‘s parable his novel about a man who encounters an unorthodox version of the Holy Trinity, became a in 2007, when Christian readers discovered the book’s website.
Online sales , going from 15 photocopies made as family Christmas gifts to 18 million copies and counting under Hachette Books.
Now Young, 57, has published his second book, Like “The Shack,” its main character is an who represents God. We caught Young between planes on his current book tour.
Q: Why do you, as a white man of a certain age, like to use African-American women as your protagonists?
A: Because I’m trying to get as far away as I can from the image of a who’s like — , and . I know a number of African-American women, and one thing you learn, love you but also . I think that’s better suited to God than a Santa Claus God.
Q: How much did change from what it was in those 15 Office Depot copies to what people know now under Publishing Group?
A: The characters are the same. The scenes are the same. It was a matter of cleaning it up and augmenting the characters and watching the arc of the story line to .
Q: What has changed your life most since “The Shack” became popular?
A: People ask me what I do. I tell them I get to hang around burning bushes all day — listening to people’s stories about their responses to my books. That’s holy ground.
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477, cmartin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byclairemartin
Meet Young at “Cross Roads” booksigning
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Tradesmart, 8500 W. Crestline Ave., Littleton; 303-904-2672
