CSFF Blog Tour – Numb by John Otte

So imagine you’re a pastor, one in an evangelical church that believes the Bible is true and has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. And imagine you also love science fiction, that you even write science fiction. What kind of story would you write?

Anyone come up with a novel about an assassin, one hired by the church?

Yea, that would not have been my first guess either, but that’s what Pastor John Otte has written in Numb, his third novel published by Marcher Lord Press.

John, a contributor at Speculative Faith (his columns post every other Wednesday), and a long-time member of the CSFF Blog Tour, spends most of his time pastoring at Concordia Lutheran Church in South St. Paul, Minnesota.

The son of a pastor, you’d think John’s future course must have been established from his youth—that is, until you learn he graduated from college with a degree in theater!

Graduated summa cum laude.

Majoring in theater!

Of course, he did go on, after graduation, to attend seminary where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. Soon after he began serving as a youth pastor, then as a senior pastor in Blue Earth, Minnesota. He was installed as the new pastor at Concordia in December, 2007.

And yet, that theater major was still very much alive. John had been a writer as early as elementary school and even then intended his stories to find an audience with the public.

He was so serious about his writing that he joined American Christian Fiction Writers shortly after graduation, and it was through that organization he eventually met his agent and his acquiring editor/publisher.

After publishing two superhero type stories, John created Numb, a novel nominated for the Clive Staples Award and just last week, named as a finalist for the Christy Award, Visionary Category.

Which brings us back to the assassin working for the True Church. His role, as he sees it and as he’s been trained to believe, is to serve as the sword of judgment against heretics, dissenters, or heathen. Wherever his leaders send him, he goes. Whoever they order him to kill, he destroys. And he’s the best at what he does because he’s been gifted by God, he’s told, to feel nothing—little or no pain or emotion. All the sensations that could distract him are swallowed up in numbness.

If you’d like to learn more about this story, check out what others on the CSFF tour are saying about Numb, the novel no one would expect a pastor to write.

√ √ Julie Bihn
Jennifer Bogart
√ √ Keanan Brand
√ Beckie Burnham
√ Pauline Creeden
√ Vicky DealSharingAunt
√ Carol Gehringer
Victor Gentile
√ Rebekah Gyger
Nikole Hahn
√ √ Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Emileigh Latham
Rebekah Loper
√ Jennette Mbewe
√ Amber McCallister
√ √ Shannon McDermott
√ √ √ Shannon McNear
√ √ √ Meagan @ Blooming with Books
√ Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Faye Oygard
√ Jaylnne Patterson
Writer Rani
√ Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
√ √ √ Steve Trower
√ Shane Werlinger
√ Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White