Aaron featured on CLASSeminars! See original article here.
MEET AARON ZOOK
As a teenager Aaron was interested in writing, mostly stories. He would compose creative science fiction tales and then hide them in a drawer. His secret dream was to get one of his stories published. This was going to be very hard to accomplish since he never submitted any of them. He just kept them in the drawer.
When he went away to college, he left his writing and the dream of being a published author behind.
Many years later, as a Captain in the US Army, Aaron found himself writing once again. Only this time it was correspondence for his commander. He wrote military manuals, policies and memos, lots of memos. Not exactly creative writing. Somewhere hidden deep within there remained that secret dream of someday being a published author.
Aaron has spent a great deal of his life in military service. Six years in the USAF and then an additional 26 years in the US Army, retiring in 2006 at the rank of Colonel. His military adventures took him to many interesting places including Germany, Korea, Japan, Greece, Kosovo, and Iraq. He even had an assignment where His family had to live in Hawaii.
He loved every opportunity given him to experience new cultures, learn new languages and meet new people. Eventually some of these same locales and characters made their way into the pages of his books. Books that began when he and his family were stationed in Germany.
While living in Germany, Aaron would take his family on drives to experience the beautiful German countryside. Drives that were meant to be peaceful and refreshing often turned into backseat wrestling matches between his two sons. To keep the boys engaged, Aaron would create thrilling stories about another two boys and their dogs. His stories were always filled with excitement, adventure, and action. It is no surprise that many years later some of these same stories made it onto paper.
Aaron has a passion for writing for young adults. It may seem like his target is boys, but I know a lot of girls read these books as well. Adults, too. His publisher, Karen Porter at Bold Vision Books, describes his books as the Christian version of the Hardy Boys after they have discovered technology.
Aaron’s first book, The Secrets of the Castle, was published in 2012. The well-planned 12 book series introduces brothers Alexander (Alex) and Gabriel (Gabe) and their two dogs, Thunder and Lightning. Hence the tag, Thunder and Lightning Series. Two more books have followed, The Salt Mine Mystery in 2014 and The Phantom of the Fortress in 2016. This book won First Place in the Young Adult Fiction Category of the Texas Authors Competition earlier this year.
This November, Aaron and his lovely wife Joyce, will have been married 39 years. They met when Aaron was stationed in Okinawa but it wasn’t until after Aaron returned stateside that the romance blossomed and they were wed. The couple have two sons, Jeremiah and Michael, who are both married and have two children each.
When Aaron’s not writing he enjoys playing golf and admits that he sometimes plays as much as four times a week. He loves spending time in the outdoors. Earlier this year Aaron and his son, Michael hiked 70 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
Aaron remains heavily involved in community and church activities. He is completing a two-year term as President of the Central Texas Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He has also served as the point of contact for the Officers Christian Fellowship at Ft. Hood. Aaron’s lifetime love of music is fulfilled by his participation in the praise and worship team at his church.
Maybe like Aaron you have been writing and hiding your writing in a drawer, thinking no one will ever read it. It will never be good enough. Trust that God has a plan. If He has given you a passion to write, He has a reason. If He has given you a dream, He can make it come true.
Join Aaron Zook, and his wife Joyce, at the 2017 CLASS Christian Writers Contreat. Aaron will be leading our worship times and he will also be teaching a workshop on research. www.classeminars.org/writers-contreat-2017