I thought, what if the ultimate story of redemption, grace, love, and mercy started with the misfortune of someone being cast into Hell and finding out that over the millenia since Christ was crucified, a small number of people have actually left Hell and gone to Heaven.
Frank McKinney – 16 October 2026
The Back Flap
Once damned to Hell, it’s forever … or is it?
Three “good and godly” people die in the same instant on December 19, 2037: 94-year-old Alexander in Germany, 29-year-old Carolina in Brazil, and 64-year-old Eddie in Butte, Montana.
Eagerly, they find themselves in line together outside the Pearly Gates, expecting to be recognized for their sanctified lives and then welcomed into Heaven. Instead, they are violently plucked out of line by angels-turned-demons and cast down into Hell, where they are met at one of the three fiery gates by Judas, Jesus’s betrayer.
This must be a mistake! Is this really their fate – forever?
Even as they are subjected to Satan’s diabolical and unrelenting mental and physical torments, Alexander, Carolina, and Eddie discover cryptic signs they believe are sent from their loved ones in the heavenly realm. Then when they witness rare bolts of brilliant light wherein a few condemned seemingly disappear, they start to wonder …could there be a way out of Hell?
About the book
When did you start writing the book?
This non-fiction novel, psychospiritual concept is something that entered my orbit 10 years ago. I didn’t feel worthy, I didn’t feel ready, I didn’t feel competent or confident enough to start writing it until twenty-eight months ago. This is unlike me. Normally when a book idea enters my mind, I go with it almost immediately. This is the only concept, out of ten books across nine genres, that I put off because I didn’t feel I was ready. I put it off for eight years.
How long did it take you to write it?
Once I took my trembling hands and put them to keyboard, it was a 28 month process. The gestation period of an Indian Elephant is 22 months. Well, it feels like I birthed an elephant + 6 months! It really has been a long, long effort.
Where did you get the idea from?
Being a pathological optimist, the common theme and thread throughout all of my books can be summed up in a single word—hope. After Jesus’s crucifixion, he descended to Hell for three days and then rose from the dead. The Harrowing of Hell references that He brought people with him when he rose from the dead, and then it seemed like that portal closed.
I thought, what if the ultimate story of redemption, grace, love, and mercy started with the misfortune of someone being cast into Hell and finding out that over the millenia since Christ was crucified, a small number of people have actually left Hell and gone to Heaven. To me – even if you’re not into organized religion – wouldn’t that be the ultimate form of hope? Either leaving the actual Hell that we all have read about or leaving your Hell on earth, being redeemed from that Hell, and going to whatever your definition of Heaven is. That’s where the idea came from.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
This being a nonfiction novel, the first four chapters are nonfiction. You will be able to verify information in terms of locations and historical events. Names have been changed, but circumstances, occurrences, streets, venues, locations, beaches, etc. all are factual.
I chose not to do any research on Dante’s Inferno or other literary interpretations of Hell. I wanted to come up with what I felt Hell would be like if I were to imagine the worst of the worst circumstances. The same held true for how I chose to depict Heaven. I struggled with depicting a reality that nobody has seen.
What came easily?
Building the relationship between three entirely different protagonists: A 29-year-old woman who dies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There is a 94-year-old Jewish man who dies in Germany. He was actually one of the 30 babies that were saved from Auschwitz the day the camp was liberated. Then we have a 64-year-old man from Butte, Montana. All three of my characters die in the same instant on January 19, 2037 at 11:11am. They arrive outside the Pearly Gates together and are simultaneously plucked out of line and cast into Hell. They are separated by the unfathomable vastness of Hell and, as the plot develops, are slowly reunited In Hell.
Building their relationship was something I really enjoyed. I don’t know if it was easy or not, but I loved it.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The three primary protagonists are not based on anyone. One character is from Rio de Janeiro. I have no connection to the area, and I’ve never even been there.
For the Jewish character who was liberated from Auschwitz, I had to do quite a bit of research about Auschwitz and Judaism; because that wasn’t based on anybody I know.
The 64-year-old character that dies, the Homeless Whisperer, is Edward “Eddie” Francis, which is my legal name reversed. But it’s a really far stretch to say it would be an alter ego.
The primary reason that all three of the characters were plucked out of line while waiting to enter Heaven through the Pearly Gates and dropped into Hell was because they worshiped the gifts they were given versus the giver of the gifts. Eddie will be my age when this book releases, and I’ve met over 10,000 homeless people. Sometimes I read my own headlines and begin to believe them. And I too sometimes forget to worship the giver; and I worship the gift. Eddie’s not me, but there are things in him that I want to avoid.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Having written books in nine genres, the short answer is no. However, I’m big on obscure philosophy—Anthony DeMello, for example. I’ve read all his books. I also like reading the dictionary and Willian H. Boetcker.
I know we’re taught the first part of that sentence, how important it is to read, but I believe it’s more important for people – especially students, children, and young children – to be taught and encouraged to write. Just as much as we say read, read, read, I say write, write, write. Whoever’s reading this, you’ve got a book in you, and it all starts with taking the time to journal a little bit each day.
Do you have a target reader?
Those who are or will be going through hell on earth or who might want to avoid the possibility of there being a hell in the afterlife. Hence the reason I set the story in 2037.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
My writing process is a little unique. I don’t write the first word until I design the cover art, and I can’t design the cover art until I come up with a title and subtitle. Once the cover art is designed with the title, subtitle, and the back cover descriptive copy, I prop it up in front of my computer to make sure that with every character I type – of which there are 535,111 in this book – I deliver on the promise of the title and the imagery on the cover art.
For this book I wrote as if you, the reader/listener, were watching Hell’s Heaven at an IMAX theater, so captivated by the sequence of events that you missed your mouth with your soda straw and fumbled trying to put your hand in your box of popcorn—because you didn’t dare take your eyes off the screen (pages)!
I do not believe in writer’s block. I think it’s an excuse for laziness. I sit there and write through it. And each chapter of my books are edited, re-edited, proofread, and reproofed at least 15 times.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
In my other nine books, I came up with all the chapter titles before I wrote the first word.
With this book, I took a stream-of-consciousness approach. When I started chapter one, I knew where that chapter should end. But I didn’t necessarily know where chapter two would begin. There was a foggy horizon on purpose. There was a tremendous amount of organic creativity and collaboration with my collaborator. We did not outline anything. Instead, we went through this process without a guide. They say your first impression is the right one. This proved true while writing this book.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Before we finish a chapter, we go through it at least 10 times before it’s put in the can. Once it’s put in the can, it’s labeled FINAL, and I don’t look at it again. So chapter one was in the can, and I didn’t look at it for 18+ months. When we went back and started the master edit, it was uncanny how accurate and how tight all of the chapters were.
I encourage other writers to do something similar because it worked masterfully with this book, and really all my books.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes. I’ve always used a professional editor. With this book, I also used a consumer editor. I wanted this book to read like a screenplay, so I hired a screenwriter. She was the first one to edit the book because I wanted readers to be on the edge of their seat the entire time. Then I gave it to a professional editor, who in turn gave it to a professional proofreader.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, absolutely not. I’m monomaniacally focused on what I’m doing at the moment. I cannot have any kind of distractions other than looking out my treehouse window at nature.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No. We have a small imprint called Caring House Books, which is the publisher. We do not publish other people’s work, just my books. I do not send it to agents. That’s a whole other story. I did that for my first two books, and it was not as successful as it could have been.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
Over the 25 years I’ve been writing books I made a point to learn all I could about the publishing business. And I realized the likelihood of success rested on my shoulders. Even though my first two books with Wiley did very well, I received very little support. So, I decided to take the risk to reap the reward.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I have a professional book designer who has designed a number of my covers. We took four of the 28 months to come up with the design for the front and back cover.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Yes, I have a marketing plan. It’s where you stand out from the 3,500 other books that will be published tomorrow. There’s not enough space to detail what our marketing plan is, but it will allow for my PR team and book tour team to have at least three “bites at the apple” when it comes to sales.
Books are like a movie. A movie premieres in a movie theater. After a month, the excitement dies down. And then what does it do? It goes to streaming. Books should be just like that. You try your best for that big splash. When that splash dies down, you take another bite at the apple through your audiobook. And then you ramp up with the massive, 100-city book tour.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Everybody has a story in them. Put down the books, stop reading for a while, and start writing. The average length of a book is 180 to 220 pages. That means if you spent one year and you wrote two paragraphs a day, which is about half a page, you could get your book done in a year.
Get started. If you’re unsure about the topic or the genre, go to your journals. If you’re not journaling, start journaling; that’s where you’ll find your book.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up a corn-fed country boy in Indiana. I’m the oldest of six. My mom was a schoolteacher. My dad was a banker.
Where do you live now?
I live in western North Carolina after living in Florida for 40 years.
What would you like readers to know about you?
The best way to learn about Frank McKinney is to visit my website, what PCMag called “Disney on a Desktop.” If you want to visit Disney but you don’t want to pay the exorbitant prices, go to Frank-McKinney.com. There you will be thoroughly entertained for free. Or you could buy some books from us.
What are you working on now?
The only thing I’m working on now is the promotional plans for Hell’s Heaven. This book comes out October 3rd, 2026. That’s when we take that first big bite at the apple and ride that wave for a couple months. Then we go back to the second bite. We’ll ride that way for a couple months. Then we will undertake a 100-venue, 80-day, 70-city book tour. We’re going to visit 100 homeless shelters in those 80 days.
End of Interview:
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