Local Christian author inspires readers to overcome trials with faith
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IDAHO FALLS — If you’ve experienced hardship in your life, chances are Benjamin Chapin has written about how to overcome it.
Chapin, who’s better known by his pen name T.K. Chapin, blends faith in God with his Christian romance books to teach people how they can handle trials. His stories are made up, but they’re based on real-life scenarios and he writes about a plethora of topics such as alcoholism, broken families, divorces, drug addicts and losing a spouse.
“I think I was called to write. It’s my ministry,” Chapin said. “I view it more like a ministry than just a job. It’s a way to share biblical truths with people without shoving a Bible in their face.”
Chapin’s inspiration for his pieces come from his own life events, talking to people and the news. They are unique in their own way, but they all have one thing in common.
“Each story highlights how God can work in their lives,” Chapin said.
Although he had no previous writing background, the Idaho Falls author who is originally from Spokane, was drawn to expressing himself through words. The discovery of Amazon’s self publishing changed his life and allowed him to share his messages with the world.
He spent months waking up at 3:30 a.m. and writing until seven before going to his full-time job at Docutech. After releasing his first book on Amazon about positive thinking, he earned 50 dollars in one month. The encouraging response inspired him to quit his job in Jan. 2015 and become his own boss.
“I thought this is cool because I don’t have to reproduce inventory,” Chapin said. “I can just write another book.”
With 49 titles now published (eight series in all), he believes his readers pick up his books for different reasons. Some are new Christian believers who don’t entirely understand how faith works in their life while others are going through the motions day in and day out, looking for something more.
“I think (my books) helps encourage them to have a more active faith that isn’t just Sunday morning. That’s not just when they go to church, but it’s every day of the week,” Chapin said.
He strives to build the faith of believers and invite nonbelievers to know about God by publishing a new book usually monthly. December’s book is “Loving In His Way.” He also has a free book that can be downloaded off Amazon entitled “Amongst The Flames.”