About the Book
Book: Jake Rogers’ Planet
Author: Philip Wilder
Genre: Christian YA Science Fiction
Release date: February, 2025
Jake is about to embark on a perilous adventure through an alien wilderness filled with hidden wonders and hazards.
While backpacking with his father, Jake Rogers discovers a mysterious portal and accidentally plunges headfirst into an alien world. Stranded on this bizarre planet, he must evade predators, adapt to the strange elements, and navigate the ever-changing landscape to return home. However, as Jake stumbles upon technologically advanced alien ruins, a chilling question arises: Are the aliens still alive?
Even on this terrifying journey, God reminds Jake of the profound verse: “Do not fear, for I am with you.”
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About the Author
Philip Wilder has been writing since the age of seven. He’s authored two nonfiction books, is a ACFW Genesis Contest finalist, and is currently a Realm Makers Aurora Contest double finalist. He’s spent two years as an undercover missionary in the Middle East, gone sky-diving, and traveled to 35 countries. Philip works with the Great Commission Alliance to train and equip believers around the world. He’s passionate about using fiction to inspire believers to live adventurous lives of faith.
More from Philip
Fear is a dangerous enemy.
At the age of 22, I felt God calling me to become a missionary in the Middle East—not for a week or a month, but a year (that eventually became two). Having never traveled outside the US or moved away from my home city of Denver, I was overwhelmed by fear. I’d be moving to a foreign land where I didn’t know a single person and doing work that wasn’t widely accepted there. I spent many sleepless nights wrestling with God’s gentle prompting.
Fear is inevitable in a Christian’s walk, but its power diminishes as we learn to lean into God and trust Him with the unknown. No matter where a believer is on their faith journey, God always guides us to step outside our comfort zones.
The inspiration for this novel came in 2016 while I was living in the Middle East. While watching The Martian, I realized that even if I were stranded on Mars, millions of miles from humanity, God would still call me to trust Him and not fear. That realization was life-changing: no matter what we face, God assures us nothing is worth fearing if we walk in joyful obedience.
Moving to the Middle East was terrifying and far from easy, but God was always present when I needed Him. In following God to take this step, I realized another beautiful truth: God knows what we need, love, and desire more than we do.
My firm belief is that God has wired each of us to love and enjoy different things because He wants to lead us down a unique path, where He desires to see the deepest parts of our hearts come alive. Walking this path is hard and full of fear. It requires letting go of dreams and trusting God will fulfill the right desires at the right time.
This is the journey Jake faces in Jake Rogers’ Planet. The fears he wrestles with are the same ones I had to navigate to declutter my mind and follow God.
I hope this book will help believers overcome their own fears and follow God. My prayer is that everyone reading this novel will be inspired by Jake’s story to take wild steps of faith to follow God on the wondrous adventure he has in store for them.
Interview with the Author
- What does success as an author look like to you?
I’ve had to wrestle with the idea of success for a long time. As the youngest of three brothers, I can closely relate to David in the Bible. For a while, I was desperate to succeed and win the attention and approval of others. Fortunately, God was always with me and helped me to see that I don’t need to find approval in others. I can be His child, and walk in His love. Though I still have to fight off lies that have followed me from my youth, I now define success as being faithful. I succeed if I walk the path God is calling me toward. This takes a ton of pressure off me, especially when it comes to publishing books; it doesn’t matter how many sales I get or what people think of it, because I’m simply doing what God calls me to do.
- Which character did you connect to best in this book?
In many ways, Jake is me. I didn’t realize it at first, but God used his growth to help me trust in him and find my hope and identity in him. I can especially relate to Jake’s desire to be seen for himself.
- What inspired this book?
During my time as a missionary in the Middle East, I often wrestled with loneliness. I missed my family, my home, and my friends. I felt so far away from them and had the nagging fear in the back of my mind that God would call me to the Middle East for the rest of my life.
After a few months of praying over this fear, I was spending the day alone with God and decided to watch The Martian. While watching it, I realized that being stranded on another planet would terrify me. It brought all these deep fears to the surface. Then, God showed me that even if I was this guy stranded on another planet. Even if I would likely never see another person and would spend the rest of my life alone. Even then, God would still call me not to fear. Beyond this, I wouldn’t need to fear. God knows everything I need and want. He knows my future. Certainly, He knows what was best for me. I can trust Him more than I can myself. So if He leads me down a path that terrifies me, I can know deep down that He’s doing something good even if I can’t see it.
This realization hit me hard, and immediately got me thinking about how I could capture this profound truth in a story.
- What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?
It’s so hard to pick one verse, but recently Psalm 30:2-3 has taken a special place in my heart: “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.”
I absolutely love the idea of God being my fortress because a fortress is only as good as it is strong. Since nothing is stronger than God, dwelling in his presence is absolute peace. This concept also emphasizes the point of continually being with God. I also love the end of this verse because it reminds us that asking God to shelter, sustain, and guide us should always be for the purpose of glorifying His name in this lost world.
- Describe your view as you’re sitting in your writing chair.
I don’t have a writing chair; I have a writing hammock. When it’s warm out, I pop some popcorn, grab my dog (and sometimes my wife and baby), and head out to a river near my house where I can be surrounded by the natural sights and sounds of the world. I hook up my hammock between two big trees, watch the birds fly, and wait for any animals to pass by. I figure there’s no better place to write a survival story.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 7
Simple Harvest Reads, March 8 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, March 9
Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 10 (Author Interview)
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, March 11
Blossoms and Blessings, March 12 (Author Interview)
The Lofty Pages, March 13
Artistic Nobody, March 14 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 15
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 16 (Spotlight)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 16
Stories By Gina, March 17 (Author Interview)
cecereadsandsings, March 17
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 18
Guild Master, March 19 (Author Interview)
Little Homeschool on the Prairie , March 20
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Philip is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card, plus a signed hardcover copy of the book, a bookmark, and a vinyl sticker!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
I enjoyed the interview.
Very interesting interview! It’s also an interesting idea for a story.