Peter Lopez Jr.'s Blog: Xulon Press Blog , page 46

Meet Our Newest Staff Editor: Taylor Graham

Whether an author is writing a book that is purely fiction or writing a non-fiction book portraying their lives, the use of setting and imagery is an important part of painting the pictures that the author sees in their mind for their readers.

It’s a difficult part of writing any genre: getting readers to see exactly what you, as the author, see in your mind while describing the scene. Sensory imaging is often an effective tool when describing the setting; using descriptions that will appeal to a reader’s senses, whether it’s describing a smell, sight, sound, taste, or feel.

An example of describing the feel for each one of the cities my honeymoon cruise through the French and Italian Rivera is below, with pictures.

Once we boarded the cruise in Barcelona, we were at sea the first day until the next morning when we arrived in a small port town: Toulon, France. Apparently in Toulon, there isn’t much to see walking around the town other than graffiti-filled brick walls, abandoned warehouses, and small cigar shops. Apparently an excursion was the only way to experience the city and its surroundings.

The next day, we arrived at Nice, France and had to take a small boat into the port that was sprinkled with yachts and sailboats. A torrential downpour had just taken place before we left the ship, but what came after the storm was absolutely beautiful. Nice was our favorite stop on the entire cruise. The city was a French metropolis with lots of shops, restaurants, and a modern cable car that ran through the middle of the streets. The food in Nice was the best meal we had on the entire cruise. A simple ham, mozzarella, tomato, and basil on focaccia bread turned out to be absolutely divine.

The next day, we woke up in an industrial port in Livorno, Italy. About twenty minutes from Pisa and an hour from Tuscany, we decided to splurge and do the one excursion we could not live without: a vineyard tour and sampling in Tuscany. We took a charter bus through the freeways and winding mountain roads, passing the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (Read: not impressed.) After a few times of nearly feeling as if our bus was going to topple down the Tuscan countryside, we arrived at the vineyard and the view of the hills was absolutely breathtaking.

The next day, we docked in Civitavecchia, Italy and took an hour train ride into Rome. I had grandiose expectations of Rome (like, it’s the greatest city in the world, for one) and when we arrived there, I was rather quickly unimpressed. It was Manhattan on steroids as far as the dirtiness, crowds, and insane cab drivers go (no rats, though). We heard every language being spoken except for English, and the lines were filled with tour groups from all over the world with their neon-colored shirts and matching flags.

Our last stop on the cruise was Naples, Italy. There was an option to take an expensive boat ride to the island of Capri, but since we had already splurged on our vineyard tour, we decided to explore the city of Naples on our own. There was a shopping district and plenty of restaurants to try because Naples is supposedly where pizza originated. Of course, we had to try some for ourselves. I got a calzone filled with ricotta, marinara, sausage, and basil. It was a huge though necessary calorie splurge, but absolutely worth every bite.

The post Meet Our Newest Staff Editor: Taylor Graham appeared first on Xulon Press, Christian Self Publishing.

Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight: Pastor Brad Hoefs

Our Successful Author Spotlight today showcases Pastor Brad Hoefs, author of the book “Fresh Hope – Living Well in Spite Of A Mental Health Diagnosis”, www.freshhope.us. His life is a glowing example of living well with this disease, as he has pastored for over twenty years while not just coping, but living with mental health disease. Pastor Brad was recently invited by Pastor Rick and Kay Warren of the Saddleback Church in California, (Purpose Driven Life), to participate in a panel discussion on Mental Health and the Church, which was held this past March. Pastor Brad is a living example of how God can touch someone’s mind and provide them with the strength to overcome this disease and live a victorious life of ministry and find happiness while living with the struggles that come with this disease.

Pastor Brad was diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder in 1995, after experiencing a very public and painful manic episode. This episode led to him being asked to resign as the senior pastor of a large growing church. After his resignation, a group of people formed Community of Grace Church, in Elkhorn, NE, and provided the Hoefs with a safe place to heal and find hope. It was out of this experience that Brad started “Fresh Hope” in 2009, a Christ-centered support group for those who suffer from mood disorders, as well as for their loved ones. A Fresh Hope group is a peer-to-peer led, safe, encouraging and healing environment where real hope and real healing take place and the sure hope of Christ is foundational. Fresh Hope has grown to numerous locations throughout the US, with new groups starting all of the time. The philosophy of Fresh Hope is one of inspiration as Pastor Brad exemplifies that “It is possible to live well in spite of having a mental health challenge because of the hope there is in Christ.  That no matter how one feels, it is possible to still have hope because of Christ.” His life is a living example of how he has put this mission statement into being.

Pastor Brad is surrounded by the love of his life, Donna, his college sweetheart, who works alongside him as the worship leader of the church. They have two married adult children, Noah and Noelle, and two grandchildren, Ava and Jayden, who bring them great joy!

As we began our conversation a few weeks after that momentous and historic conference at Saddleback Church, I had to ask Pastor Brad “First of all… how was the conference with Pastor Rick Warren? He shared “It was a phenomenal, surreal experience. It was fabulous. I was so blessed and privileged to be part of it. I’m now back at home, swamped with requests coming in. You can view the video tape of my presentation at www.mentalhealthandthechurch.com in #4 plenary session and the 3rd speaker of 5 speakers in the video. The purpose was to tell my story of fresh hope. I failed to talk about the book. We had ten minutes, with a countdown clock, but I kept going after the ten minutes. I read three paragraphs and just went off script and spoke my heart.”

In his exuberance, Pastor Brad shared “A lot of pastors make the mistake by perceiving that the brain and the mind are the same thing. They are not. If the brain is not working properly, you are not going to be in your right mind. The brain is physiological, not spiritual. The brainwaves and the chemicals in our brains are thoughts. Dr. Caroline Leaf, from South Africa, is a leading speaker on this subject. She said science is finally catching up with scripture. She discovered that our brains were made to fully trust and not be based on fear. But now we live in a flight or fight mode, so we don’t love or trust naturally, causing to have black clouds in our brain. We all take an anti-convulsant drug, whether seizures or epilepsy or bi-polar—all the same. There is demonic activity, but that’s not the issue, and it is no more a problem in the brain than anywhere else. 99.99% of the time, it is a chemical imbalance. Take back your thinking, like Paul said, think on these things.”

As we delved into our conversation, I asked Pastor Brad “What one past experience changed the course of your life?” He explained “I was pasturing the 13th fastest growing church in the USA in 1995…after a manic moment in my life, I was forced to resign. I went from a church with 50+ staff members to a church with less than 50 people. And these 50 people started a church and they gave me an 18% pay raise and I didn’t work for 2 years. And I have been pasturing the same church. The church did not want me to work until the doctor released me. My “Fresh Hope” ministry was born when I relapsed after seven years. I went to support groups that were so depressing that I quit going. My doctor said that he would help me write the beginning of my book Fresh Hope, and I began Fresh Hope, the ministry. I created the place that I needed for me…and it has been the place that others needed also.”

As we probed into his testimony, I asked “What was it that caused the relapse?” Pastor Brad shared “There were seven years of recovery– but not healthy recovery. I was doing more “coping with life” than learning to live with this disease. I said don’t blink or you’ll miss it, and he said you are the one who is blinking. You don’t see what god is doing. I couldn’t get over the hurt of the church’s rejection. I had no one else to blame but myself. I didn’t understand that my medicine could not cap my mood—I thought the meds would stop me from having manic moments. But one night, I double dosed, accidentally, on my mood stabilizer. There were two things affected my mood: First- My two nephews were on a bus that crashed—one was life-lifted and was injured the most. And secondly, my new church was going through a move, like the first church, so I was reliving those moments. I was so manic that I was off the charts crazy for a period of two weeks. I didn’t listen to my wife—it’s like a meth high—and you know how to hide it. She knew something was wrong, but she didn’t know how wrong it was. When I am like this, I am like an 18 wheeler truck and you cannot stop me. What helped after the recovery? We put in place an accountability group. I have three pastors that I am accountable to. They have met with me, every other week, for the past twelve years. They have access to my doctor and my wife. They can talk to each other behind my back. Because, if I am not behaving and not being reasonable, they will call me on it.”

Pastor Brad continued “I’m not always wrong just because I have this disease. I may argue with my wife at times, but it is not always due to my bi-polar, sometimes it’s just my mood. I was in the hospital—one of my pastor friends Jim came to see me. And he says, “now I know you really are crazy. You are a man who is smart and intelligent. If you really had a “sin” issue, you would not have gone and done the same things all over again. I now know that you are crazy…not sinning.”

Discussing his book Fresh Hope, I asked “What method do you use to start your writing process?” He provided “Outline and chapter topics. The book was based on the tenets of our church. I put a topic on the piece of paper and just started sorting out stories and writing based on the topic. I found that I do better by “talking” the book. So I recorded the chapters. And then, they are typed up and then I give it to someone to edit. The first three chapters took two years because I didn’t know what I was doing. Once I figured that out, the other chapters came easily. I am now starting our 2nd book with my wife Donna on how to deal with living with someone with bi-polar. The sole purpose is to figure out what chapters and what stories need to be said…and then we will put the book together. We are going to Vegas to be there for our son’s child being born. I needed to preach the book. The book went through my mouth, not through my fingers. Once I figured out the system that works for me…I did the remainder within weeks.”

I asked Pastor Brad “What message do you want shared by the story of your life?” He expressed “When going through hell, don’t stop. Never give up, never give up, Never give up. Fall safely into grace. I want to talk to the church at large about shame based grace.”

When asked my signature question, “what will they write on your gravestone that will sum up your life?” Pastor Brad chuckled as he shared “I told you I was sick! And also: He loved his wife and children! Oh God of 2nd chances and new beginnings, here I am again! Romans 8:28” Due to the important subject matter, I asked “If you could speak to someone struggling with their diagnosis of bi-polar right now, what would you say to help?”

Pastor Brad was both inspirational and educational as he spoke “1st thing, you need to know straight up that you can have a great and fulfilling life in spite of this. 2nd thing, you need to take control of this diagnosis, the sooner you do– the better you will be. You can choose to have a full hope tank because you know Jesus. I have found that the reason for hopeless is because they feel they have no future. Medical teaches you to have “learned helplessness”, but if you hang around with hopeful people, you will catch that too. The disease rocks your self confidence- you don’t know if you can even trust yourself. Getting back to the core of—you can do this, it is possible.”Pastor Brad continued to educate. “You can borrow hope from someone else. By someone believing in you, you can start believing in yourself. Also, by scriptures, put hope in your hope tank. Use the scripture to build your hope. In spite of your mood, how is your hope tank. Are you still hopeful.”

I asked Pastor Brad “what is the Worst thing a friend or family member could say to someone dealing with bi-polar?”

He started sharing several comments “Oh this is nothing”. “You just need to pray more and trust God more” and “Oh it is all in your head.” They should be honest and say that they “don’t know anything about it” or that they “have lived through it”. Those are the best things to say.” Wanting to glean the most from Pastor Brad’s wonderfully inspirational example and testimony, I asked “When did you first realize “I can live with this diagnosis and it will not steal my life?” He opened up as he recounted “It wasn’t a day. It was an ongoing choice. I knew who God was and I knew that He could take it and make it all better for my good. I had to discipline my brain to choose that. It became easier with time. It was a faith decision. It was not an “ah hah” moment. I have to trust God. Attitude is everything. I am not bipolar. I have bipolar. I said this at Saddleback. I have it. I am NOT it. I felt that I had a monster living in me that I could not control. I finally sat the monster down and said “you are going to shut up because I control you”. You don’t give up. You get a friend who has been there.”

Attempting to gain as much insight as possible on this subject and how it affects our church world today, I asked “What does the Church Community need to change in how we deal with mental illness?”

Pastor Brad spoke with resolve and conviction as he shared “The Church has to recognize that there is such a thing as mental illness. That will break down the walls of stigma. Also, they need to quit being both sides of the extreme. Both are wrong. The middle is complicated. The Clergy have got to wake up and offer the hope that the people need. The Church will miss a big opportunity to understand recovery and meet the people where they are. Churches have to follow more the lead of Rick and Kay Warren, who lost a son to this disease, and yet, they are standing up in their pain to let God redeem this. That door of secrecy has to be pounded down. The whole issue of stigma. The more they speak out about what they struggle with, the more the walls will break down. When we started Fresh Hope, I thought “no one would come” because I was the pastor who made the news. But instead of them fleeing, our church grew by 110% in six months. People are seeking a church where people admit they have problems. Out of ignorance or unknowing, we harm those who are dealing with this.”

Pastor Brad shared statistics “80% of people will have a bout with depression. More people die from suicide than heart disease and all diseases combined. More die of self inflicted gunshots than those who are killed by guns.”

Wondering where Pastor Brad draws inspiration, I asked “What inspires you?” He explained “Scripture. I love looking at how “broken and out of sorts” those who God used mightily really were. I also am inspired by other people’s stories. I love quotable quotes like “eat your dessert, life is short”. What inspires me to stay healthy and not give up—my three grandchildren have never felt the pain of my disease. I want it stopped with me. It runs in the family but there are proactive things that you can do. I love the quote “Falsely accused and indecently exposed”. Focus on the family interviewed me last summer and have me in a file if they ever want to tackle the story of my testimony as it really happened. “Another quote I love is ‘Usually the greatest area that God wants to use is the area that you are most shameful of’. That’s from Rick Warren.”

After hearing that he is inspired by scripture, I asked “What is your theme scripture and why?” Pastor Brad shared “Romans 8:28! No matter what life looks like, whatever the hellhole you are stuck with, sometimes life is difficult, and it sucks, a part of the brokenness of mankind, I am a poster child for crash and burn and find hope in the midst of it all.”

As we drew to a close our interesting and educational conversation, I asked “When you get to Heaven, what do you want to hear your Lord and Savior say?” He explained “I just want His arms and I will be ready for a hug. I just want to melt into His arms and know that my race is over.”

Upon reflection, this was a conversation that was personal. This discussion with Pastor Brad helped a family member who is struggling with this disease. Pastor Brad offered to speak to my family and counseled and encouraged him. It was a life changing experience on a personal level. I can say personally that Pastor Brad Hoefs is sincere and available to those who need his help in living with this disease.

In a world of people who are just talking the talk, it is so refreshing to find someone who is “walking the walk”—and Pastor Brad does inspire many as he offers fresh hope to a world who is hopeless. I learned to keep my “hope tank” full by surrounding myself with hopeful people—people just like Brad!

The post Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight: Pastor Brad Hoefs appeared first on Xulon Press, Christian Self Publishing.

Let the Setting Be Your Guide

You can just picture it: the white, sandy beaches, the colorful sunset, the cool water flowing over your toes, the igloo glistening in the sun…. wait, when did an igloo come into your tropical beach scene?

Just an example of how important it is when writing a manuscript set in a real-life location to be as accurate as possible, especially for a setting readers will be able to recognize.

As the sentiment says, readers enjoy being transported to another world through the pages of a book. However, if a book has obvious inconsistencies in its description of the setting, readers will feel disconnected in their mental envisioning of the setting and may become dissuaded from reading.

So, if you are taking steps to bring your setting to reality for your readers, follow some key advice to avoid the setting pitfalls.

First, and most importantly, research the location of your book, whether it is a small town in the Midwest or New York City. Learn everything you can about the landscape, culture and lifestyle of this spot and its occupants. You won’t know the backgrounds of your readers, but those who have been to your location will know whether you did the research or are just wingin’ it.

Besides the physical features of your setting location, consider also adding weather characteristics in the season your story is taking place. You can even broaden it more for the delight of readers by including famous food/drink staples of your setting and maybe include a special event in your story, such as the Sundance Film Festival if set in Utah or Bike Week if set in Daytona Beach.

Use this location platform as a way to educate your readers on the hidden jewels of the setting, even if it is their own hometown. Appropriately position any interesting facts or history into the manuscript that wouldn’t interfere with plot development (unless that is your intention), but instead add to the flow of the story.

Now that your readers are well versed in your chosen location, be sure to make the transition in setting as obvious to your readers as possible. To avoid a mishap like the example above, include how the character traveled from one location to the next, such as plane, train or automobile (unless this is science fiction and he/she teleported).

The location in a manuscript can create a free trip for readers to a place they have always wanted to go or to encourage them to appreciate more of their own stomping grounds. Done with the least amount of confusion, it could be one of the most worthwhile assets of your manuscript.

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Paint the Scene

The overwhelming smell of fish permeated the moist, morning air as Angela made her way through the wharf. All was still and quiet now, but she knew Market Street would be bustling with tourists later. Every now and then the bay would appear to her right, peeking at her between the buildings, and if she really squinted, she could make out the tiny island that held more secrets than anyone would ever know. A plume of white flour could be seen swirling out from the vents at the bakery, and the crab vendors were setting up their stands for another day. She veered left to make her way onto Taylor Street and passed a line of tourists already waiting at the Powell/Mason cable car stop. They were always so easy to spot around the city: large cameras hanging from their necks, sneakers, jeans and a sweatshirt—most likely purchased from one of the local shops. So many people underestimated just how cold it could be in the summer months. Angela, herself, had only moved to the city a year ago, but she could pinpoint the exact moment she had fallen in love with the “city by the bay”.

If you haven’t figured it out already, the paragraph above is a description of what one might see along an early morning walk through Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The first sentence lets the reader know approximately what time of day it is and some details of the area. As the reader moves through the paragraph, they pick up on more details of the area, the sights, the smells, other people that might be in the area and even the weather. The reader might not yet know the exact location, but the transportation process has already begun.

One key item to remember in story telling is always “show don’t tell”. What that means is, it’s important to walk the reader through the story instead of telling them what happened.

If you are one that travels, do you keep a detailed travel journal? You can actually use your travel journal as a way to build a story. Use the location from one of your trips and pull information from your travel journal to plot out the story, describe a historic landmark or to just get your bearings on the location again. Then, the only thing left to remember is to use detailed descriptions.

If I told you, “Angela bikes to the Golden Gate Bridge on Tuesday mornings,” yet you had never been to the Golden Gate Bridge, you’d gain nothing from that piece of information. Instead, if I wrote something like this: “Angela never let the fog get in her way of biking to the Golden Gate Bridge on Tuesday mornings. She loved the way its large, orange colored structure poked out from the gray haze on even the foggiest mornings. To her, the bridge represented determination and strength…” you would have a better understanding of what the bridge actually looked like and why it might be important for Angela to go there every Tuesday morning.

If you haven’t guessed it already, this month our blog writers are focusing on travel, both in the literal sense of taking a trip and documenting it, and in the writing sense of transporting readers to the scenes set in your book. So, make sure to keep coming back the entire month of July.

We’d also love to hear your favorite travel destination and what you love about it!

The post Paint the Scene appeared first on Xulon Press, Christian Self Publishing.

Publishing is Not Just for Adults, Part Two

Part Two of our feature on published teenage authors at Xulon Press.

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Lauren Lotter

Stats: 18-year-old homeschooled student in Michigan

Book: Rustlers and the Texas Trail – book one of the Christian Cowgirl Adventure series, a book series focused on combining love of western culture with biblical values.

Xulon Editor Blair Townley: What is the storyline for Rustlers and the Texas Trail, and how did you come up with the idea?

Lauren Lotter: The story follows a young girl named Amy and the different adventures that she encounters. It also teaches life lessons with biblical principles that are contained in a fun and exciting historical story.I always loved horses and western stories, but I was having trouble finding exciting and thrilling stories that had a strong Christian standpoint.

BT: Describe the writing routine that you created for writing your book, and what you experienced during the self-publishing process.

LL: I didn’t plan ahead on where the story was going to end up, so I picked the name and let the story flow out. It took thirteen months for the first draft and went through ten revisions. There were times where I had all sorts of ideas and had to decide where to put them in the story; and then there were times when I needed to work on this, but couldn’t come up with anything. There were definite moments of writer’s block. I had other books I was working along with this book, but this series seemed to be one that I really felt comfortable with. I felt a little overwhelmed putting all the pieces together for publishing, but I had a lot of people helping me along the way, as well as the Xulon staff. It was definitely a good experience and I learned a lot of lessons from it.

BT: How will you be promoting your book, and what do you hope readers gain from the series?

LL: It feels strange being a published author, but growing up I always looked at book covers with the author’s name on them. It is different now seeing my name on a cover. I will be promoting the book on my family’s auction website, which gets about one million page views a month, and I have my own website also, www.heritageliterature.com. I’m already editing the rough draft of the second book in the series, which I hope to publish next spring, and am halfway through the rough draft of the third book. I do want to keep writing seriously and hope young girls read the books, giving them something to enjoy but taking something good away from it.

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Samuel Yuen

Stats: 16-year-old homeschooled student in New York

Book: The Galactic Defenders: The Financial Campaign – an adventure novel about five superhero siblings who help save a kidnapped man while learning valuable lessons about finance.

Blair Townley: How did the idea for a young adult superhero book with finance come about?

Samuel Yuen: I wanted to write this book to help kids learn about finance and how to handle their money, such as their allowances, which my family used to teach about in our church. The superhero aspect of the book is to provide kids a good story to enjoy as they learn about finance. It took me about two to three months to write the book and two to three months to publish through Xulon Press.

BT: What did you do to prepare the book for publication, and how was the publishing process?

SY: I loved writing this book, and my family has been very supportive. My siblings are in the target market that I’m trying to reach [ages 8-13], so I used their help to develop the characters. They liked the action scenes and getting to know some of the characters, determining which ones they related to personally. The publishing process was a learning experience, as I learned about marketing and advertising for my book, along with how to look professional, with business cards and a website, for trade shows or interviews. I’m hoping to publish more books in this Galactic Defenders series, with each book teaching a different moral like teamwork and respect for others.

BT: Have you realized you are a published author? What experiences have you had promoting your book?

SY: It feels unbelievable sometimes to think I am a published author, and I love telling people that I have written a book. It feels great to know that I am making a difference in another child’s life through this book. I’ve promoted the book on www.christianreading.com/syuen, the website of my company, His Kids Enterprises, that I started with my parents. I even spoke at an entrepreneur class for the Financial and Business Education for Teens event at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. I also have done some book signings at conventions and church. My mom always told me not to put all my eggs in one basket, so writing is one of my main goals, besides running my company and possibly playing tennis professionally. I would like to continue the series to show how the children grow up, and maybe write some books breaking down my favorite books of the Bible.

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These teenage authors prove that you are not too young to start living your dream of becoming a published writer. If you have had a lifelong dream to write a book, but don’t feel you can, view these adolescent writers as inspirations to bring that memoir, novel or educational book into reality.

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Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight: John Adetunji

Today’s edition of the Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight features John Adetunji, author of the book “From Passion To Profit – Business Start-Ups As God Intended”, which provides insight and advice for young entrepreneurs who are starting their first business. His website www.johnadetunji.com provides tips and testimonials for the new business owner. His book has been endorsed by Dr. Larry Keefauver, an internationally recognized pastoral leader, teacher and author, who, along with his wife Judi, have led family and ministry seminars on marriage, parenting, leadership and prayer.  John has also been endorsed by John C. Maxwell, internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach and author and founder of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company, both organizations have trained more than five million leaders worldwide. Having received such high praise from these esteemed leaders in ministry adds credence to John Adetunji’s gift to train young entrepreneurs to be leaders of not just tomorrow, but today!

Our author has coined the phrase “business evangelism”, the vision God gave him that he has been called to the business world as a missionary, based on the scripture Isaiah 48:17 which states “I am the Lord thy God who teaches thee to profit, who leadeth thee where you should go.” Being convinced that God has sent him to be a Businary (business missionary), John has dedicated his life to ministering God’s principles for Christian business establishment and the tenets to follow that produce godly profit in business.

In his own words, John shares, “Businessman and Project Manager, Husband, Father, Teacher, Speaker, Trained Counselor, Pastor and Author—these are just some of the titles I’ve held in my life. But there is one title the Holy Spirit gave me in 1996. It is ‘Businary’ and that has been my vision since that time. He said to me, “You will be a missionary with business garment.” Hence the Spirit gave me the title ‘BUSINARY.’

“As a Certified Project Management Professional, I have started and managed large teams in complex projects over the past two decades in areas such as commercial real estate, health care, and natural resources. I was also the founder and head of a large downstream petroleum marketing company.

“I have written many books, including “Teamwork for Business Excellence”, “Money Conquest” and “Handling Life’s Crises” which are all based on biblical principles. My academic achievements include a M.S.C. degree in Construction Management, a M.A. degree in Biblical Studies, and I am a Certified John Maxwell Team Coach and Speaker. “Over the last three decades, I have helped establish congregations in Nigeria and Canada, and aided them to grow and thrive.”

“As a husband, father of four children, and now a grandfather, I have learned a great deal about leading by example. Acting as a role model in both the home and the workforce has instilled a sense of responsibility and dedication within me.”

“I have experience speaking at conferences, workshops and seminars in North America, Europe and Africa. After a long, successful career as a business/project manager and trained counselor, my goal is to share my knowledge, experience and passion with individuals, churches and organizations, taking them from where they are to where they want to be. I bring decades of extensive experience in workforce and community leadership to every speaking engagement and coaching opportunity. Encouraging people to maximize the advantage of the Cross for their wellbeing is my passion, and that is why I have written this book.”

As we got started with our conversation, I was keenly aware of John’s dedication to the calling God has placed on him. I thought that it was very important to find out how this “rags to riches” poignant story of success came to be. I asked him “What one past experience changed the course of your life?” John shared his testimony: “I was a successful man at 27. I am a pastor’s kid. At 29, I had a wife and 2 kids. I had 8 vehicles. Within 6 months, I lost everything. I learned that everything in life is vanity. I was born again at age 7 thru the ministry of Rev. William Hunking from Ontario, Canada — he was a missionary to Nigeria. My dad was the pastor of the United Ministry Church of Africa. The crusade took place in front of the church. I can remember that 4 boys were there. I grew up attending Christian primary and secondary school. Then I went to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria. I graduated and got a good job, was doing very well. Tragedy struck. I became jobless. I learned that everything was vanity. God got my attention as to what He was trying to get me to do.”

He continued. “My dad was a church planter until he was 92 years old. He worked in rural areas. I was one of 4 children: 2 boys, 2 girls. I was the baby. My mom was 108 when she went to be with the Lord on 1/17/14. God got my attention. I never wanted to be involved in the gospel because of how I suffered as a little kid with meager means having to struggle to survive, as I did as a pastor’s kid. I was attending church, in the choir, but I didn’t know that God wanted more than that from me until He allowed all the things I was enjoying to be taken away. I then asked God to help me when I prayed “if you want me to preach the gospel and save souls”. My dad didn’t believe that a minister should be financially successful. He was a Muslim who converted to Christianity at age 17. His family rejected him. He was sent to bible school and became a church planter and pastor. My late grandmother was an idol worshipper. But my mom was given to a cousin who was an evangelist, who raised my mom. The evangelist was working with missionaries and that is how my mom and my dad met—through the missionaries.”

Due to his success in both business and inspiring young entrepreneurs, I asked John “What method or process do you use to start your writing?” He explained “My method all depends on how God lays the book on my heart. Sometimes, God wakes me up in the middle of the night and says to write down these things, and I will write down an outline. Sometimes, I will record and then transcribe whatever I have recorded. I also read other people’s text, which have done something similar, and I will glean from their knowledge. Most of the time, I take notes when I go to church and God will minister through what He tells me and I put that in my book.”

I delved deeper into this inspiring story of starting with nothing and building his financial and spiritual success story as I asked “What message do you want shared by the story of your life?” He adeptly answered “Jesus heals sick businesses too.”

Because of the rich heritage of evangelism, from his mother to his father, I asked “What would you tell others about your relationship with Christ that would inspire them?” John opened his heart and said “I relate with Christ the way I relate with a friend that I see. I talk with Christ as if I am talking to my friend. Even though Christ is seated in heaven on the right hand of God, I talk to him as if I am talking to a friend who is there in the physical. It helps me because I talk to Him anytime, anywhere, anyhow. I relate to Him on a personal level. It’s not hard for me to talk to my wife or talk to people I love and spend quality time with, so it’s not hard to spend time with Christ because I have spent quality time with Him. When you have spent quality time with someone—Jesus said that they are my sheep, and they know my voice. He wants us to relate to Him on that kind of level—like a friend that’s in the now!”

I asked John my signature question “What will they write on your gravestone that will sum up your life?” he smiled as he responded “John was not a signage to heaven—he actually resides there!”

Probing deeper to get to the heart of the mission for this author, I asked “What message do you believe God is asking you to share with your world?” He shared from his heart “You can find it in John 9:4 and Isaiah 48:17. I think the message is that He is the owner of the Earth; the earth belongs to the Lord. Nothing that we want to do can be done behind Him or without Him. He is the master of profit making. This God that we serve gave us the master example when He invested Jesus Christ; He took risks with His only begotten son, to go to the Cross and to receive Him back to Him and see how many billions of people have been saved. The Word says in John chapter 9: “I must work while it is day—we must work!”

I asked John “Where do you draw inspiration?” He provided “I get inspiration from three sources: the Word of God, my quiet/prayer time and my fellowship with the Holy Spirit!”

Giving him the opportunity to speak to his world, I asked “What would be your WAKE UP Call be for your generation?” He resoundly declared “I am a baby boomer generation—there is nothing anybody can achieve without God!”

When I asked John “What is your theme scripture and why?” he broke out into recitation of Psalm 37:25 “I have been young and now am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken or begging bread. No matter the circumstance, if you are righteous — then God will get your back.”

As we drew our conversation to a close, I quietly asked John “When you get to Heaven, what do you want to hear your Lord and Savior say?”

He pondered and then proclaimed “Welcome thou faithful servant, enter into the rest of the Lord.”

After hearing this inspirational true story of a pastor’s kid who grew up with nothing and was called to a mission field called business, this “Businary” enlightened me that “God can heal sick businesses” also. He has proven with his life that God will send you where He has equipped you to go—and He will provide opportunity to teach others what you have been taught so they can learn the wisdom of the Lord.

And that wisdom includes starting godly businesses that will profit in the name of the Lord—and that is what we all want—God’s hand to be on what we set forth!

Our world could use sage wisdom and godly advice, accompanied with a great example, when starting a new business!

Business Missionary John Adetunji is providing wisdom and advice, along with an example we can follow—and that will teach the nations that God prospers those who follow Him!

Find John Adetunji’s book From Passion To Profit – Business Start-Ups As God Intended on the Xulon Press Bookstore.

The post Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight: John Adetunji appeared first on Xulon Press, Christian Self Publishing.

A Series of Fortunate Events

When I was a kid, my dad worked at 1000 3rd Avenue in Manhattan in the Bloomingdale’s Book Department. (I always thought of it like that, with Capital Letters.) Naturally, I never wanted for reading material. I had a 66-book collection of The Hardy Boys (the ones with blue covers), and a 64-book collection of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (the ones with yellow covers). I had stripped books without number. (Stripped books are paperbacks that have not sold and whose covers have been removed and returned to the publisher as proof they didn’t sell.) I also had several Peanuts collections, several Garfield collections, and several Calvin and Hobbes collections. My eclectic taste in books remains unchanged.

It should not be surprising, then, this rabid love of the written word that overwhelms me. Eventually, the focus of my eyes and mind shifted and I found myself trying to peer beneath the ink and paper to the inner workings, sort of the literary equivalent of man, how do they do that? As I’m writing this post, I find it telling that those titles above are the ones I remember rather than anything from that enormous and varied stripped book category. The first two collections were intended for a young adult audience; the last three were comic strips.

Series books, series characters, are popular with all readers but are especially so with children. When the same character/s appears again and again, young readers feel they’re reading about a friend, one who learns to handle some of the same problems they themselves face and who maybe does things they can’t. Think The Berenstain Bears, Ramona Quimby, the Magic Tree House’s Annie and Jack, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Greg Heffley; for older kids, there’s Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl, and Percy Jackson.

A series about a recurring character also helps young readers learn how to become immersed in the written word. There is no need to spend time becoming acquainted with the who before getting to the what and why. Through all manner of interesting situations, the recurring character changes and matures—it’s worth stating plainly: This character absolutely should change and mature—and children are comforted by his or her triumph over adversity. Additionally, this character’s temporary failures demonstrate to the reading child that he or she need not be perfect. The consumption of each book thus becomes less mechanical and more experiential.

We should probably touch on The Character. For an illustrated book, the skilled artwork does most of the work of grounding a character. Certainly it takes only a single glance to tell us all we need to know about Calvin: the disapproving scowl as he stalks away from the dinner table dragging Hobbes,  his anthropomorphic-to-only-him stuffed tiger. Without illustrations, however, a writer needs to employ some of those thousand words a picture is worth.

Consider this bit from the prologue of the first Artemis Fowl book: The main problem is Artemis’s own intelligence. He bamboozles every test thrown at him. He has puzzled the greatest medical minds and sent many of them gibbering to their own hospitals. More details emerge in the course of the narrative, but what, really, could possibly expand on your immediate picture of young Artemis’ fundamental character? The cadence and word choices paint a vivid picture.

A useful tool for a series character is the protagonist known as a catalyst. This is one whose personality is fully formed right from the start, thereby eliminating much of any possible character arc. Enter The Minor Character, upon whom the full-force of the hero or heroine’s personality falls. It’s this “sidekick”  who experiences change, who matures, who triumphs and grows due to the influence of the catalyst character.

The essential element of a book series seems to be unique, preferably quirky, characters. I say seems to be because you may have a spectacular idea for a series of books that puts the lie to everything I believe about such things. More power to you! Remember, books intended for a younger audience also appeal to, sometimes even awaken, the child in each of us. Craft a story that engages the reader, teaches an important lesson without being overbearing, gives readers something to talk about when they’re finished, and leaves your audience hungry for the next installment. Mission accomplished.

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Publishing is Not Just for Adults, Part One

They range in age from fifteen to eighteen, coming from different states and backgrounds, but they all share one thing in common: they are published authors.

Xulon Press is proud to present some of our younger enterprising writers; fledgling Christian authors who juggled not only writer’s block and character development but also schoolwork, tests and social activities, all while working to publish their first book.

I was able to interview each of Xulon’s teen authors to obtain a glimpse of their experiences self-publishing their first books, as well as becoming writers at a young age and what they feel God will “write” next in their life stories.

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Destiny Pedroza

Stats: 17-year-old high school senior in California

Book: Dive – a novel about a make-believe mermaid world and the culture differences between a human girl and the merman she rescues.

Xulon Editor Blair Townley: Tell me a little about your book and the process to write it.

Destiny Pedroza: The book shows the differences between the human and merperson cultures. My cousin was obsessed with mermaids growing up and mentioned I should write a book about them. I love to read and have been inspired to write after reading books like The Hunger Games and Divergent.

During school, whenever I had free time, I would plan out what I would want to happen in the story next. I would set aside a block of time and just write as much as I could on paper, fixing the mistakes later. I would write a chapter or two a day, and then edit the book. This would be done late at night, after doing homework or after spending time with family and friends, as that was the only free time I had.

BT: How long did it take you to write Dive, and how was the self-publishing process?

DP: It took about six months, as I made up all of the merpeople culture. My mom read the first draft and said it was a good book. The publishing process was actually super easy, especially with my parents helping me the whole time. After I wrote the draft, my dad helped me submit my story to Xulon Press. The whole process went so smoothly, and it was definitely a good experience.

BT: How does it feel to be a published author, and what are your upcoming plans?

DP: It is definitely crazy to think that I’m a published author. I keep telling my friends, “Guys, my book is about to come out soon, that is so crazy.” I haven’t thought about promoting my book [which is to be published soon], but I will definitely post it on Facebook and tell my family and friends to spread the word. I left the story open for a second book, but we will see what happens. It would be fun to write as a career, doing something that you love to do for a living. I am planning to go to college for business, but I’m keeping my options open [when it comes to writing].

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Macy Cochran

Stats: 15-year-old homeschooled student in South Carolina

Book: Cybil’s London – a novel about Cybil, a young girl living in London, and how a visit by child prodigy pianist Melody changes the future for both girls and Cybil’s brother Adam.

Blair Townley: How did you come up with the idea for Cybil’s London?

Macy Cochran: I had a dream about Cybil’s London on October 24, 2013 and started writing the first chapter that morning. It took me a month and seventeen days to write the story, and I even put on the cover “Inspired by a dream”. I was writing a few times throughout the day, and everything came together. I never had writer’s block, which I am currently struggling with for my second book. Some famous authors I’m inspired by wrote their books while they were in college, such as Veronica Roth [who wrote the Divergent series], and it’s inspiring since I was writing my first book at 14 [now 15].

BT: What did you do to prepare the book for publication? Has it sunk in that you are a published author?

DP: Whenever I would finish a chapter, I would let my dad [Chris Cochran] read it. A few friends also read it, and they would give me some suggestions or compliments that really helped. I didn’t really know what to expect with publishing a book, because I had never written a book before. Everything came together in the end, though. I’ve been asked how I feel being a published author, and I have to say it feels pretty good. To have my book in my hand and know that I can do it is the inspiration to keep me writing my next book.

BT: Will there be a continuation of Cybil’s London, and do you plan to pursue writing as a career?

DP: No continuation for Cybil’s London, as it is more of a stand-alone book.I started writing my second book the day after I finished Cybil’s London, and it was kind of hard to write because the main characters are completely different in both books. Cybil is sort of based off of me, so that was helpful to think what I would do if I were in the same situation. As for future plans, writing is a hobby now, but I would like to write full-time as a career. I have no plans on stopping now!

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There are even more interviews to share so please visit Xulon Press blog’s next posting to learn more about teen authors Lauren Lotter and Samuel Yuen.

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