C. Kevin Thompson's Blog, page 9

Kevin's a Guest on the Lena Nelson Dooley Show - Along Came a Writer Network - Blog Talk Radio

If you missed the interview Kevin did with Lena on critique groups as well as talking about his latest upcoming release in his Blake Meyer Thriller series, When the Clock Strikes Fourteen (Book 4), then click on the link below and you can
catch the 30-minute interview in it's entirety!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/alongcameawriter/2019/03/19/the-lena-nelson-dooley-show
Thanks for stopping by!
Kevin
www.ckevinthompson.com

Author Behind the Story - Donn Taylor

It's that time of year...

Birds chirping. Bees buzzing. Warm wind blowing. And Christian writing conferences blossoming all around.

For those fortunate enough to attend this year, make sure you take full advantage of all the offers, contacts, and knowledge you gain in those few short days. You'll be the better writer for it.

Speaking of writers who are making the most of it, I want you to welcome my next guest on the Florida front porch. Please, pull up a chair, and welcome Donn Taylor!

Welcome, Donn! For those who don't know you (yet), in fifty words or less, tell them who Donn Taylor is?  
I grew up in small-town America, completed an Army career (Infantry in the Korean War, Army Aviation in Vietnam), earned a PhD in English literature and taught it for eighteen years. Afterward, I wrote poetry and novels, and taught poetry writing at writers’ conferences. At age 89, I’m still writing.
Okay, so you just described the life I want to live when I grow up. Wow. (And thank you for your service!) 

Before you ever got a notion of becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your life?
That was 1947. I was 17 and in my second year of college. I’d entered as a music major with a wild ambition to become a concert pianist. I loved the emotional expression of music, and I’d written several piano pieces and songs. But I also ran track—in my two years of college track I never lost a two mile—and that gave me the only place I could compete with the returning WW II veterans. So there was a conflict between track and piano, and there was a further conflict while I figured out what to do about Christianity. I kept asking for a call, but no call came. (It never did. I only got open doors or closed doors. That is the way God has directed my life.)

In that year, though, the emotion of music ceased to be enough. There had to be something beyond it. Track did not pall, but I always knew it couldn’t be the centerpiece of my life. But in that year of confusion I discovered literature: challenging ideas expressed in beautiful language, still with plenty of emotion. The romantic poets, of course, appropriate for my age. I thought I’d like to write things like that.

So I tried. I wrote some bad short stories and worse poetry. It hadn’t occurred to me that both prose and poetry had techniques that must be learned. So I floundered. I’d write a good line now and then, but the following lines would be clunkers.

These inner conflicts got interrupted, unresolved, in the summer of 1948. The Cold War heated up. Congress renewed the draft. To avoid being drafted for 19 months’ service, I enlisted for 12 with a reserve contract. So everything went on hold. Upon my discharge, I emerged into a different world.
Are you married? Single? Have kids?
Mildred and I were married for 61 years, seven months, and four days before the Lord promoted her to heaven. We fell in love while snowbound in a small town in Northeast Mississippi. When the snow melted (no help from us), we were engaged. We were married as soon as I finished college and was commissioned in the Army. She was the perfect wife through my twenty years of Army, several years of graduate school, and eighteen years as a professor. After retirement, we found a place in the Texas woods and enjoyed what we’d always wanted: unlimited time together. Our lifetime love story is told in a Valentine’s Day post at  bit.ly/1F2bGWh


We claim that our four grown children and their spouses have it all covered: There’s an engineer to build it, a CPA to cost it, three lawyers for the legal implications, an Air Force officer to defend it, and a liberal arts major to tell what it means.

We also have eight grandchildren, and the current count of great-grandchildren stands at four.
I’m going to give you a shotgun list of favorites. List your favorite in each category and then tell us in one sentence why it is your favorite.
Favorite Song of All-Time: “Skylark.” Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael threw off the usual restraints and wrote something beautiful on its own terms.Favorite Non-Fiction Book (other than your own & besides the Bible): Mark Moyar: Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War 1954-1965. Moyar’s meticulous scholarship, including use of Communist sources, replaces journalists’ politicized versions of the war with genuine history.Favorite Bible Verse: John 11:25. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” It has given me comfort and reassurance in the five years since the Lord promoted Mildred.Favorite Movie: My Man Godfrey (1936). Screen writer Morrie Ryskind at his irrepressible best. Favorite Actor or Actress: Eleanor Parker. She played an unusual variety of parts, all well, and she could sprint like a male. Favorite TV Show: “Maverick.” It is an excellent blend of drama and humor made lively by James Garner’s acting.Favorite Novel (other than your own): Gavin Lyall: The Wrong Side of the Sky. It has good suspense, and its flights are in the Mediterranean area where my pilots were flying.Favorite Author (other than you): John Milton. His work has grandeur of thought and poetry that has never been equaled.Favorite Sport: Basketball. I loved the intricacy of it, and I kept playing it until age 56, when my shoulders quit on me.Favorite Team (Can be any sport, any level): Football by The University of Texas Longhorns. They are well coached and perform well—especially in the national championship years. Favorite Subject in School Growing Up: Latin, I guess. I was fascinated by its grammatical patterns.Favorite Subject Now: Renaissance literature. At its best it has a breadth and depth that have not been equaled since.Favorite Teacher in School: Professor Norman Farmer at The University of Texas. Always helpful, he guided me into a deeper understanding of literature and supervised my doctoral dissertation.Favorite Time of the Year: Winter. It’s my most memorable because Mildred and I fell in love while we were snowbound.Favorite Place to Vacation: Heidelberg, Germany. I love the music, the wines, and the unique spirit.Favorite Food: Filet Mignon at the Longhorn Steak House. The steak is so good that you award the cow a posthumous decoration.Favorite Drink: Merlot (red wine). It’s the perfect complement to a good Filet Mignon.

Do you have a favorite line from a movie or book? If so, what is it and explain why it is special to you?
From a bit player in His Girl Friday (1940): “She ain’t no albino. She was born right here in the USA.” Screenwriters of the classic movies gratified their audiences with sudden and unexpected laughs in the midst of serious stories. I learned this trick from them and use it in my suspense novels.
Of all the stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled you to write this story?
It’s a hard choice, but I guess it’s my historical novel Lightning on a Quiet Night.  It’s set in 1948 in Northeast Mississippi, where Mildred grew up and where I lived for several years. She and I researched it together in the Tupelo, MS, public library and the state archives in Jackson.

We also believed that the ordinary citizens of Mississippi had rarely been treated fairly in fiction. So I wrote about them as we had known them--well-intentioned, practical small-town grocers, bankers, garage owners, and farmers who made up most of the state’s population. They were people content to make an honest living for their families and make their corner of the world a little bit better than they found it.

But they were not without the vices common to mankind. That combination let me portray greater depth and complexity of character than the suspense or mystery genres do. The result: “A town too proud of its own virtues has to deal with its first murder.” Which people in the town adjust to the newfound knowledge of evil? Which cling to the old self-image in spite of that knowledge? How do church-going people respond to the new conditions? How well are returned WW II veterans re-integrating themselves into the community? How do people contend with their own personal problems while this shadow hangs over the town? Are there old loyalties now brought into conflict? Questions like these allowed me to write directly about faith and Christian experiencewhile remaining true to the tone and pace of the community.
I must have done okay, for the novel was a finalist for the Selah Awards, and Publishers Weekly wrote, “Taylor’s powerful historical romance is filled with passion and heart, spiced with mystery and
a keen understanding of the human condition.”
Small world, isn't it? I went to seminary in Jackson. Preached in several rural churches in the small towns around the state. You're right. They are cloistered in many ways. 

So, tell us about what project you are currently working on.
I’m in the early stages of a fourth book in the Preston Barclay Mystery Series. This one gives Professor Barclay a different kind of problem in a different setting. In the first two books of the series he is on his home campus. In the third he is visiting the state university. This time he is vacationing at a small, remote resort in the mountains. The main writing problem is to see how his personality and methods change in this different environment. The working title is Murder at Rest.   
Knowing what you know now about writing, publishing, etc., what piece of advice would you give to the person thinking about writing that novel they have always wanted to pursue since they were young, or the person who believes they have a non-fiction book in them that would be helpful to others?
I would begin by telling the aspiring writer to sit down and start writing because he’ll never get anything written if he doesn’t. That done, though, I would tell him to accept the fact that becoming proficient will take a lot longer than he thinks. Writing is a skill like playing piano or basketball. You don’t become proficient in either without learning techniques and practicing their use. Michael Jordan was not a champion the first time he walked onto the court. He became one through diligent learning and practice. It’s the same in writing: you have to learn techniques and practice them before you become proficient. For the techniques, study a good reference like James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure. Then write, write, write, incorporating those techniques into your work.

One other encouragement: I was already proficient in technical writing and scholarly writing when I began to write fiction. But it took me more than a year of study and practice to learn to write acceptable fiction.

It takes work, but you can get it done if you stay with it.
Isn't that true of anything worth doing? I tell that to the students I deal with day in and day out. Worthwhile endeavors never come easy or quick. 

How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Let’s start with sources. I use books of names, of course, but for variety I also save a monthly magazine’s “In Memoriam” pages. For foreign names, I use foreign language dictionaries, e.g., Italian, French, German, and Latin. This doesn’t mean I know those languages. It just means I’m willing to dig.

But the fun is finding names to indicate the character of people and places. English literature is filled with suggestive names. Who can forget Shakespeare’s Doll Tearsheet or Sheridan’s Benjamin Backbite?

I do try to reveal character, but less obviously. In The Lazarus File, the hero is surnamed Daniel (God is my judge). The Cuban revolutionary is Tizon (firebrand) and a jealous, usurping younger brother is Ignacio (Burning). The mature heroine is Sol Agueda de Roca (Sunlight, sublime, strength like a rock). Places too, when the name can add something: The hometown of one villain is Malavispa (mal = evil, avispa = wasp). The elaborate hoax played on another villain occurs in the Bar Arenque Roja (Red Herring Bar). The sexy temptress says her home is Miraje (Mirage).

For the small country town in Lightning on a Quiet Night, the ordinary characters have ordinary names: Jack Davis, Hollis Wilson, Jimmy Fletcher—but some with local flavor (Precious Pendleton) or a suggestion of the town’s Christian heritage (Shiloh Simpson, Jacob Weaver). However, the town gossip is Mrs. Telebit.

The Preston Barclay mysteries, set on college campuses, required a different approach. The faculty needed names suggesting a certain dignity: Lincoln Sheldon, Robert Harkins. But a comic character is named Dean Billig (Billig = cheap). When he is made dean of the college he becomes Dean Dean Billig, or Dean-Dean.

I don’t expect readers to follow all of these names. But they say they enjoy them, and that’s good enough for me.

If you had one person you could meet (think outside the Bible here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be?
I actually can only get it down to two. The first would be Dante Alighieri (c. A.D. 1265-1321). I would ask about some of the obscure allegorical references in The Divine Comedy (e.g., the Greyhound). The other would be the British naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars, Horatio Hornblower (c. 1778-1858). I would ask how he rescued the Maltese slaves from the African despot without paying a cent or firing a shot.
If you had one person you could meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
John the Apostle. He could probably tell me more about Jesus than any other biblical character, and he would add a theological dimension to the narrative. 
We know “Readers are leaders, and leaders are readers.” Is there a book you’ve read in the past five years or so that has helped you become a better you? If so, which one was it, and how did it affect your life?
Yes. It is C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. I’d read it years before, but our church asked me to teach it to a couples’ class. It reinforced (once again) my perception of Christianity as the only viable philosophy of life, and it moved on into practical problems of Christian living. Pretty much by osmosis, I found myself thinking and living in the terms that Lewis lays out in that work. I’m still thinking and living that way.
Funny you should mention that book. It's the one I quote and use as the basis for my Blake Meyer Thriller Series. The quote about no being able to find peace apart from God because it is not there? Awesome words, they are.

What Bible scripture has impacted your life the most, and why?
I can’t tie this down to a single series of verses. So I have to cite the two books of Ecclesiastes and Hebrews, taken together and including the tone of each. In a tone of resignation, Ecclesiastes describes the drab quality of life “under the sun” and the limited satisfactions it affords. Despite its mentions of God, its vision of time is merely cyclic—repeated cycles of life and death with no particular destination for mankind: “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever” (Eccl. 1:4). But the tone of Hebrews is one of triumph. Its view encompasses this life “under the sun” but extends beyond it into the heavens. The view of time is not cyclic, but linear: Generations from the Beginning lead up to the life and crucifixion of Christ, and through His resurrection into a glorious future. “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels . . . (Heb. 12:22) To me, the two books contrast the colorless life without knowledge of Christ to a life in which the knowledge of Christ transforms the drab world into technicolor and the expectancy of a joyous completion in heaven.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?
Ever since I can remember, some kind of music has been playing in my head. Usually it’s something I’ve heard, sometimes pop and sometimes classical. Yesterday the pop was a Tommy Dorsey recording, “Song of India,” and the classical was Strauss’s overture to die Fledermaus. And sometimes it’s music I’ve never heard. This experience and a New York Times article on musical hallucinations gave me the idea for the central character in the Preston Barclay Mystery Series. I hasten to say, however, that everything else about Professor Barclay is fictional. 
Is Preston any relation to William? Just wondering. :-)

Donn, it's been a pleasure. You're knowledge of literature comes through loud and clear. 

For those of you who wish to get to know Donn more, his sites are listed below:
Donn's page on Amazon, offering all of his books, is https://amzn.to/2TddBsm Facebook at www.facebook.com/donntaylor and www.facebook.com/authordonntaylor Twitter: www.twitter.com/donntaylor3 (He admits he doesn't tweet much, but it's here nevertheless.)Donna also has a blog describing the action of God in his life titled A Quiet Assurance, and it can be found here: https://bit.ly/2R4jSRd 
Donn's website is www.donntaylor.com
Thanks to everyone for stopping by! 

Until next time, may God bless America, and may America bless God!

Kevin
www.ckevinthompson.com 

May This Blog Haunt You Pleasantly - Part 2 (A Seriously Write blog)

In last month’s Part 1 of “May This Blog Haunt You Pleasantly,” I stated how important it is for writers to read about other writers. Whether they were trailblazers or path-wideners, each writer has his or her own story. Being as human as we are, those stories paint for us pictures of triumph and tragedy…two things from which we can learn. 
As I read Les Standiford’s The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits over the holidays, there were some things that jumped off the page for me, and I thought I’d share them here at Seriously Write.
Last time, we looked at Gleaning #1, which was:
Authors have always wished to get their works in as many readers’ hands as possible, sometimes at the chagrin of their publishers  (if they are traditionally published) or themselves (if they are independently published).  And if not handled properly, it can become an all-consuming fire.
One little tidbit I didn’t mention at the end of last month’s post was how all-consuming that fire had become for Dickens. By the 1850s, his relationship with his wife Catherine had become so estranged, they divorced after twenty-two years of marriage and ten children. Rumors tossed about suggested Charles had been involved in “an illicit affair” (is there really any other type when married?) with a younger woman. Dickens took such offense that he used the front page of his then current magazine, Household Words, to argue to the contrary. 1
As much as this writing life can become a soul-wrenching conflagration on a personal level, this passion we often champion at writers conferences can worm its way into the writer’s business relationships as well, which leads us our next point of interest:
Gleaning #2: The constant tension between authors and publishers will always be a constant. So, get used to it.

For the remainder of the article, click HERE!

______________________________

1 Standiford, Les. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Broadway Books; New York, NY, 2017. pp. 210-211.

The Author Behind the Story - Donna L. H. Smith

Snow is falling in Hawaii. Schoolchildren in Michigan, I'm told, have lost in upwards of sixteen days of school because of the frigid temperatures and dangerous driving conditions. Cars are piling up on the freeways in Wisconsin. It would seem global warming is definitely a myth.

Yet, it's 80 degrees and above here. I was sweating today. Mid-summer, in June, sun beating down kind of perspiring. We truly live in a wacky world these days. 
However, there's nothing wacky about our next guest. So, without further reports of treacherous conditions, please welcome Donna L. H. Smith!
Donna, give us a quick picture of yourself. In fifty words or less, who is Donna L. H. Smith? 
Hi, I’m Donna L.H. Smith, and I write inspirational historical romance western with a touch of the supernatural in my stories. I’m originally from Kansas, but I live in Pennsylvania now. 
Ohhh, you probably like Punxsutawney Phil this year, eh? 

Has your writing crossed over into other areas? If so, how? If not, will it?
Oooh, well I’ve had people tell me that I should make Meghan’s Choice into a screenplay. I think I would love that. What you don’t know is that I was a broadcast major (TV, radio, film) in college. I wrote a script for a class midterm that got an A++ — so I think I could have been a good screenplay writer. It just didn’t work out that way.
And, it’s entirely possible that I may write a non-fiction book about rejection issues and how to be healed and delivered from them, that would coincide with those retreats I want to hold.
(I don’t have time to retire. I’m just getting started. I’ve been waiting my whole life for right now.)
Before you ever got a notion of becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your life?
I never had a notion of becoming a writer until I was in college at ORU in the 70s. I was a broadcast major, and for a midterm, we were to write a script for an existing half-hour series. I wrote a M*A*S*H script and got an A++. I’ve been everything from a secretary and word processor, to a marketing assistant/coordinator/consultant for engineering firms, to a certified balloon artist (decorating for special events), to a radio reporter, etc. 
Radio Reporter? Like Les Nessman? WKRP? 
Are you married? Single? Have kids?
Married, no children. Dog and my Mother for an 11-year overlapping period. That was enough.
Do you have a favorite line from a movie or book? If so, what is it and explain why it is special to you?
“If we don’t try, we don’t do, and if we don’t do—why are we here on this earth?” Jimmy Stewart in “Shenandoah.”
Sounds a little like Yoda. "Do or do not. There is no try." Hmmm?
Besides storytelling, what talents do you have?
I’m musical and can play (if I were in practice) four instruments: piano (which is the only one I’m in practice on right now), flute, clarinet, and guitar.
I also used to make organic chocolate truffles and sold them on the Internet some years ago.
I found out as an adult I could actually be fairly decent at crafts. My mother wasn’t at all, so I grew up not really knowing how to do much.
Do you have a crazy, interesting, behind-the-scenes story about the publishing world you’d like to tell your readers without boring them to death with industry gobbledygook?
Well…at one conference, I did run into the keynote speaker (without knowing who he was) in the elevator and struck up a conversation with him, that went like this:
He was wearing a Christian Coalition T-shirt. “Hi, are you here for the writer’s conference.” He said, “Yes.” I said, “So am I.” We got to a floor and the elevator doors open. He gestured for me to precede him. I said, “I think this is your floor.” He smiled and exited. A little later, I discovered who he was, and I felt really silly. (Randy Alcorn at ACFW 2017). 
Tell us about what project you are currently working on.
I’m currently working on my third novel in the Known by Heart series, Hannah’s Hope. It will be the third installment in this series set in 1871 Kansas.
I’m a pantser who needs to know where her story is going to end up, but how it gets there is great fun! I never know what’s going to come out in a scene.
What surprised you the most during the research for the book you are currently working on?
Most of the research was done before I wrote the first book, Meghan’s Choice, but I did find that
something I was putting in this story actually happened. That’s what fun for me. Finding an obscure fact of history and putting it in my story.
There was competition between millers, and some people’s mills got torched to eliminate rivalries and ensure the success of one mill over another. So, I’m putting that in there. I found that fascinating.
I hope none of our readers' last names are Miller... Makes things a little awkward. Everybody will be wondering if their ancestors were guilty of such things. :-/
Knowing what you know now about writing, publishing, etc., what piece of advice would you give to the person thinking about writing that novel they have always wanted to pursue since they were young, or the person who believes they have a non-fiction book in them that would be helpful to others?
Write it. Get into a writer’s fellowship. Learn the craft. Decide to persevere, because you never know what God’s going to do.
Boy, I needed that. "You never know what God's going to do." Amen!
If you had one person you could meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
Deborah. How’d she do it? How did Lapidoth allow her in that time period to be a prophetess, judge, and warrior? How did she get that favor to be Israel’s only female judge? I just love her.
What’s the craziest thing you have ever done?
I’ve kissed the Blarney Stone. You have to lean over backwards, then grab the railing. It was interesting, and very unsanitary now that I think about it. Millions have probably kissed that thing. Ew.
Why do you live where you live?
I was born and raised in Kansas, but I live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I came because I did a voluntary service term, then stayed. When I was young, I always fancied myself living in the East, because you had so many different big cities to choose to visit: Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, NYC, etc.
The only big city close by (within an half hour of where I grew up) was Wichita. Kansas City. It was at least three hours away. Oklahoma City about the same. Tulsa was four hours away, etc.
When you look for a new car, what are the things that are important to you?
Funny thing. We just got a new car (for us) last fall. The number one thing: it had to be a Prius, it had to be no more than three years old, and of course, have “everything.” It didn’t matter this time, what color it was. We ended up with a silver 2015 Prius C hatchback, and we love it!
When you are looking for a book to read, what are the things that are important to you?
I read and write in historical romance western. I look for the romance, I look for exciting plot, and interesting characters and situations. I especially look for as much trouble as possible in that back-cover blurb. How much difficulty, especially danger, will those characters be in?
Beyond westerns, I love romantic suspense. Same thing here: the danger. And what must the characters overcome?
Covers are good, but the blurb is what will really draw me in. I’m rarely disappointed.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?
My second novel, Rose’s Redemption, was just released late last fall. Pre-published, it won two first place finishes at the Advanced Novelist Retreat contests in 2017. Meghan’s Choice, my debut novel, made the Selah Award and the Will Rogers Medallion Award finals last year after publication.
I am a member of ACFW and AWSA Protégé. I serve as managing editor of Almost an Author and as ACFW Mid-Atlantic zone director.
Donna, it's been a pleasure! We wish you well on your writing endeavors!

And readers, if you're looking to find out more about Donna, here are some places you can go to do just that!
WEBSITE: http://donnalhsmith.comand www.almostanauthor.comFACEBOOK: Donna L.H. Smith––Stories Are My Passion and Almost an AuthorTWITTER: @donnalhsmith and @a3writersPINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/dlhs8954/the-world-of-meghans-choice/https://www.pinterest.com/dlhs8954/the-world-of-roses-redemption/
AMAZON LINKS to Meghan’s ChoiceKindle version: http://amzn.to/2ngei4nPaperback: http://amzn.to/2ngeDUHRose’s Redemption link: https://www.amazon.com/Roses-Redemption-Known-Heart-Book-ebook/dp/B07KJNLTW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549320129&sr=1-1&keywords=rose%27s+redemption  

Until next time, may God bless America, and may America bless God!

Kevin
https://www.ckevinthompson.com

May This Blog Haunt You Pleasantly - Part 1 (A Seriously Write Blog)

One of the things all authors do regularly is read about the craft. How to write, what to write, what makes exceptional writing, what doesn’t…all the nuances, opinions, debates, professional advice, and sometimes contradictory “rules” out there can make a writer’s head swim.

Especially if you’re a new author.
I am convinced, however, that if new writers wish to “get their minds right,” they should be reading about famous authors, for it may be just as important, if not more so, than reading what other authors have written—especially when seeking insight into “how” stories come to be.
I did just this very exercise over the holidays, reading Les Standiford’s The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. There were a few things I pulled from the pages that have inspired me. In the next three months, I will bring three major “gleanings,” if you will, that arose from those pages and have relevance for us all.
Gleaning #1: Authors have always wished to get their works in as many readers’ hands as possible, sometimes at the chagrin of their publishers (if they are traditionally published) or themselves (if they are independently published). And if not handled properly, it can become an all-consuming fire.

For the remainder of the blog, click HERE!

The Author Behind the Story - Cindy Ervin Huff

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope your new year has been treating you well, and your Christmas season was a joyful one. It seems these events get closer and closer together until one is over and...Poof!...365 days have flown by, and we're celebrating another!

As we move ahead, it's always good to get to know somebody new. As it's been said before, enemies are easy to make, but friends are hard to come by, and you can never surround yourself with enough of them. So, in that spirit, I welcome Cindy Ervin Huff to our Author Behind the Story series!

Cindy, to jump start our conversation, give us a quick bio. In fifty words or less, who is Cindy Ervin Huff? 

Cindy Ervin Huff is a multi-published freelance writer who loves to bring her imaginary characters to life. She's a mentor for Word Weavers International and founding member of the Aurora, Illinois chapter. Her award-winning Historical Romance, Secrets and Charades, debuted in 2017, and her contemporary romance, New Duet, came out in 2018.

Being a founding member of two Word Weaver groups, I know all about helping get projects like that off the ground. And being a Word Weaver is a great boost and help, isn't it? What educational background do you have?

I graduated from Marion High School and then got married. This was not uncommon in the seventies. Lack of a college education didn’t stop me from writing for publication. I took Jerry Jenkins’ Writing for the Soul online courses, have a library of writing craft books, and attend a yearly writer’s conference. I am constantly learning and have yet to graduate from the writing school of life.

Who has? Do we ever graduate from that school? Are you married? Single? Have kids?
I met my soulmate Charley 45 and a half years ago. We dated a few months and married after I graduated from high school. We have five adult children and six grandchildren. I’ll soon have two step-grandchildren added to the mix. I’m a home-school veteran. I began back in the 1980's when everyone asked if could get arrested for teaching my kids at home. I soldiered on for fifteen years. My youngest attendeda Christian school for a few years due to his learning disability. My two daughters experienced public school to complete their education. We were the minority white family in our neighbor. My children learned a lot about other cultures. 
When the words aren’t flowing, what is your favorite comfort food and why? 
Chocolate - always chocolate. Women reading this will need no explanation.

The Author Behind the Story - Dan Walsh

We are less than two weeks away from Christmas. Seems like Christmas was just about two weeks ago. They say time flies when you are having fun. I'm finding as I get older, time flies if you're having fun or not.

We are in the Christmas season...my favorite time of year, and in the words of Tiny Tim, "It is the best time of the year!" So, who better to showcase this month than a dear friend, fellow author, and Christmas novel guru, Dan Walsh!

Dan, welcome to my Author Behind the Story series! Give us a quick bio. In fifty words or less, who is Dan Walsh? 


I’m first off, a committed follower of Christ, married to the only woman I’ve ever loved for 42 years. 2 kids, 4 grandkids, 2 Dogs. I was a full-time pastor for 25 years then began writing full-time in 2010. I have 20 novels published. Love what I do.
Before you ever got a notion of becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your life?

I knew I wanted to write novels from the 11th grade. But I experienced a radical conversion to Christ in my senior year. Life took me in a different direction (called to become a pastor at 19), but I never left my love of fiction. In 2008, more as a hobby idea, I took up fiction writing with a Christmas novel. After submitting The Unfinished Gift to a few agents for publishing, one of them instantly signed me and had a book deal with a major publisher within 2 months. My writing career kind of took off after that. That book went on to win some major awards and led to more writing contracts. After my 3rd book, my publisher made me a deal I couldn’t refuse, and I left pastoring to write full-time. This year I released my 20th novel.

I’m going to give you a shotgun list of favorites. List your favorite in each category and then tell us in one sentence why it is your favorite.
Favorite Song of All-Time: You Are So Beautiful (I always think of Cindi)Favorite Non-Fiction Book (other than your own & besides the Bible): There’s a tie with at least 2 books about WW2.Favorite Bible Verse: Isaiah 26:3 “Thou will keep him in Perfect Peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.”Favorite Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life (watch it every Christmas)Favorite Actor or Actress: Jimmy StewartFavorite TV Show: Treasure of Oak Island (a sucker for buried treasure adventures)Favorite Novel (other than your own): Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (a perfect book to me).Favorite Author (other than you): Probably Jeff Shaara (written some amazing history novels)Favorite Sport: Oddly MMA (like UFC). I know I shouldn’t like this.Favorite Team (Can be any sport, any level): Sadly, I’ve long since shed having favorite teams (too many spoiled millionaires with bad attitudes). (Agreed)Favorite Subject in School Growing Up: Creative WritingFavorite Subject Now: HistoryFavorite Teacher in School: Mrs. Longnecker (Creative Writing teacher in 11thgrade)Favorite Time of the Year: Christmas, hands downFavorite Place to Vacation: Charleston, SC (we’ve probably visited this city 20 times).Favorite Drink: Egg NogFavorite Food: Pizza (though I love the occasional grilled steak, medium rare. (My kind of guy...my two favorites as well, although I like my steak medium well with a bit of a char on it)

If your life was a story, and you were the lead character, what kind of role would you play?

I would be the best friend of the great looking leading man, who winds up getting the best girl in the movie, because she realizes what she really wants is a relationship with a guy she can grow old with, who actually has some depth. And besides, he’s not terrible looking.
Besides storytelling, what talents do you have?
I’m pretty good at a lot of things, but seem to only excel at writing. I am (or was) pretty good at basketball, surfing, golf, graphic arts, public speaking and singing (not a half-bad crooner).
Besides the usual things authors face, has there been an unusual event that changed your perspective about being an author?
Yes. After serving faithfully at the same church for 25 years, a young man I had been training to take over for me in a few years came up with a scheme to get rid of me, pulled a coup after his scheme was complete and sprung it on me. We were heartbroken over this betrayal, but I wound up choosing to resign quietly rather than fight his corrupt ambition (which would destroy the church). Fortunately, around the same time my publisher was almost begging me to write full-time (and willing to pay enough for us to live on). Suddenly, God had made a “river in the desert.” We now look back at all this as mostly a good thing (“What men meant for evil, God meant for good”). I LOVE what I do now and, really, have never regretted the decision to start writing full-time. Had this terrible thing not happened, I’m not sure I’d have ever left the ministry and would have missed out on all the fascinating things that have happened since.
And we wonder why people are leaving the church...But God is bigger than all that, as your story has proven.
Do you have a crazy, interesting, behind-the-scenes story about the publishing world you’d like to tell your readers without boring them to death with industry gobbledygook?
Maybe it’s this…I’m surprised at how often when authors/writers are depicted on TV or in movies, they’re almost always wealthy beyond measure. They are ALL full-time, treated like big-time celebrities, have book signings with long lines of people, own beautiful cabins where they write on a lake or river. To my great shock, after getting my first publishing contract (with a big name Christian publisher), I couldn’t believe how small the advance was. My agent said it was actually pretty high for a first novel. People in my church kept asking, “So when are you going to buy that yacht.” I’d tell them, the truth is, we didn’t get near enough to buy a yacht or even a small boat. Really, just enough to remodel our kitchen (with us doing half the work). Readers have no idea that these “TV/Movie Authors” only represent about 1% of all published authors. 95% don’t earn near enough to write full-time.
Now you tell me...Could have used this information about ten years ago. I was hoping for The Muppets' "Right and Famous" contract. Ha! 
What’s the craziest thing you have ever done?
Truthfully, I am nothing like some of the brave, courageous characters I write about. I wouldn’t do MOST of the crazy/scary/dangerous things they do. For example, I LOVED surfing when I was young. But I’d never go out in some of these crazy big way locations myself. On a trip to Italy in 1998, we were on the autobahn (highway) in a car that could easily go 120-130 mph (and we wouldn’t get a ticket). The fastest I felt comfortable driving was 100 mph. But if I have to choose something (and I’m not proud of this), in high school before I got saved, on a drunken dare I went streaking on the beach at night (streaking was a big thing back then).
I suppose Ray Stevens would have been proud (Boogety-boogety). :-) However, for me, I'm having trouble with the mental pictures (as he shakes his head like an Etch-a-Sketch).
Of all the stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled you to write this story?
It’s a toss-up between my first The Unfinished Gift and my fifth, The Reunion. But I also seriously love at least 4-5 more almost as much. I wrote the first book because this wonderful idea for a story came to me one Christmas (just days after once again watching It’s a Wonderful Life and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol). I wanted to write a story that at least had the potential of affecting people the way those Christmas stories affected me. I think I achieved that with The Unfinished Gift. With The Reunion, I knew I was writing a very special story almost from the first page. I even cried numerous times while writing and re-writing it (but a good cry). It’s a book that seriously honors military vets (especially Viet Nam vets) and is a great family reconciliation story.
All of those are awesome books. As a writer, if you had one thing you would do over again, what would it be?
I would have left my publisher in 2012, not 2014 (when I did) to write full-time as an indie author. I had thought about it, but was afraid to make the leap. I almost had to make the leap in 2014, and after I realized, it opened up some wonderful doors (even financially), and I quickly regretted not doing this sooner. And…I’d go back to those early contracts with my agent and publisher and insist we get the e-book rights back to each book within 5 years.
Tell us about what project you are currently working on.
I’m writing what will become Book 1 of a new suspense series, something of a spinoff from my very successful Jack Turner Suspense Series (which has 4 books). This book, If These Walls Could Talk, could almost be Book 5 of the other series. Has many of the same characters and style and even located in the same location (mostly). But in this new series, we will more heavily feature Sgt. Joe Boyd, the homicide detective in the first 4 books. He’s been assigned to create a Cold Case Squad in the Culpepper PD. Jack Turner (and his wife, Rachel) will be helping him solve a case from 1964 (rather than Joe helping Jack, who was the main character in the first series). I’m about 20,000 words into it and hope to release it mid-March 2019.
Sounds interesting, not to mention an interesting twist on the main characters. 
Tell us about your writing day. How do you go about writing?
I usually write 5 days a week. Get up around 7-8 a.m. Start work about 9 a.m. I mostly do non-creative writing tasks and marketing stuff till around 12:30. Then I take a short break and shift gears to writing the next chapter in my book. My goal each afternoon is to create one “keeper chapter” a day.
If you had one person you could meet (think outside the Bible here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be?
Maybe it would be Major Dick Winters, the true life WW2 hero of the Band of Brother series. Loved that series and read several books about him. What a fascinating guy. Don’t make them like him anymore.
If you had one person you could meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
Either David or Paul. Probably Paul. I’ve always loved the epistles he’s written and what is said about him in Acts. In some ways, I relate more to him than the other apostles, because he wasn’t there during the 3 years of Christ’s ministry. His whole walk with the Lord, like mine, was dependent on the Holy Spirit and he accomplished so much, and suffered so much, for no other reason than being faithful. I’d want to ask him dozens of questions about his walk with the Lord (and what he meant by a dozen things he didn’t elaborate on in his writings).
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?
Hmmm, not sure. Maybe it’s this…if you love to read, DON’T just buy discounted or Free books. I get why they’re popular. But if that’s ALL you ever buy, you are literally dooming the authors you love from being able to keep writing the books that you love. The Bible says “a workman is worthy of his wage.” It takes me, for example, about 5 months to write a book, edit it and get it ready to release. I can only do this because MOST readers are willing to pay $3.99 to $4.99 per book. Authors and publishers offer books for Free (or 99 cents) as a way of introducing readers to authors new to them. If lots of readers ONLY read books at these discounted prices, very simply, the best authors will have to stop writing and do something else to pay their bills.
I'm thinking of the Ghost of Christmas Past here: Truth Lives! Thanks for that piece of advice. Isn't it sad that we (and I'm included in this) are willing to pay places like Starbucks three, four, five dollars and more for a cup of coffee or specialty drink, yet to pay that much for a book is somehow considered highway robbery because "once I've read it, I'll just give it away, or it will just sit on my shelf." (Compared to what happens to the Starbucks coffee after you're done with it, isn't a book a better deal????)
Dan, it has been a pleasure having you on my Author Behind the Story Series! We wish you the best on your writing endeavors. And keep us updated in the comments section on how your book being turned into a screenplay is coming along (I won't spill the beans here!).
Also, Dan, is readers wish to connect with you and your writing, how best can they do that?
Readers can connect with me the best by going to my website homepage. From there you can sign up for my newsletter, or look toward the bottom for Buttons that will take you to my Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads pages. That link is www.danwalshbooks.com . If you want to check out my books, click on the Books tab on the Homepage.

Also, here are the Amazon links to my two Christmas novels pictured above:

Keeping Christmas - https://amzn.to/2ovEhCQ

Remembering Christmas - https://amzn.to/2wAzOT4

Oh, and one more thing. My book, Unintended Consequences, is free today and tomorrow (Dec. 12-13) on Kindle as part of a holiday giveaway! So, don't miss out on grabbing Book 3 of my Jack Turner suspense series.
Awesome! 
Until next time, Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year! 
Kevin
www.ckevinthompson.com

It's Never Too Late (A Seriously Write Blog)

I just celebrated another birthday. I have to admit that as I check more of those boxes, the realization of having more behind me than before is an ever-present thought.
Enter Stanley Martin Lieber, better known as Stan Lee. Unless you have spent the last few weeks climbing K2, then you have probably heard about the founder of Marvel Comics/Marvel Studios passing away at the age of ninety-five.
Born in 1922 to immigrant Romanian parents, Lee spent his twenty-something years stateside, writing training manuals for the Army Signal Corps during World War II. In his free time, he moonlighted as a comics writer. It would be another seventeen or so years before Lee’s first comic book hit, The Fantastic Four, took center stage. Followed by The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman in 1962, Marvel Comics was well on its way to rival competitor DC Comics for the hearts and minds of “kids” worldwide.
Live action versions of these series didn’t hit televisions until the CBS series, The Incredible Hulk, starring Bill Bixby, appeared in 1978.
The movie versions didn’t appear until May 3, 2002, with the first being the version of Spiderman with Toby Maguire. Since then, Marvel Studios has amassed in upwards of fifty billion dollars worldwide from all of the films since that time.
What’s the point?


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Eternal Chances (A Seriously Write Blog)

I recently read an article about the movie Gosnell. It seems Hollywood—and the theater companies who are married to the driving forces behind Hollywood—have an issue when someone makes a movie about the truth…especially when the writers shine a light into the darkness and expose the ugliness of sin. And if that exposure tackles a political hot potato, then look out!
If you’re not familiar with the story of Kermit Gosnell, all you have to do is Google it. It’s a sad and sickening commentary on the nature of humankind and how man justifies sin (cf. Genesis 6:5; Proverbs 6:18; Matthew 15:18-19).
But this blog isn’t about Gosnell. It’s about the world in which a person like Kermit Gosnell could prosper to the tune of two million dollars a year during the height of his heinous medical practice. It’s about a world wherein writers, like the ones who crafted the screenplay for the movie that recently hit theaters, could be blackballed and run out of theaters, even though the movie grossed earnings beyond expectations, placing it in the top twelve during its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

To read the remainder of this blog, click here!

I Can Only Imagine Now (A Seriously Write Blog)

I know we were just a little late to the party (okay, really late), but we just watched the movie, I Can Only Imagine.It was definitely inspirational. First, as a Christian. Knowing that God can forgive the worst of the worst is encouraging when I walk amongst so many monsters. And to make it even more encouraging, to sum up the words of the Apostle Paul, we were all part of that unpopular throng at some point, whether we choose to admit it or not (1 Tim. 1:15). We may not have been a domestic abuser like Arthur Millard or an accomplice to murder like the Apostle Paul, but through the lens of Scripture and what “the kingdom of heaven is like,” sin is sin is sin. Here on Earth, we have a tendency to categorize sin. Some sins are viewed to be more heinous than others. But according to the Ten Commandments, serving other gods and dishonoring your father and mother made the list alongside murder, adultery, lying, and stealing.
Now do you see why I’m encouraged? God can forgive us…all of us.

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