Who in the World Am I?

Listen to "Covenant Child" instrumental while you read.

Although receiving human recognition for my novels and songs would be more wonderful than I can imagine, what I look forward to even more is the possibility of hearing God's "Well done, good and faithful servant" at the appropriate day and hour. In the meanwhile, I rejoice in my belief that God has read my manuscripts numerous times and still gets a kick out of my offbeat sense of humor. I think He enjoys listening to my music, too, even when I feel like giving up on it. He knows the strenghs and weaknesses of everything I create--better than I do, in fact--and yet He keeps blessing me with fresh ideas and permitting me to think of them as mine. I believe God will use them in ways I can't imagine. He alone knows the influence they will have. Although I don’t have Moses’ speech problems, I write more clearly than I speak. A confirmed introvert (an INTJ for anyone familiar with the Myers-Briggs inventory), I prefer thinking before I speak, and seldom do I talk just to hear myself talk. Maybe that’s why writing Christian fiction has become so important to me at this stage of my life. I retired from working for a living on September 4, 2008, so I can focus my full-time attention on the writing I feel God compelling me to do. While I can’t claim to be a Bible scholar or to “have it all together” as a Christian, I believe God has blessed me with some valuable insights and some creative and offbeat ways of conveying them. Recently challenged to compose a statement of purpose for my writing, I wrote these words, which I refer to constantly: I pray that God will continue inspiring the use of whatever skills, creativity, and insights He’s given me to write “Faith-in-Fiction” novels as a legacy that's limited in scope only by God's perfect plan and holiest of desires. I am not anxious about having my novel manuscripts published. God inspired them. He won't let them go to waste.

My Writing Background I'm a former English teacher, job counselor/interviewer, and programmer/analyst. After a downsizing several years ago at the International Mission Board, I ended up a part-time cashier at a Target store near my home in Richmond, Virginia. That allowed me time to pursue my passion for writing. I took an early retirement so I can write full-time. I won the English Department Honors Award at Frostburg State College (now University) as a senior and have had poetry published in four Southern Baptist periodicals and a local newspaper. Several dramatic monologs and short plays have been published in a free local magazine. I've written articles for staff newspapers at several work places and was the editor of the newsletter at my Target store. I've published technical articles in a national computer user newsletter and won Outstanding Editor award for my section. An article was published in a Standard Publishing collection about grace in 2007. I used to contribute periodically to the FAITH & VALUES section of the Richmond.com website. But writing Christian novels has become my passion. I completed and POD-published my first novel, I STARTED A JOKE, in 2004. I finished my second, FIFTY-FIFTY, six months later. My third novel, FOUND IN THE TRANSLATION, won 1st place in the novel category at the 2006 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. A short story version of FOUND placed in the top ten of a contest sponsored by Dave Long of Bethany House. My fourth novel, ROSA NO-NAME, written in 2006, was a prequel to FOUND, although it probably won't be publishable as Young Adult. I've also written novel manuscripts entitled A TWISTED RAINBOW, THE DEVIL & PASTOR GUS, and THE LADY & THE IMPRACTICAL JOKESTER. The latter is a total rewrite of my first book, which I've made unavailable because it didn't meet my current writing standards. I've almost finished my first post-contract revisions of FOUND IN THE TRANSLATION and have a somewhat polished version of its sequel, PRANCING ON PEBBLES. I hope to send both to Barbour by the end of 2/10. Before getting my Barbour contracts, I had done done some revising of WHEREFORE ART THOU RAMON?, a whimsical takeoff on Romeo & Juliet. I hope to get back to that again shortly and do some planning of what to propose of FOUND and PEBBLES' sequel in the series. I am pleased beyond words to have Mr. Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency as my agent. How I became his client is a God-sized story. An editor friend who's not an agent (I'll keep her anonymous to prevent anyone from bombarding her for help) fell in love with my writing, even though the book samples I sent did not fall within her company's areas of interest. When I sent her chapters from Found in the Translation and then the whole book, she took it upon herself--without telling me what she was doing--to do what a publisher "never does": she recruited Terry Burns as my agent! Best regards, Roger