Goodreads asked Evan J. Corbin:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Evan J. Corbin I considered what would happen if an old copy of a Gospel were found and Jesus ministered to homosexuals and found no sin in the love they had for one another. How would that change society, particularly fundamentalist Christians who've long held contrary beliefs? The idea snowballed. Perhaps LGBTQ individuals would have greater standing in a society that now seeks to atone for their past transgressions. Naturally, not everyone would share the same belief. How would the LGBTQ community itself react? Would everyone in our community embrace change if it meant they would be assimilated by society and loose sacred LGBTQ spaces that defined the community? What would happen when Christian faith traditions liberalize their doctrine? Would every member of each community necessarily even benefit in the way we may expect?

Writing Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes was the perfect laboratory to explore those questions and more. The atonement camp itself is intended to socialize society’s most recalcitrant homophobes with LGBTQ individuals and our culture. At first, I thought the camp may take the form of a restorative justice model, somewhat similar to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission established at the end of apartheid. Instead, I thought it would be more appropriate to recognize that many of society’s most homophobic men are just self-hating, closeted gay individuals. This being the case, such individuals would need to atone to themselves just as much as they would to their victims.

The novel also explores religious hypocrisy. Even if Jesus never actual ministered to homosexuals, would He not still command us to love one another in the same way? Readers will hopefully not see aspects of the plot as antagonistic to the Christian faith, only challenging those who use the faith as a means to advance agendas contrary to the forgiveness, love, and redemption Christianity teaches.

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