Writing Through Moral Crisis: Drew McComb on The Minister of Justice

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What happens when the person meant to uphold justice starts questioning the system itself? Host Sreemedha talks with Drew McComb, a pastor and first-time novelist, about his newly released political espionage thriller, The Minister of Justice, and what four to five years of writing it taught him about morality, redemption, and finishing what you start.

Drew's ordinary-guy-from-Scotland protagonist gets pulled into a world of espionage and forced into a genuine crisis of conscience, a theme Drew says surprised even his author friends. This conversation moves from the mechanics of writing (screenplay-style drafts, six-month cooling-off periods, getting outside eyes on your work) to something more personal: what it means to stay with a hard, meaningful project long enough to see it through.

About the Guest:

Drew McComb is a pastor with 40 years in ministry and the host of the Morning Brew podcast. He is the author of the newly released political espionage thriller The Minister of Justice, a story spanning 20 years and multiple countries that centers on an ordinary man's crisis of conscience after becoming entangled in the world of espionage.

Key Takeaways:

A big creative project doesn't need to be autobiographical to be personal. Drew drew on people and places he genuinely knew, including living through the IRA campaigns in Britain, without writing his own life story.
Setting work aside for months can be more useful than pushing through. A trusted author friend's advice to shelve the manuscript for six months led Drew to see it, and revise it, with fresh eyes.
Getting stuck on a plot point isn't a sign to quit. Writing out several possible directions and comparing them can turn a stuck moment into a solvable puzzle.
You need other people's eyes on meaningful work. Living with a project for years can make you blind to its weak points; outside feedback, even when it's hard to hear, tends to be worth taking seriously.
Long projects reward consistency and follow-through more than raw talent. Drew credits his father's ethos: if you start something, finish it, regardless of whether it succeeds.
Environment matters for sustained creative work. Drew found he wrote best near water, and returning to a familiar, calming setting became part of his process.

Connect With the Guest:

Website: https://www.drewmccomb.com
Book: The Minister of Justice (available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble)
Facebook: Minister of Justice (book page, launching soon)
Podcast: Morning Brew

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Cold Open: When the Person Upholding Justice Questions the System (approx.) [01:00] Meet Drew McComb: Pastor, Podcaster, First-Time Novelist (approx.)

[01:25] Inside The Minister of Justice: Redemption, Morality, and Espionage (approx.) [06:00] Building Characters From Real Places and Real History (approx.)

[08:00] The Screenplay Method and the Six-Month Cooling-Off Period (approx.)

[13:30] Getting Stuck, and Writing Your Way Out of It (approx.)

[15:00] Why You Need Other Eyes on Your Work (approx.)

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