About the Book

Book: How to Kill a Giant Author: Carol Schlorff Genre: Middle Grade Release Date: June 10, 2023 He lost his courage. Will meeting a real superhero help him find it? An awful summer … Thirteen-year-old Hugo is miserable. His move to a small Pennsylvania town has brought him nothing but trouble. Ignored by his new classmates and a favorite target for the school bullies, Hugo lets fear rule his life. It’s going to be a long summer. An unexpected twist … Hugo meets siblings Julia and Stefan, who are just as unhappy as he is. After finding a mysterious old Bible, all three are magically transported to ancient Israel, where they meet the young shepherd David, who suspects they’re spies. The trio finds themselves caught up in a strange world where danger lurks on every side. A terrifying adventure … As Hugo and his friends navigate the perils of this weird and frightening land, Hugo must face his greatest fear—that he’s a coward. His only hope of survival is to learn the secret of David’s bravery, but will he do so in time to face his biggest test? Find out in this thrilling tale of courage, friendship, and faith.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Carol’s passion is to write exciting stories that encourage, inspire, and boost the reader’s faith, possibly because she has always felt like an outsider. She was born in North Africa to American parents and grew up in France. At age 15, her family’s abrupt move to Philadelphia resulted in a rough transition to American life. After graduating from Penn State, Carol joined the Army in search of adventure. She was stationed in exotic—for her—locations like California, Arizona, and Texas. Since then, Carol has lived in Cracow, Poland, where she teaches English and organizes language camps. She also writes a blog on faith-related topics. Carol enjoys caring for her cat, Tabasco, watching a good murder mystery, and getting nervous while watching NFL games.

More from Carol

The idea for my book about time travel back to the Bible came to me during a church sermon on meditating on God’s Word. As soon as the outline for the story popped into my mind, I could no longer focus on what the pastor was saying, as I was too busy organizing my thoughts into the semblance of a logical plan. That day marked the beginning of a five-year journey to write and publish my first novel, How to Kill a Giant. My motivation for writing is to demonstrate that the Bible is relevant to our lives, provides the answers we seek about life, and is far from boring. Of course, I also want my readers to have fun and stay on the edge of their seats. Growing up in a Christian home where my parents were missionaries, I still had many questions and doubts about the Bible and Christianity, especially starting in middle school. That’s why I target this age group. If my books can help my young (and older) readers grow in their faith and trust in God, then I will consider them a success. If you asked me to summarize my book in one sentence, I would say it explores the heart of David and the courage that enabled him to fight Goliath, wrapped up in the packaging of a thrilling action and adventure story. Happy reading!

Interview with the Author

What helps you to write? Do you eat snacks, listen to music?

I need peace and quiet to write—no music, no snacks. Those things would only distract me. I’ve found that I need to start in the morning or early afternoon, and once the creative juices start flowing, I can keep going until late at night. However, it’s hard for me to begin writing in the evening when I’m tired, as if the engine refuses to turn over. But once it’s running (when I’ve started early enough), it can continue for a long time.

If you could travel back in time, what time period would you go to?

You might think that after writing books about traveling back in time to ancient Israel, I would want to do the same myself, but that’s not the case. As much as I would love to experience the Biblical stories, writing about them made me realize how different life was back then, and I’m not sure I’d want to live through it. Instead, I’d love to go back to when my parents were in college sometime in the 1950s (I’m not sure of the exact years). My parents were missionaries, and their time as students is what impacted them to serve God full-time (they didn’t know each other yet). It would be awesome to observe them as God worked in their hearts. Additionally, it would be fun to see them as young people before they took on the responsibilities of raising a family.

What inspired you to write this book?

The idea for How to Kill a Giant, a book about time travel set in the Bible, came to me during a church sermon on meditating on God’s Word. My motivation for writing is to show that the Bible is relevant to our lives, offers answers to the questions we seek about life, and is far from boring. I also aim to keep readers engaged and entertained. I chose to target middle-grade readers because it’s a time when many start to question the Bible and Christianity. I know this because I experienced it at that age, even though I grew up in a Christian family. If my books can help readers grow in their faith and trust in God, I will consider them successful.

Share with me a few of your favorite things.

If I had to pick only one food I could eat for the rest of my life, I would choose dairy products. I love cheese, yogurt, and yes, ice cream. And only real milk, please. When it comes to books or movies, my favorite genre is murder mysteries. I’m especially interested in the psychological aspect of understanding why a crime was committed. As for sports, I only follow NFL football and major soccer tournaments, such as the World Cup or European Championship. My favorite team is the Philadelphia Eagles, and in soccer, I support three national teams—the US, France (where I grew up), and Poland (where I live). I don’t know what I would do if two of those teams ever met in the final, but that would be a good problem to have. Lastly, my favorite hobby is photography, especially taking pictures of nature, flowers, and my cat, Tabasco.

What is one question you would like readers to ask you? What would be your answer?

How to Kill a Giant is about conquering fear and trusting God. How do you deal with fear?

Fear is our natural, God-given response to danger. I don’t think humanity would have survived this long without the early warning system that fear provides. Unfortunately, fear often exceeds its intended purpose and begins to control and paralyze us. There have been many times in my life—and continue to be—when a wave of fear crashes over me, leaving me overwhelmed and suffocated. Recently, such anxiety is mostly linked to thoughts about my future—what will happen when I retire. No matter the source of my apprehension, I’ve learned to deal with it this way: I rebuke it in Jesus’ name, declare that it has no power over me, and recite God’s promises aloud. The fear always disappears … until its next attack. And I rebuke it again.