David N. Walker's Blog, page 28

Rapture and Second Coming

In the last five weeks, my wife and I have attended three funerals for relatives and in-laws on her side of the family. That’s enough funerals to last me for awhile. Don’t need any more anytime soon.

This past Saturday was the last of these three. The pastor who preached the eulogy sought to comfort those attending with Paul’s words from his letters to the church at Thessalonica on the subject of death. Paul talks about death as merely being sleep, and he assures Christians that we will see our born-again loved ones again.

The preacher correctly explained that the moment we Christians die our spirits separate from our bodies and enter heaven. Our bodies, on the other hand, remain buried until the day Jesus returns to call them to Himself. On that day, Paul explains, those bodies will ascend first, and then Christians who are alive at the time will follow.

I thought this pastor did a wonderful job of explaining what happens at death and what will happen in the future—except for one thing. He said several times that this ascension of the dead bodies, followed by that of live Christians, would take place at the Second Coming of Christ.

You may accuse me of picking at nits if you like, but I think this explanation is a grave misstatement of future events. I don’t claim to be an expert on eschatology, but this is not difficult stuff. This ascension, called the Rapture, will take place when Jesus calls us up to meet Him in the clouds, which is a completely separate event from His Second Coming.

Second Thessalonians 2:3-7 says:

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Paul is talking about Jesus’s return to earth—His Second Coming. He says it will not happen until the man of lawlessness (the antichrist) is revealed, takes his place in the seat in the temple of God and claims to be God. This is what we generally refer to as the great tribulation. Jesus will not return until after the great tribulation takes place.

But he goes on to say that this “mystery of lawlessness” is already taking place, only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Most Christians, at least most students of prophecy, understand this “restrainer” to be the Holy Spirit. As long as the Holy Spirit is at work here on earth, the antichrist cannot set up his kingdom and bring about the great tribulation.

Paul didn’t spell out his meaning here in clear a, b, c form, but we know the Holy Spirit will be here at work on earth as long as Christians are here, because He is sealed in each of us (Ephesians 1:13&14). Therefore, the antichrist cannot set up his reign and bring down the great tribulation as long as Christians are here. We must be Raptured before this happens.

Before anyone claims I’ve just given all Christians a free pass from all tribulation, I didn’t say that. There will have to be tribulations to make the situation dire enough for people to accept the rule of the antichrist, and we will go through these beginning tribulations. In fact, I think we’re already in the midst of them. But we won’t be here for the great tribulation, because the restrainer must first be removed.

Jesus’s second coming will take place at the end of the great tribulation period. John makes this plain in the book of Revelation. Jesus will defeat satan and the antichrist at that time, but we will have already been with Him for at least seven years at the time that happens.

As I mentioned above, this may seem like nitpicking to some of you, but like Paul, I don’t want any Christian to be ignorant of these events to come. Jesus will come back as King and set up His millennial kingdom, but only after the great tribulation, which in turn can only happen after the rapture of the church.

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: antichrist, Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, great tribulation, Heaven Sent, Holy Spirit, inspiration, Jesus, Rapture, satan, Second Coming, Works

WHEW!

Whew! For over a year now, I’ve spent a good part of most days working on Fancy, my novella series. Actually, I’ve worked on the story off and on for nearly twenty years. You know, writing it, tossing it aside, revising it, tossing it aside again, etc.

Have you ever had a love-hate relationship with a favorite project? I’ve loved this story for twenty years, but I’ve gotten so frustrated with it at times I hated it and wished I’d never heard of it. I belonged to three different writers’ groups that helped me work on it, but the conclusion usually ended up being it was not a workable project.

Finally, a year and a half or so ago, my friend Jillian Dodd suggested that I make it a series of novellas rather than a novel. Bingo. A light came on.

Two big problems had always been stumbling blocks to the novel. It covered too much time and geography, and no single antagonist lasted (or could last) throughout the story. Breaking it into novellas allowed each volume to deal with a more limited time and location as well as with a single antagonist.

Jill also told me how well she was doing with self-publishing. She told me so many writers were self-publishing now that the old stigma was gone.

Once I made the decision to rewrite it as a novella series and to self-publish them instead of waiting to see how many agents could sit on it or whatever they do with the manuscripts people send them, I began to get excited about it again. I began to believe this was something I could really do—and I’ll confess I’d lost confidence in my ability to write anything until Jill started talking to me.

I finished editing and tightening Fancy: The Final Chapter yesterday. Today I submitted it for editing by others. It won’t actually be published until September, but I’m through with the writing process. Hence the big Whew!

While I’m waiting for the edits, I’m in the process of resizing the paperbacks of the first five volumes from 6×9 to 5×8. I don’t know why I started with the larger size, but it makes the books so thin they look a bit strange. Jill suggested this change to me a few weeks ago, and more recently my friend Karlene Petitt made a similar suggestion. Then I looked at a volume 5 next to a volume 6 and saw for myself how much difference that sizing change could make.

I’m also trying to figure out how to comply with the changes Smashwords wants me to make so I can get all the books out through them and KOBO and iTunes. I don’t know why I have so much trouble understanding the English language, but for some reason, when it’s anything the least bit technical my brain freezes.

While all this is going on, I’m entertaining thoughts about my next project. I think it will probably be a three-volume novella series about a young girl who sees her mother killed by Yankee raiders on their Mississippi farm during the civil war. Haven’t settled on this for sure, but that’s what I’m thinking.

What do you do when you finish a long-term project like a novel or series of novellas? Scream? Jump up and down with joy? Sleep for a week? Readers would love to know.

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, iTunes, Jillian Dodd, Karlene Petitt, KOBO, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help, Smashwords

His Eye Is on the Sparrow

Christian songs and other writing can be inspired by any number of things the author may observe. They can come from a deep emotional and spiritual experience or from a simple incident the writer happened upon.

Civilla Durfee Martin tells the story of how she came up with the words to “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” in 1905, put to music by Charles H. Gabriel a year later. A Nova Scotia native who taught school and music, she married Dr. Walter Martin, an evangelist, and gave up her teaching to travel with him. Her account:

In the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmyra, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nearly twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watched me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hears and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.

Here’s one version of the song:

Seeing the example of this wonderful couple must have been truly a moving experience. I can only imagine.

What extraordinary examples of faith have you witnessed? What songs, essays, poems or other things have you been moved to write because of such examples?

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: "His Eye Is on the Sparrow", Christian, Civilla Durfee Martin, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Works

Strong Women

A recent Facebook comment got me thinking about authors and the characters they choose for their protagonists. Although antagonists may drive the story so far as keeping the reader interested enough to turn the pages, I think it’s the protagonist that interests the author enough to want to write the story.

Sometimes we build a character which is a thinly-veiled copy of ourselves. At other times, we may craft one which represents what we wish we were but aren’t. I got to thinking about my protagonist, Fancy. Why am I so interested in her? Why would I write an entire series built around her?

From my first inkling of this story, Fancy was a strong woman. What was it that drew me to the idea of writing story about a strong woman? Why wasn’t I drawn to some super macho-type guy instead? Why not a Rambo? Or maybe a brainiac like Patrick Jane?

Interestingly, most of my favorite TV shows are built around a strong female character.

The Closer, one of my all-time favorites, featured Brenda Leigh Johnson, who always managed to stay a step ahead of all the male members of her department in solving a crime and getting the perp to confess.

Rizzoli and Isles features two—count ‘em, two—females who seem to think circles around the guys.
Covert Affairs is built around the character of Annie Walker, a young female CIA agent who always manages to pull irons out of fires against all odds.
In Fairly Legal—no longer in production, unfortunately—Kate Reed always managed to dominate the men around her without being domineering.

I could go on, but does anyone see a pattern here? Most of my favorite TV shows are built around a female lead. Why am I drawn to them instead of strong male characters.

Back in the 70s, when Women’s Lib came to the forefront, I was not a fan. My idea of a good woman is not someone who burns bras and trashes men. I don’t think this is a picture of a strong woman.

To me, a strong woman is one who has a realistic view of herself, her assets and liabilities. One who knows where she wants to go and is not afraid to buck odds when necessary to get there. One who is willing to do whatever it takes. But one who doesn’t have to debase the men around her in order to build herself up.

My mother was my first example of a strong woman. My dad definitely ruled the roost in our household, but Mother somehow managed to defer to him without being a doormat. She protected us without being pushy or demanding. While Dad ruled, the family definitely revolved around Mother.

When she and Dad divorced the summer I finished college, she sold the house and moved 600 miles away to a brand new city where she knew no one and went back to school at the age of 48 to pursue a masters degree. Then she supported herself and always managed to have enough money to visit her children, who were scattered from Texas to Montana to California. In all that time, I never knew her to try to put my father down.

My daughter became another example of a strong woman. In her teens, she always earned her own spending money by babysitting or doing whatever else she needed to do. She even bought a lot of her own clothes. When she moved here to live with me after ten years of separation while she lived with her mother, one of the first things she did was to get a job—with no help from me.

She juggled cheerleading and other extra-curricular activities with studying and became valedictorian of her high school class. In the process, she managed to win a scholarship that paid pretty much all her college expenses except for spending money. She managed to be number three in her class although she graduated in only three years.

As a wife, she is submitted to her husband without being any kind of doormat. He leads by position and authority, but she leads through influence. The two of them truly walk together.

Her stamina always amazes me. When we visit, she always seems to be folding laundry, cooking, or doing other things to make her household run smoothly without neglecting us. I’m not sure I had her energy when I was half her age.

My wife had a two year-old son to raise when her first husband left her. With some babysitting help from her parents, she began taking classes in Denton, Texas—some 40 miles or so away from home—to get a masters degree. This while working full-time as a high school science teacher. With her masters in hand, she continued driving to Denton to get an administrative certificate so she could become an assistant principal and make more money to support herself and her son.

At the time I met Sharon, she was putting her son through college, paying his way out of her own pocket with no help from his father and no student loans. She was also working hours that would kill a horse. It never occurred to her to whine about her long hours and hard work. This was what life placed before her, and she just picked up the ball and ran with it.

Many other females I’ve known showed me examples of the fiber of a strong woman. I won’t go into details about all of them, other than to say that many of my female writer friends fall into this category. Let me just say that I’ve developed a great appreciation—almost an awe—of strong women. I think that’s where Fancy came from. I think my next writing project will probably feature a strong woman. It seems to be where my heart is.

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help, Strong Women

Sabbath

The other day a friend of mine wrote something on Facebook about being tired and sleeping in on Sunday morning and missing the Sabbath. This puzzled me slightly, since I knew the woman to be a Christian, so I added a comment that she didn’t have to observe the Sabbath.

Soon, I had a response from her asking what I meant. She didn’t know what the Sabbath was, nor did she know it didn’t apply to Christians. Perhaps others are in some confusion about this, too.

The Sabbath is an Old Covenant (Testament) observance. If you are Jewish, you undoubtedly know this and observe the Sabbath regularly. To a Christian, however, it is an archaic and meaningless term.

Under Mosaic Law, the Sabbath starts Friday evening and runs until Saturday evening. Never did have anything to do with Sunday. On the Sabbath, one was to attend services, refrain from work, and meet other requirements. I’m sure my friend Renee Schuls-Jacobson could explain the details of the Sabbath far better than I can.

For Christians the Sabbath, like all of Mosaic Law, became null and void with the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. God signified this loudly and clearly with the rending of the veil or curtain in the temple at the moment of His death. No human agency was involved, but this barrier between the Holy of Holies and the remainder of the temple ripped from top to bottom, signaling the official shift from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.

Under the Old Covenant, there were hundreds of laws that governed every aspect of life. I couldn’t begin to explain all the nuances. Paul refers to this as the curse of the law.

God announced His intentions with regard to His people in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah.

    Verse 33 says:

        But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

    Verse 34 concludes:

        . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

External laws are somewhere between difficult and impossible for people to keep. We have jails and prisons filled with people as a testament to that fact. We have municipal traffic courts and other such institutions to attest further to this truth. Neither I nor anyone reading this post can claim never to have broken a law.

God knew that when He first created us. He knew before Adam walked the earth He would one day have to send His Son as a living sacrifice to atone for our sins and put us under a different covenant.

When God said He would put His law within us and write it on our hearts, He was talking about the work the Holy Spirit does within each Christian to change us and make us more Christlike. A song we used to sing thirty years ago said, “From glory to glory He’s changing me, changing me and transforming me.” That’s what the Holy Spirit does within all of us who accept Jesus as our Savior.

You can pass a law telling me not to murder, but you can’t prevent me from murdering. God, on the other hand, can work inside me through His Holy Spirit to remove any desire I might otherwise have to murder anyone. He changes my want-to in order conform me more closely to the image of His risen Son. None of us completely attain that during this lifetime, but He will move us more and more in that direction if we submit ourselves to Him and allow Him to.

Under the Old Covenant He obligated His people to observe the Sabbath. They were—and those who remain under the Old Covenant still are—commanded to attend temple services.

Under the New Covenant, we have no such command. God puts it in our hearts to WANT to fellowship with other Christians. We may do that in a formal church service, or in a home fellowship, or in a Sunday school class or other venue. I may or may not have a desire to listen to a sermon. I may or may not like the music in a certain church. But one of the first things God did to me when I was born again was to build in me a desire to fellowship with His people. That’s a lot more powerful than handing me a law that says I must attend this or that or whatever.

For my Jewish friends, this is not intended to imply that you don’t enjoy your synagogue experiences or the friendship of others who attend your synagogue. It is merely intended to demonstrate the difference between an external law that says “Thou shall or Thou shall not” and a desire planted internally.

How do you feel about the difference between an external law and an internal desire? Our readers would like to know.

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, New Covenant, Old Covenant, Sabbath, Works

Blessings

My wife Sharon and I have had several recent reminders how fleeting life can be and how blessed we are.

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

Early in 2012 we lost my business partner (retired) and a cousin. My partner Rex was 76 and had enough health problems his death was no major surprise.

My cousin Carol was only 62 and in excellent health as far as anyone knew. This made her death much more of a shock to all of us.

A couple of weeks ago, Sharon’s sister’s 74 year-old husband Doug succumbed to a long history of heart trouble. Again, no major surprise.

Ten days after that death, Charlie, one of Sharon’s cousins, died at the age of 53. If we’d known more about his health, his death wouldn’t have been that big a surprise, but we didn’t, and his death came as another major shock.

Why do some die young while others don’t? While all these deaths were taking place, my 97 year-old mother just keeps on ticking, like the Energizer Bunny.

Who knows the why of all this? I certainly don’t. What I do know is you and I need to be thankful of whatever health and longevity we have. We need to take advantage of the opportunities God opens for us and not presume we can wait until tomorrow.

You’ve probably lost friends or loved ones, too. None of us have a guarantee of tomorrow, much less next year.

You probably also know people dealing with cancer, leukemia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart trouble and all sorts of other ills. The older you are, the more you’ll see your friends and loved ones battling these and other diseases.

Most of the people in my Sunday School class are older than we are, and most deal with one problem or another. Even some of the younger ones are dealing with things such as cancer, epilepsy and other such things.

When I think about the health conditions some people have to deal with, it makes my diabetes and heart trouble seem pretty minor—especially since both are kept under control by medication. I thank God daily for my health, among other blessings He has given me.

What experiences have you had dealing with ill health and death among your friends and loved ones? We’d love to hear from you.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, blessings, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Death, Fancy Series, Health, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help

Faith and Works

What do grace and faith mean to a Christian? How about works?

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

Paul wrote the book of Galatians to set the record straight for early Christians about the relationship of grace and faith and of works to salvation. It seems to be an easy area for us as Christians to confuse.

When we’re talking to someone seeking salvation, we say it’s all faith. You can’t “earn” your salvation through any works of your own. Then as soon as the person accepts Jesus, we start telling him or her what a Christian can or should do and what he can’t or shouldn’t do. We’re all too quick to hand out a list of rules.

Some denominations say you have to be baptized in order to be saved. Others say you must adhere to rules in order to avoid losing your salvation. We seem to go out of our way to confuse new Christians. Simply accepting Jesus on faith is too simple for us. We’ve got to add something to make it more difficult.

Paul made it pretty clear and simple in his letter to the church at Ephesus. Chapter 2, verses 8 & 9 say: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

That makes it pretty clear and pretty simple, doesn’t it? Our salvation comes as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ. Period. Jesus plus nothing else. His grace is sufficient. His sacrifice paid for ALL our sins—once for all time.

But, David, shouldn’t a Christian do good works? Shouldn’t he feed the poor, comfort the mourning? Shouldn’t he share the Gospel with others to help them find their way to Jesus?

Emphatically, YES. These are all things Christians should WANT to do. That’s the key to discussions of faith and works. My salvation comes about as a result of faith and faith alone. But once that salvation is extended, the Holy Spirit begins His work in me to conform me to the image of Jesus.

This is not to say I’m made perfect when I’m saved. Conforming me to the image of Jesus is a process that will last the rest of my life on earth. I won’t reach the goal in this life. But as He works in me to transform me and grow me as a Christian, He plants the desire in me to do good works.

If I’m doing a good work because I think I’m supposed to, that work is dead. I’ve placed myself back under the law. But if I do a good work because I want to—in fact, because I can’t keep from it—then that work flows out of my faith and has nothing to do with the law.

Do you have trouble accepting the simplicity of salvation? Do you have guilt feelings that you ought to do this or that? How does this apparent conflict between faith and works affect your walk as a Christian? We’d love to hear from you.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Works

Procrastination

How is a procrastinator to deal with the pressures of life, much less the myriad things a writer must do these days? What makes someone procrastinate?

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

When it comes to procrastination, I emphasize the first syllable. I’ve become a true pro at it.

I have friends who have full-time jobs and kids to raise, and all the laundry and housecleaning and meal preparation that go along with having a family, who still find time to write books and blogs, edit their work, get it published, promote it on this site and that, and all the other hundreds of things that go along with being an author. Perhaps you’re one of them.

Just thinking about all that activity gets me out of breath. It must be wonderful to have the energy, the drive, and the focus to be able to do all those things. Not to mention a sharp, young mind that can grasp all the ins and outs and nuances of dealing with Amazon and CreateSpace and Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords with all their rules and requirements—many of which are opposite at one site from another.

Several things which younger people wouldn’t understand conspire to minimize my sleep a lot of nights, setting me up to need naps during the day. Other biological twists lead me to spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom every day. This is all time I should spend working on my craft. Alas, I don’t get to.

When I do get going, the first time I hit a snag—like some requirement from Smashwords I don’t understand—I have a tendency to put the project in question on a back burner and do something else. Seems like every candle on the birthday cake brings with it a slight increase in the confusion level.

My friend Jillian Dodd can flit all over the country attending book signing events, publish books for several other authors, advertize and promote all of them, and keep it all straight in her mind at all times. Did I mention she also writes books?

Nigel Blackwell, another friend, works long hours, comes home to spend his evenings with his wife and daughter, and then sits down around midnight to write for a couple of hours. Then he gets back up the next morning and does the same thing all over again.

Another friend, Karlene Petitt, flies huge airplanes all over the world, frequently being gone from home for days at a time. When she does get home, you know she’s got all sorts of homemaking things to do. But she finds time to write books and post frequent blogs.

You may do as much yourself. If so, I envy you, as I envy them, for the clarity of mind, the intensity of focus, the drive to overcome all obstacles, and the energy to get it all done. Would that I had that.

The writing part seems to be the easiest. I’ve finished and published seven books in the past year, although six of them are novellas. But when I try to do things to make them sell, I seem to get bogged down and go nowhere.

Right now, I’m trying to get all my published books onto Smashwords, and from there onto Kobo and iTunes, but I keep running into Smashwords’ requirements which I have failed to meet. When I click to see what the requirements are and how to meet them, I might as well be reading Greek or Martian. So I go take a nap. Or get on Facebook, or work a crossword puzzle.

At times I wonder if I’ll ever be a pro author. Maybe I’m destined always to be a pro crastinator.

What things pop up to make you procrastinate? How do you overcome them?

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Procrastinating, Procrastination, Self-help

What Price Independence?

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

Please pardon me while I deviate from my normal Tuesday fare. Day after tomorrow is the Fourth of July, the day we celebrate our independence as a nation. We Americans sit around with our lawyers on speed dial to redress any perceived wrong, looking to our government to provide for all of our needs, but is that what our independence is supposed to mean? I’m not sure our forefathers would have suffered as they did to provide us with a cradle-to-grave cushioned life. Please take a few moments at this time to reckon with me on the meaning and importance of our independence and the sacrifices of the people who bought it for us.

You may have seen this before in an email, as I have. I’d be glad to credit the source, but it came unattributed. When I Googled it, I found a number of difference websites claiming credit for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants; nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Terrific Tuesday Tagged: Christian, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Declaration of Independence, Fancy Series, Forefathers, Fourth of July, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Heaven Sent, Independence, inspiration

Author Angst

What if you write a book, or series of books, and everyone who reads them agrees they are great reads, but nobody buys them because no one knows about them? What do you do then?

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

Obviously the answer(s) to the questions above will depend on why no one knows about them, but I’ve received a couple of suggestions from my friend Jillian Dodd, who has several highly successful novels on the market. I tend to pay a lot of attention to what she has to say about book marketing.

My novella series, Fancy, is historical fiction. The genre itself limits sales. YA and Romance together account for around 60% of all novel sales in the current market. All other genres together split up the remaining 40%.

Historical fiction’s market share is miniscule in comparison with Romance and YA, meaning not many people are even searching for my genre, much less for my books. Jillian, who has read my work and knows the material, suggested that I add YA to my categories. Actually, the closest I can come on Amazon is Teen Historical Fiction. Hopefully that will open up the market for more people to find my work, and I have made that change.

She also suggested that I put my books on Smashwords, Kobo and iTunes. This will not only give me access to new markets, but I can price Volume 1 at zero on Kobo and iTunes to draw in more people to try it. Apparently if it’s free on both of them, Amazon will price match and offer it for free, also.

This latter step wouldn’t make much sense for a free-standing novel. A million free copies wouldn’t make the author a penny. But it does make sense for the first volume in a multi-volume series. If people read the free one and like it, they are much more likely to buy the rest of the series.

This all sounds simple and likely to produce positive results. Unfortunately, my twentieth century brain seems to boggle easily when it comes to twenty-first century technology. Or my computer is infested with demons. Or something.

I managed to get the genre change made for all the Fancy series on Amazon. For some reason, however, I can’t get Barnes & Noble’s website to allow a change or addition to genres. I get a little whirling circle that never goes away and allows me to enter the new genre. Actually, I wonder if it’s Barnes & Noble that’s still stuck in the twentieth century. Seems like nothing ever works very smoothly with them.

When I tried to put Fancy on Smashwords, it wouldn’t accept either my e-pub formatted version or my Word version. After waiting a couple of days, I was able to get it to accept the Word version, and Fancy‘s now up and running on Smashwords. I can’t get it to accept volume 2, though. *Sigh*

Maybe next week I’ll be able to announce that all of this has been done—and that Fancy: Virginia City – Vol 6 is published. It’s almost ready to go and should be on the websites in another day or two. Meanwhile, I feel like I’m walking through molasses or something with everything an author has to do beyond actually writing.

What problems have you encountered in trying to market your books? How have you overcome them? Readers want to know.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Freestyle Friday Tagged: Advice, Authorship, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Personal development, Self-help