Grand Rapids writer Christopher Tallon combines personal experiences, curiosity-driven research, and a potent imagination to create captivating stories.
Tallon is a father of four, a former local middle school teacher, an Iraq War Navy veteran, and the host of
A Podcast for Creative People. His newest book,
Sleepwalker Angel, published in February, takes place in the same fictional town as his first book,
Switchers, but you don’t need to have read the first one to enjoy it.
The story follows Natalie, an EMT who can leave her body through astral projection. She joins forces with her dead grandmother, a police officer, and even the Grim Reaper to save her cousin from a dangerous cult.
Rapid Growth caught up with Tallon for a Q&A. He talks about what inspired the book, how real people helped shape his characters, and why his Michigan roots show up in everything he writes.
Rapid Growth: Where did the idea for Sleepwalker Angel
come from?
Christopher Tallon: I got interested in astral projection after watching a YouTube channel called The Why Files. They talked about something called “the Gateway Process,” which was based on real government documents. The CIA used to study this kind of thing. That got me curious. I started reading more, watching videos, and even talking to people who said they’ve done it. You might be surprised how many people have had these experiences.
So when you read the book, the methods Natalie uses to leave her body—like the ladder or pendulum techniques—are actually based on real practices.
The story also talks about racial tension. That comes from what’s happening in the world around us, like people protesting unfair treatment or stories of racism in police departments and businesses. One of the characters in the book is a Black police officer working in a mostly white suburb. To write that part right, I talked to real police officers—even walked up to one in a parking lot once and said, “This might sound weird, but I’m a writer…”
The cult part of the story is based on real cults, like the ones started by Jim Jones, Charles Manson, and others. I also looked into cults that existed here in Michigan.
RG: Natalie is the main character in the book. How did you come up with her?
CT: I wanted Natalie to be someone who really wants to help people. That’s something I connect with. It’s why I joined the military and why I later became a teacher in Grand Rapids. I also thought about becoming an EMT. I’ve even stopped a few times to help people who were hurt– once someone had broken their ankle, and another time someone had been hit by a car. I just stayed with them and tried to keep them calm until help arrived.
But I was also very interested in Natalie’s cousin, who’s trapped in the cult. That part of the story became real thanks to a conversation with someone named Amber Borr.
She was working at a coffee shop and told me she had been in a cult. She agreed to meet with me and shared what it was really like. Her insight helped shape a lot of the story.
I also had friends who went to a church that felt kind of like a light version of a cult. When I didn’t want to be part of it, they cut me out. At first, I was hurt. But when I started learning more about cults and how people get pulled into them, I felt more empathy. I wanted to show that in the story. The book also includes a healthy church to show the difference between real faith and dangerous control.
RG: Your books take place in a made-up town called Oakesville. Why do you keep going back there?
CT: I studied English in college, and I noticed that most stories follow the same path: the main character starts somewhere normal, enters a strange or challenging place, and then comes back changed. Oakesville is the “normal” place where things begin.
It’s based on suburbs in Michigan, like the ones outside Lansing or Grand Rapids.
It’s meant to feel familiar, like any small town off the highway. That way, when the weird stuff starts happening—like cults or astral projection—it feels even stranger.
Also, I like hiding small connections between the books. If you read
Switchers, you’ll find Easter eggs in
Sleepwalker Angel. The books are separate stories, but they live in the same world. I’m not trying to write a long series, but I do enjoy building links between the stories.
RG: How have your experiences in the Navy, the classroom, and podcasting influenced your writing?
CT: Switchers is actually a little bit based on my own life. I was in the Navy and spent time in Iraq. The main character in
Switchers goes from being a kid to suddenly being in a dangerous place, where everything feels like it’s out to get him. That’s a lot like what war feels like.
In the book, he also falls for a girl who’s a healer. That happened to me—I met my wife the summer after middle school, and she’s a nurse now. The characters just want to survive and go home. I think a lot of people who served in the military feel that way.
Teaching in Grand Rapids also showed me what life is like for students who have it tough. Some of my students didn’t always have food or a safe place to live. That changed the way I see the world, and it shows up in my books.
Podcasting has helped me talk to people from all over – different places, different backgrounds. I’ve learned how to ask questions and really listen. That helps me write characters who are different from me.
RG: You’re a writer, podcaster, musician, and dad. How do you find time to write?
CT: I’m part of a writing group. We meet on weekends – or during the week if we can – just to sit together and write. It’s like going to the gym, but for your brain.
When I write alone, I usually go to a coffee shop. PaLatte (on East Fulton Street in Grand Rapids) is my go-to right now. At home, it’s pretty loud with four kids running around, so writing in a quiet spot helps.
I also write everything by hand first. I call it the “Hemingway Method,” because that’s how Ernest Hemingway worked: Write the first draft by hand; type it up and make changes; read a printed copy and edit it; retype the changes; repeat until it’s done.
I’ve learned that I have to make time for creativity. If I don’t, I get distracted and grumpy. Sometimes my wife even says, “Go write something.” There are guitars in almost every room in our house, so I try to stay creative however I can.
You can find Christopher Tallon’s books Switchers
and Sleepwalker Angel
online or at www.christophertallon.com. You can also follow him on social media @tallonwrites or listen to his podcast, A Podcast for Creative People
, to hear conversations with artists, musicians, and writers.