PHOTO: Kevin M. Kraft, author and multi-talented creative, known for his inspired storytelling and cinematic vision.
A Journey Through Thrills, Faith, And Creativity
Award-winning author Kevin M. Kraft blends Christian faith with cinematic storytelling, martial arts, and adrenaline-fuelled action to create compelling novels that challenge, inspire, and captivate readers while exploring spiritual resilience.
Kevin M. Kraft is a storyteller who defies conventions, crafting narratives that weave Christian faith into the fabric of high-octane action and profound human struggles. As an author, screenwriter, and filmmaker, he delves into realms both spiritual and visceral, exploring how belief sustains us in our most challenging moments. Whether through the shadows of an epic thriller or the quiet depths of introspection, Kraft says things on the page that are not merely heard but felt, resounding with a weight of purpose that transcends entertainment. His work demonstrates that faith is not static or confined—it is alive, dynamic, and tested under fire.
There is an expansive creativity that courses through everything Kraft touches. His writing draws on a vast well of influences and interests—cinema, music, martial arts, and even the tactile beauty of crafting cigar box guitars. It is this convergence of passions that allows him to create stories that feel rich and multifaceted, pulsing with life. Books like Doboro the Bottlenecker couple adrenaline-driven storytelling with deeply personal themes, offering narratives where the physical challenges of his heroes mirror their spiritual trials. The result? Fiction that is thrilling, yet deeply meditative.
At the heart of Kevin M. Kraft’s work is a profound sense of trust—trust in divine guidance, in redemption, and in the power of resilience. He invites readers not only to witness his characters’ journeys but to reflect on their own. Through his vivid, cinematic prose, Kraft transforms tales of adversity into affirmations of hope, faith, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Kevin M. Kraft is a masterful storyteller whose work exemplifies creativity, faith, and resilience, blending thrilling action with profound spiritual themes.
What inspired you to blend Christian faith with high-action thriller elements in your novels?
I noticed the extremely narrow band of genres faith-based content covered. And since I consumed different genres of media, I thought it both attractive and necessary to explore ways in which I might personally approach them to communicate my worldview. I have a sort of vigilante predisposition, so I wanted to explore how my faith and biblical worldview might temper that predisposition. Being very visually-oriented, I also chose to explore, through Doboro the Bottlenecker, something I would find absolutely horrifying: losing my sight!
How has your background in screenwriting and filmmaking influenced your approach to writing novels?
I learned to write screenplays after learning how to write novels. And both of these skills I learned by reading the works of authors like James Byron Huggins, Michael Crichton, and Robin Cook, who I describe as “cinematic” is their style of writing. While writing screenplays is different than writing a novel, a great screenplay should be as effective a read as a good novel. I write my novels with this built-in philosophy. In fact, weird as it is, I write novels like movies in slow-motion. I’m visualizing it on the movie screen in my mind like a moviegoer, even though it happens at the speed I type. I become so immersed in the process that I am often taken by surprised in real-time by something happening within the narrative. “Oh! I can’t believe he just did that!” I may even shout it out loud as I’m writing! To me, just like an exciting screenplay, a good novel should have one reading DOWN the page, not across it.
“Each novel is simultaneously a movie idea—and vice-versa, each idea comes with its own score.”
– Kevin M. Kraft
Can you describe the research process behind the martial arts and combat scenes in Doboro the Bottlenecker?
Originally, Japanese martial arts were going to be showcased. But that seemed to me to be a bit cliched. So, I decided to look at South Korea, which I’d been interested in every since seeing the movie Billy Jack, in which was featured the martial art of Hapkido. It was this that got me interested in martial arts. Anyway, I decided to make things hard for myself when writing Doboro by changing a key location to South Korea instead of Japan. This, as fortune would have it, led me to discover the little-known Sulsa of South Korea, an elite warrior group similar to but different than, the Japanese Ninja. I thought: PERFECT. I had never heard of the Sulsa before, and I’d bet few ,other martial arts enthusiast hadn’t either. However, given Doboro’s circumstances, his fighting system needed to be more personalised and practical. So that was the challenge: How would a blind man who was trained in the Sulsa arts make it work for himself?
How do you develop characters who face both physical and spiritual challenges?
Except for the fact that Doboro is visually impaired, he is very much my alter ego, meaning that I would be him, had I experienced what he does in the novels. When facing his lowest moment, his faith and trust in God is put to the test. What he knows the Bible teaches and what he believes is tested by the fire of adversity, and, not to give too much away, he emerges stronger than he was before. What’s more, he understands his dependence upon the Lord and relies on Him to guide him, empower him, and protect him moment by moment—which is how the Scriptures teach us to live. I, too, experienced physical and emotional challenges that could have destroyed me. For instance, I suffered from debilitating insomnia from childhood until well into my thirties. It should have killed me…or at least drove me crazy. It is ONLY due to God’s preserving me that I am whole today. Of that I have no doubt. And, like Doboro, I endeavour to walk where and how He directs me.
“An overarching theme of all my work has me taking Christian characters and placing them in extraordinary situations to see how they’ll respond.”
– Kevin M. Kraft
What challenges did you encounter while adapting your award-winning screenplay into MOMO?
It was pretty easy, actually—at least in the beginning. I’m a very cinematic writer anyway, and since it started as a script, the story was already there. Any novel I write is usually ripe for screen adaptation, and vice-versa. The real challenge for me, when it came to MOMO, was rewriting the script when my family decided to produce the film ourselves! We decided to produce it “in-house,” and had a half-of-a-baby-shoestring budget to work with. Rewriting the script to accommodate our budget was the biggest writing challenge I had ever faced!
How do your personal experiences and hobbies, such as music and acting, inform your storytelling?
Just as each novel is simultaneously a movie idea—and vice-versa, each idea comes with its own score. I’m a singer-songwriter and composer with a flare for cinematic orchestration. At this time in my life, it has been most gratifying to find many of my loves intersect, particularly with Doboro the Bottlenecker—God, martial arts, cigar box slide guitar, blues rock, family, avenging angels, wide-brimmed fedoras. Additionally, I’ve written songs inspired by Doboro, which I’ll be releasing soon—my first solo album. And most recently, it was suggested by a listener during a recent interview that Doboro would make an excellent MUSICAL! That was something I had never considered. A Christian action-drama, blues, rock musical! So I am exploring this possibility as well.
“I notice that a lot of novelists tend to over-explain or over-intellectualise what’s happening in action scenes, which slows them down!” – Kevin M. Kraft
What themes do you hope readers take away from Riverhorse and your other works?
An overarching theme of all my work has me taking Christian characters and placing them in extraordinary situations to see how they’ll respond. While Riverhorse could have been just another creature feature, I wanted it to be something deeper where mental illness and trauma are concerned. I work in the mental health industry, and I have always been both fascinated and troubled by the relationship between demons, Satan, and mental illness…the fact that all mental illnesses used to be attributed to dark spiritual forces, whereas now psychology and psychiatry have totally denied the spiritual realm.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write faith-based fiction with strong action elements?
Action is, by nature, visual. So, it behooves authors interested in writing strong action scenes to read excellent screenplays with great action scenes, and learn to write them. It comes easy for me. But I notice that a lot of novelists tend to over-explain or over-intellectualise what’s happening in action scenes, which slows them down! I advise, learn to write economically, succinctly, and emotionally. A good action scene is characterised by desperation both on the part of the central character in the scene…and that of the reader, who has invested in that character and their well-being. It isn’t about graphic blood and guts. A good writer can write an effective action scene that can stand alone without explicit gore, even if the outcome is indeed bloody.
