Sword and Serpent: An Interview with Dr. Taylor Marshall

If there’s a modern renaissance man, it’s Dr. Taylor Marshall. He’s the founder of the wildly successful New Saint Thomas Institute, the founder of the Catholic scouting organization the Troops of St. George, a professor, a best-selling author, a popular blogger, an in-demand speaker, a gentleman extraordinaire, and a P.h. D in Philosophy, among other things. Oh yeah, he’s also the proud father of 7 kids.
While Dr. Marshall has accomplished many things, there’s one thing he had not done until very recently: Write a novel. Finally, he can check that goal off his bucket list. Dr. Marshall has just released his debut novel, Sword and Serpent, a re-telling of the ancient story of St. George and the dragon. Already, the book is a runaway success, debuting at number one on Amazon for its category. It’s extremely well rated too, with readers saying things like, “This book is absolutely splendid,” and “I couldn’t put this book down.”
Recently, Dr. Marshall and I sat down to discuss Sword and Serpent and some of the challenges presented in writing a fiction work.
1. You’ve written a number of successful non-fiction books. What made you want to write a novel?
I love writing theology and philosophy, but my heart is in fiction. Our Lord, for the most part, did not give us bullet point lists of the systematic theology. Instead, He told fictional parables to illustrate profound theological principles. Stories are the most powerful theological medium, so long as they aren’t overly preachy or obvious.
2. You founded a Catholic boys scouting organization known as the Troops of St. George. Now you’ve written a novel about him. What is compelling to you about the story of Saint George?
Saint George is an exemplar for our own time. Plus, the iconography of Saint George with the dragon legend is just too irresistible. It’s something that resonates with everyone. We