News, Press & Reviews

Mayport Chaplain Published Children's Author
By MCSN Bonnie Williams, Staff

Imagine climbing an immense book and falling through the pages to a world of talking animals, creatures called ''Odds'' and giant, living chess pieces.

"Picture 'Alice in Won-derland' meets the book of Ecclesiastes," said author and Navy Chaplain Randall Mortenson.

His christian-themed book series captures a child's whimsy and wonderment in a way that will deepen and broaden the understanding of a child's curiosity.

In the first of the five-book series, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle, you meet the main character, Landon, who explores his own doubts about God and life and searches for answers in an ancient bible that determines his fantasy adventures.

"Landon is inquisitive and adventuresome, but he doesn't know it yet. He gets drawn into it without a choice. He's special because he's the one going through the internal struggles. I relate mostly to him," said Mortenson.

"The other characters in the book, such as Landon's companion the horse, Malech, are less developed, but just as important to the story. Malech's devotion to Landon is kind of like Spock from the show "Star Trek." He has the utmost loyalty in an intelligent, detached way, however, he has real love for Landon underneath."

Mortenson has written three of the five-book series so far, and is currently working on the fourth book.

"The first and second books were the hardest to write, and took me the longest. My writing process was less organized. I knew my target and my climax, but I didn't know the details until I started to write. It was like driving at night with headlights; you can only see a few feet at a time until you get to your destination. After book two, I realized how little time I had to write and I was able to go into a zone and write for hours," he said.

In each book, Landon gets out an ancient Bible and the passage he reads determines what the fantasy will be. The distinct biblical theme is prevalent throughout the books.

"I'm not writing to teach and preach, but to inspire and entertain. In the same way that 'Alice in Wonderland' sparked my imagination, is the same way I want these books to inspire kids. I want it to more than inspire, but also open their bibles and look to God's Word for the ultimate answers," said Mortenson.

Mortenson started writing at a very young age. In the fifth grade, he was published in the Minneapolis Tribune for a poem he wrote for the children's section of the paper. It was his first poem and the first time he realized the power in a story.

"I realized I had a talent for writing and people responded," he said.

However, writing was not his life. In high school he was involved in sports, and after a year in college and a two-year stint in the Army, Mortenson went back to school and became involved in Campus Crusades for Christ. There he felt called to pursue more studies in theology and ministry.

After marrying his wife, Betsy John-son, he attended Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fer-gus Falls, Minn. It was here he got the inspiration for Lan-don Snow.

"I woke up one morning hearing flutes playing, and I looked out my window across the field to the Seminary Building. The building looks like an old castle, and it inspired me to start writing the next day," said Mortenson.

"I wrote for two years, and then just stopped. I didn't think about writing more about Landon Snow for another eight years," he said.

After he was ordained, Mortenson received a recruitment letter from the Navy inviting him to consider a career as a Navy Chaplain. After a few months of prayer, he decided to answer the call. He has been all over the world and has been responsible for leading more than a dozen projects at schools, orphanages, a home for the handicapped, and a hospital in many different countries. In 2003 he had his first child and has since settled in Jacksonville at Naval Station Mayport to serve and minister to the Sailors, DoD Civilians and their families at the Chapel by the Sea.

In 2004 he started writing again, and pitched the idea of Landon to an editor.

"I had to rewrite it and develop the story more, but the editor liked it," he said.

The past two years have been harder than most for Mortenson as he juggled his career as a Chaplain, his budding writing career, and his family.

"My family has been so supportive during this whole process. Writing is so solitary. Without the support of my friends and family it would be hard to keep going."

This October the third book in the Landon Snow series will come out, 'Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum.'

"I've incorporated a more 'Navy theme' with this book and I'm excited for it to hit the shelves. I hope it will inspire and entertain as much as the first two."

A short Landon Snow story will also come out this December.

Mortenson hopes that young people will always be inspired to read and write, but the one thing he hopes for other writers to learn from his books is "you can pour your heart, soul, mind and strength into a piece of writing and then hold it out to a world that, for the most part, doesn't care or even notice," he said.

"The thing to understand is that there's more to life than writing," he continued. "There are movies, for instance. No, the point is that life will go on with or without a writer's precious pages of script. Unless there's a deadline looming. Then life is writing."

Related Authors

• R. K. Mortenson

Related Books

• Landon Snow & Shadows Of Malus Quidam #2 (Hard Cover)

• Landon Snow & The Auctor's Riddle # 1 (Hard Cover)

• Landon Snow & The Island Of Arcanum # 3 (Hard Cover)