Zack Quilici
Author, Zack Quilici, joins CKN Christian Publishing with his debut novel, Be Brave, which is set to be released in January 2018. Zack Quilici wants to be known as someone that lives his life for Christ and nothing else. Pursuing a Pastoral career, he resides in the beautiful San Diego region of Vista, California. His favorite things to write about are his experiences before God and how God had his hand in them the whole time. With the gift of transparency you’ll see his true heart and emotions in his writing.
CKN Christian Publishing: I know you have a past that led you to where you are today; why did you decide to write about it?
Zack Quilici: Opening up was never easy for me. Communication emotionally was something I never did. Doing the manly thing and understanding that men don’t cry was something that was naturally instilled into me. So when Jesus told me he wanted all of me, every ounce of my being. Opening up was unbelievably hard at first. But I understood the love that God had for me, so if I was able to do that. Writing it down was easy, especially when someone told me that my problems can help people.
CKN: You’re from Reno and all your family is there, how did you end up in San Diego?
ZQ: I’ve always had a fear of this quote. “If you stay In one place your entire life, you only read one page of the worlds book.” I’m not an avid traveler but will eventually want to visit more of the world. So to me, with the recent heart transformation that happened in Reno, I thought what better time to get a fresh start. I loved the idea of being the “new Christian guy,” and that’s all people knew me as. Refreshing.
CKN: How did you become a part of Northcoast Church?
ZQ: Funny story, I was sitting at home my first Sunday afternoon in San Diego and randomly yelped churches. Like who does that? Northcoast Church had the most reviews so I got up right away and checked out there Sunday night service and fell in love. I was a front door greeter at my church in Reno and I absolutely fell in love with it. So, I instantly signed up to greet at Northcoast Church.
CKN: You have a twin brother, Aaron, does he write at all?
ZQ: My brother is amazing, so incredibly smart and handsome! Obviously if you look at us, he definitely got the looks. He achieved getting his masters in business administration so he is totally full of knowledge. He currently doesn’t write, but man who knows what can happen to someone.
CKN: Do you ever plan to write anything in the Fiction genre?
ZQ: Oh, man do I have some ideas or what! This brain is always working, and the thing about that is why not? I think the thoughts of testimonies and heart transformations are something really special. So If I ever decide to it would be along those lines of an amazing fiction story all about Jesus.
CKN: What types of books do you read? What’s the last book you read?
ZQ: I’m secretly a want to be bible nerd and I love books written by pastors I look up to. So anything from a pastor or leadership within the church always catches my eye. I’m currently reading a crazy book called Do Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs by Jesus Freaks. It’s filled with amazing short stories about people being unshakable about their faith in Jesus Christ that ultimately led them towards death.
CKN: What types of people are you hoping to reach with Be Brave?
ZQ: Anybody really, Christians mostly, but whoever picks it up could have impact. In hopes that anybody who reads it can catch a breath of confidence and open up, everybody’s story has a place in the kingdom.
CKN: A lot of what you share in Be Brave is very personal, was that hard to let others read?
ZQ: I understood something very quickly becoming a Christian. That is, the only opinion I really had truly cared about is Gods. If my story can help someone get closer to God than so be it, that’s easy and so rewarding. Can’t begin to tell you how cool it is to receive messages about how my book has helped someone overcome a problem in their life. Hallelujah!
CKN: Has your family read Be Brave? What was their reaction?
ZQ: Actually, I haven’t received too much about it! My family wasn’t too big on reading growing up so only time will tell. My mom of course freaked out with how good of a writer she thought I was. You know the mom thing to say, even if my writing wasn’t good. Gosh I love her.
CKN: What can we expect from you next? Are you working on anything at the moment?
ZQ: I’m so stoked about my next project, Waking Up, with only a couple chapters done. It’s an awesome feeling getting one book out of the way. The feeling of you know you can do it so why not another one. Waking up will be all about waking up to the realities, truths and eye opening stuff that people might overlook. It will be intertwined with stories of my life as well as my unbelievable trip to Israel to actually see the proof of the savior of the world.