The Haunted Paperback - 2015

With more than 15 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called "America's hottest Christian novelist." The Oath (Word Publishing 1995), sold more than half a million copies within the first six months of release. The Visitation (Word Publishing 1999), was #1 on the CBA Fiction Bestseller list for four months. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada in 1951, Frank is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions, drew comics, and tapped out stories on his mother's portable typewriter. His journey toward becoming a writer had its side trips. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group, then worked as a musician and odd-job man for a small recording studio. Shortly after he and his wife Barbara were married in 1972, Frank toured with a pop band and then a modest Christian music ministry. He later studied English, screen writing and film at UCLA before spending five years helping his father pastor a small Assembly of God church in the Seattle area. During those five years he labored at night, on weekends, any chance he got, to write his first novel, This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye - eventually. Numerous publishers rejected the novel and Frank gave up his pastoring position to work in construction and odd jobs to make ends meet. Even after Crossway Books published This Present Darkness in 1986, the novel sat on store shelves largely unnoticed. Two years later, Frank was working at a local ski factory when word-of- mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal's bestseller list every month for more than eight years. His two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1986) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction. In all, including his current work, Illusion, Frank has written nineteen books of various sizes for various ages. Frank and Barbara live a simple life in rural Idaho. He leads worship at their church, Barbara paints in watercolor, and they enjoy being with their close friends.