Senior biblical studies major Andy Wallace shares a few characteristics with many Biola students: He’s from California, enjoys reading C.S. Lewis and desires to honor God with his future career. However, Wallace is not your typical Biola student. At 33, Wallace not only dons a more mature taste in clothing, but he also has a bit more life experience than the normal college senior. In Wallace’s case, this life experience includes publishing his own book.

On Jan. 25, Wallace listed his first book, “Crisis of Faith,” on Amazon’s website to be bought and read by Kindle users across the world. The book, which Wallace categorizes as religious fantasy, follows six fictional characters of different major world religions as they each experience miracles in modern day. Wallace said the premise of “Crisis of Faith” relies on “what if” thinking and is the first book in the Vindication trilogy.

Writing Away — Literally

Wallace spent the last 10 years working in restaurants and restaurant management. He began the original manuscript of “Crisis of Faith” four years ago while in community college.

“God seemed to set things up to make this happen,” Wallace said.

Because the community college was an hour away from his home, Wallace found himself cooped up in a computer lab typing away during breaks between classes.

As “Crisis of Faith” takes place in various locations across the globe, Wallace’s writing process involved lots of research. Since Wallace has never been outside the U.S., he spent hours poring over Google Maps and Google Images to try to visually explore locations such as Jerusalem, Israel, Mexico, Iraq and Great Britain.

“In not being there, I think a certain flavor for the interaction and culture is lost. However, I believe that the essence of each location is kind of captured,” Wallace said.

Self-published success

According to GMBooks.com, an author can expect to wait 18 months between signing a contract and releasing his book if he signs with a major publishing house.

Wallace chose to bypass this lengthy process and self-publish “Crisis of Faith” through Amazon Digital Services, Inc., because of the recent rise in digital book sales. He referred to this process as “very streamlined.” As soon as Wallace’s book was ready, he had it on the market 12 hours later.

While the quick process makes self-publishing seem like the best route for an author to select, Wallace is well aware of the disadvantages.

“Any kind of advertising or getting the word out is solely on me,” Wallace said.

The extensive amount of wait time for authors who publish through another company is usually spent in book promotion and marketing. If Wallace were to be picked up by a publisher, this would become the responsibility of the publishing house, freeing him of his burden of self-advertising through social media and Internet book forums.

Ministering through media

Wallace looks at the writing of his book as a “less-than-overt” ministry. Through fully exploring the beliefs and ideas of other religions, he hopes to reveal what exactly they are teaching in order to make “the truth of Christianity shine all the brighter.”

Biola students would benefit from reading Wallace’s book, he said, because it is all about a human journey focused on different characters.

“Biola makes it really clear that what we’re doing here is a preparation for whatever work that God has ahead of us — and that’s going to be a journey of faith for people. I think a Biola student who were to read of people in extraordinary circumstances will be able to relate, in a small way, to the personal journey that a character goes through,” Wallace said.

No matter what the reader’s religion, Wallace hopes, if nothing else, to provide a decent fantasy story and a fun read.

Plus, when job searching after graduation this spring, Wallace will be able to add something to his credentials that many of his fellow graduating peers will not: “published author.”