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Published on Sunday, October 20, 2002
in the Orlando Sentinel
When Warren "Keith" Fast was 9, he was so inspired by the movie Rocky that he wrote a screenplay about a boxer.
Throughout his school years in Miami and later while his Army buddies headed to their favorite watering hole, Fast wrote adventure stories.
Even after the former Airborne Ranger and paramedic married and became a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, he dreamed about becoming a writer.
Those dreams have become a reality. Sgt. Warren Fast, traffic-homicide investigator, is now Warren Fast, author. His science-fiction adventure novel, Lords of Perdition, will be officially released in November.
The 264-page paperback published by Bonneville Books already is available in some bookstores and through online sellers Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
"It was exciting when I got the letter from the publisher that said, 'Send the entire manuscript,' " Fast said.
Fast, 34, describes his story as "a fantasy, a war of man vs. demons." Although the book is published by a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- of which Fast is a member -- and has religious overtones, the publisher and author say the story is intended for a general audience.
Becoming a published author didn't come easy.
Fast said that an earlier story he wrote while in the Army, Feudal Mission, turned out to be a futile mission.
"It was crap," he said in his quiet, straightforward way.
The frustrated author put away a box full of rejection notices and turned his attention to his career and family.
In 1994 he joined the Florida Highway Patrol because, he said, he "always thought it was a notch above other law-enforcement agencies." At the academy, he distinguished himself with a near-perfect academic score, one of the highest ever made.
As Fast's career progressed, the Winter Springs resident became a sniper. He works security whenever the lieutenant governor is in Central Florida. In Fast's current role in Orlando's Troop D, he oversees investigations of traffic fatalities.
Away from work, when he isn't spending time with his wife, Lily, and their three children, he surfs the Internet looking for online instruction on how to write screenplays and books.
In the summer of 1999, Fast went with his family to see Matrix, a futuristic film about a computer hacker who fights against an evil cyberintelligence.
Fast said the film inspired him to write an action-adventure screenplay using the Bible's book of Revelation as a backdrop.
When his screenplay was rejected, he rewrote the story and submitted the first three chapters and a synopsis to about 20 publishers. Cedar Fort, the parent company of Bonneville Books, showed immediate interest and asked Fast to submit his entire manuscript last spring.
"We feel Warren is a talented writer with a great imagination," said Chad Daybell, managing editor of Cedar Fort, which publishes about 60 books a year. Lords of Perdition is a story about warriors who protect the Earth from demons. The main character is Ian Corrigan, a warrior trained in martial arts and other disciplines who receives support from seers living in a mountaintop monastery.
When news of the book was posted on the FHP's Web site recently, Fast's fellow officers were surprised to learn about his secret pastime.
"They weren't surprised that he's that smart," said Trooper Kim Miller. "But no one knew he was a writer."
As a new author with a small publisher, Fast will receive 10 percent of net sales. He has no agent or manager. But he does have ideas for future stories. For now, Fast's reward is a slick-looking paperback and a Library of Congress number.
Recently, he came upon the box of rejection notices from his earlier attempt and found one of the letter-writers had shown an interest in that story.
"I found one had said yes, but I had thrown it into the box with the other rejections," he said, smiling and shrugging at the memory.
It is the same kind of grounded attitude he takes to a job where he must tell family members they have lost a loved one in a car crash, one of the hardest jobs in law enforcement.
"There's a theme of faith throughout my story," Fast said, adding there's a theme of faith in his life and work as well.
"Dealing with death every day is difficult. But I fall back on my faith, knowing there's a plan and purpose."