what would be like a day in our lives, if we were able to see the spiritual world around us.

 Most of the people are alienated from the real world surrounding us and don’t understand that the spiritual world dictates the rules and influence our actions. I needed to find a way to share this message with the world and The Hero Within was born.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

It is self-published through my Christian Translation LLC company.

Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

Yes, I did not know how hard and long the process would be to publish my book. Especially how expensive it was to get a publishing house to run my book. I tried for several months and I could not come up with the figures. I did not know anything about getting a literal agent, it was like reaching the sky, and then my editor proposed to me a Self-publishing company.

I praise the Lord that my editor was a well-published author; otherwise, I could not have done it without her. She made it look that simple and I needed to learn the hard way for my next books.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

Yes, I do. A book cover is like the first impression of a book. It is like love at first sight, you like what you see and then you find the way to get it. That is how a book cover should be, enticing, appealing and calling to the readers saying, “I am yours to read me, buy me”

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

Well, it was my first experience with Christian Fiction. The process of putting my ideas together and creating a plot was not the problem, since I had the story in my mind. The hard part was creating the scenes to get me to the raising point or climax of the book.

My advice is to visualize your story, have a clear ending in your mind, what you want your main characters to be like and then start writing. Always write with the climax in mind, your goal is to get there and to get there, there are many ways to achieve it. That is when your creativity comes in. It is your book and you know what you want your readers to learn. Pretend that you are reading your on novel and follow the flow of the story.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

The Hero Within is a large series. I have published The Hero Within – Power, volume two, The Hero Within – Nede Land 1, volume three. At the moment, I am editing The Hero Within – Nede Land 2, volume four, The Hero Within – Nede Land 3, volume five, they will be available in the next few months and I am currently writing the next two books on The Hero Within Series. I am also working on the Christian Manga (comics) version of the books.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

That the title is more than meet the eyes. It is not a conventional Christian Science Fiction story. It is a story that will blow your mind with unexpected twists. You may say, well, I know how the story will go but when you read it, you will be completely taken by surprise.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

  I want my readers to learn and see the importance of the spiritual world around us. Evil forces and powers are always trying to deceive us, but we have the right tools to win our battles. Even when we struggle, we have God Almighty on our side and He has given us the perfect tools to overcome evil. We just need to open our eyes to the spiritual reality and the world in it. That is what The Hero Within Series will tell people in an incredible and adventurous way.