Unpacking God for the 21st Century
presents spiritual truth through storytelling.
Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
Unpacking God for the 21st Century took more than
twenty years to complete.
My writing process, you can say, began when I read the bible
from cover to cover while making notes; doing research, drafting questions that
I needed answered, and reflecting on all the different doctrines and dogmas.
This process of reflecting and making notes became the foundation of “Pushing
The Envelope To find God” published in 2001.
After the first book, it became clear that I wanted to focus more on the
teachings and the life of Jesus.
As the social and political climate changed after September
2001, some of these events was recast in “Stories From The Sandbox of Life”.
After several years away from writing, I felt the urge to
complete a prequel; tie up loose story lines and reboot the book of psalms.
This became the foundation for “Unpacking God For The 21st Century.”
Most of the time I used pen and paper for the first draft;
going over hand written notes; and using several dictionaries. Moving from pen
and paper to a word processor was a much slower process to flesh out
characters, but it made for faster rewrites.
How did you come up with the concepts and stories in Unpacking
God for the 21st Century?
The concept of the book started with two questions: How do
you take the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and make it relevant for
the 21st century; while keeping all of the core teachings of Jesus?
The second question was; How do you take the book of psalms and make it
relevant for the 21st century?
Jesus often taught by using parables. I began using parables to
highlight timeless spiritual truths, and began to search for what would bring
us together rather than those ideology that divides us.
What will readers
get out of your book?
The readers will gain insight into what it takes to live the
life of Jesus, in the 21st century, and the current challenges we
face as a society.
What inspired you when writing Unpacking God for the
21st Century?
I was inspired by the simplicity and straightforwardness of
the timeless spiritual truths of the gospel message.
When did you decide to become a writer?
My writing journey began in the
1980’s when I began writing short stories centered around current events. I
found that writing gave voice to my thoughts and opinions. As my spiritual
journey evolved; so did my writing style, leaning towards becoming a
storyteller, rather than a novelist.
When writing Unpacking God for the 21st
Century did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
I found writing the prequel challenging as I had to keep
track of the continuity between the characters and the plot lines, yet advance
the story as current events changed.
What do you like to do when not writing?
When not writing, I am spending time with family, and
helping others connect to God in a meaningful way. Nature and landscape photography plays an
integral part of my life.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
The book is available on Amazon; while my podcasts are on
YouTube.
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