My Writing

"What do you wanna be when you grow up?" Kids get asked that question all the
time. When my son was five, he knew. "I wanna be a green Batman." By high
school I knew; I wanted to be an author of novels. My composition teacher was the
spark that lit this fire. She went out of her way to encourage my feeble offerings.
"You could really be a writer if you wanted to," she said. Secretly, I began to write
poems and short stories. Only my teacher and mother could read them (such
things clashed badly with the surfer-guy persona I'd worked so hard to fabricate at
school).

After I gave my life to Christ, my attention shifted in a different direction. I met Cindi, my wife-to-be.
Then came a call to pastoral ministry. Then fatherhood. I still loved to write, but found little time for
it. In the mid-90's, we decided I needed a relaxing hobby. Cindi suggested I start writing again. I
read some great how-to books and found some wonderful friends on a Christian fiction writer's
board on AOL (back when AOL was the Internet). A year later, my first novel was complete.

It was soon picked up by an agent, Karen Solem, but she found it difficult to market. Not much
interest back then in a Christian suspense thriller with a military edge. Shortly after that, the idea
for The Unfinished Gift came to me. But halfway through, the Lord made it clear that I had jumped
the gun; it just wasn't the right time. So I set it aside.

Fast-forward the tape 10 years. It's a long story, but the Lord made it clear in 2007 it was okay to
start writing again. Lots of things had changed, especially in my heart. I finished The Unfinished
Gift and began looking for representation. To my great delight, my agent from 10 years ago was
very interested in the book. Since then Karen had begun her own agency, Spencerhill Associates,
Ltd. Within a few months, we were finalizing a contract with Revell. Since it's release, The
Unfinished Gift has done very well, winning two Carol Awards (Book-of-the-year) from ACFW, in the
debut author and short historical categories.

I finished a sequel to The Unfinished Gift, called The Homecoming that released in June 2010. My
third novel, The Deepest Waters released in April. And in September, my fourth book,
Remembering Christmas, hit the shelves. It became a bestseller on Amazon in 3 categories and
made ECPA's bestseller list in November. My 5th novel, The Discovery, is finished and due out next
April.

Revell has just signed me to write 2 books a year for them through 2013. This includes a 4-book
fiction series I'll be writing with Gary Smalley, and 3 additional stand-alone novels.

When I think back to 11th Grade, my false start 14 years ago, and what's happening now...I'm
aware not many people get to see their lifelong dreams fulfilled. It's hard to grasp the depths of
God's kindness toward me.