For Favorite Five Friday (FFF), we have Zachary Bartels.

But before I introduce Zachary, let me just congratulate the winner of Jill Lynn’s book! Jordann, you’re the winner! Congratulations. You will be getting an email soon!

NOW! Zachary, thanks so much for being here! It’s always fun to learn something new about some of my favorite authors and I know my readers enjoy it, too. So thanks for stopping by to answer these five questions and give away a book!

Book cover:

Back cover blurb:

Tʜᴇ Kɴɪɢʜᴛs ᴏғ Mᴀʟᴛᴀ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ Jᴇʀᴜsᴀʟᴇᴍ ғᴇʟʟ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ Tᴇᴍᴘʟᴀʀs ᴅɪsɪɴᴛᴇɢʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ’ʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɴᴏᴡ . . . Wᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴ Dᴇᴛʀᴏɪᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ʙᴏʀɴ-ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ᴄᴏɴ ᴍᴀɴ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ sᴀᴠᴇ ʜɪs ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ.

Former con man Fletcher Doyle is finally home after six years in prison. He’s working hard to restore his relationship with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter, but it’s slow going. He hopes that the upcoming mission trip into Detroit will allow him to demonstrate his newfound faith and honorable intentions—but within hours of arriving in the city, Fletcher can feel the pull of the life he thought he’d left behind.

Between trying to hide his reawakened criminal life from his wife and his ever-present ministry leader (and landlord) Brad, and trying to keep the mysterious criminal, the Alchemist, from bringing it all crashing down, Fletcher is in over his head. When the unthinkable happens, Fletcher will have to call on his years in the game and his fledgling faith to find an ancient treasure—and restore his family.

1. What’s your favorite television show? Breaking Bad without out a doubt. The writing was so insanely brilliant and the acting and cinematography were better than 99% of the films I’ve seen. Sadly, its run is over (like most of my favorite shows: Mad Men, Downton, Justified). I’m living off re-binging the original series while enjoying the spinoff, Better Call Saul. Also I love New Girl and wish I was Nick Miller.

2. What’s your favorite food? Avocados! My 7-year-old and I are obsessed with them; we eat at least one a day. He calls us the avodadbros. We find that they are best when you don’t smash them and mix a bunch of other junk in, but rather slice them, lightly top with lime juice, and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

3. What’s your favorite place to write? There is a bench on the Capitol Walkway here in Lansing, with a beautiful view of the city skyline, where I frequently hunker down with a nice cigar and write for hours at a stretch. I write on this little digital word processor circa 2001 called an “AlphaSmart Dana,” which is perfect for me because it has no Twitter or Facebook or e-mail or anything else to distract me. I’ve also banged out a ton of content at the lake house of one of my parishioners (she calls it a cottage, but it’s bigger than my house). My wife is also a writer and we like to go there on writing retreats in the dead of winter—just the two of us, a frozen lake, and a roaring fire for three or four days at a time.

4. What’s your favorite vacation spot? Mackinac Island, between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. There are no cars allowed, just horses and carriages. And the whole place smells like fudge. I never get tired of riding my bike around the island.

 ME: Oh, that sounds lovely. I’m going to have to mark that one as a “place I’d like to visit”!

5. What’s another favorite you’d like us to know? My favorite energy drink is currently Guru Lite. It’s organic and everything and it’s definitely not my favorite just because they sponsor my podcast (the Gut Check Podcast). I once told Colleen Coble about my average day’s energy product consumption and she was silent for like twenty seconds before managing to say, “Oh, my. Zach. Don’t . . . do that.”

Haha! I can so hear Colleen saying that!

Zach, thanks so much for stopping by to share with us.

READERS – go ahead and leave your comments about your favorite something and be entered to win a book!

Zachary Bartels

Bio:

An award-winning preacher and Bible teacher, Zachary Bartels serves as pastor of Judson Baptist Church in Lansing, Michigan (www.churchlansing.com), where he lives with his wife Erin and their son. He holds degrees from Cornerstone University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. Zachary enjoys film, fine cigars, stimulating conversation, gourmet coffee, reading, writing, and cycling.

His debut novel, Playing Saint, has been called an “intrigue-filled thriller” (Library Journal) and was a finalist for the 2015 Inspys and Carol Awards. His followup, The Last Con (HarperCollins Christian Fiction) “will leave readers stunned” (RT Book Reviews).

You can find more information about Zachary (as well as follow his blog, twitter, and facebook) at www.zacharybartels.com.