Growing up in southern California, which is your favorite childhood memory?
The neighborhood where I grew up was small and consisted of a mix of Hispanic and Caucasian families. Although not wealthy, the people eked out an existence with gardens, animals, and hard work. Many of my friends spoke Spanish at home and English at school. As a member of FFA (Future Farmers of America) I raised rabbits, chickens, a pony, cats, and a collie dog. The neighbor behind us broke and trained riding horses. The family next door butchered a pig once a year and chickens nearly every other week. To this day, I don't enjoy eating meat, other than fish or foul, and certainly not meat still attached to the bone. My life seemed simple, both my parents worked and I spent leisurely time wandering with friends and exploring the surrounding area. The period of time in America was gentle because we finished World War II and the Korean Conflict. People wanted peace, a home, a car, a chance to grow up without fear. When we switched from radio to television for family entertainment, dad purchased a bulky wooden box with a small oval glass, which displayed a limited number of black & white shows. I remember the Mickey Mouse club and Howdy Doody as some of my favorite programs. We lived near San Bernardino, California and I remember visiting the original McDonalds where we purchased hamburgers for 15 cents. A man would deliver milk to our doorstep, another brought blocks of ice to keep our food cold in the kitchen. In the summer, dad would place a wet towel over an extra block and sit it in a wash tub, then he placed a fan behind it to blow cool air into the house--our first air conditioner.
For how many years did you serve in the US Navy during the Vietnam conflict?
Throughout high school, we watched as the Vietnam war enlarged with more young being drafted daily to replace the casualty victims. A draft lottery process by the Government assigned numbers to birth dates. If your birthday landed between 1 and 200, you were guaranteed a draft notice by the Army or Marines. In August 1970, my number selected was 130. I immediately visited the U.S. Navy recruitment office and enlisted. I reported to Navy boot camp in San Diego, California on October, 15, 1970 and received my Army draft notice several days following. After lengthy testing, I qualified for a position in electronics and served four years in the U.S. Navy. The entire tour occurred on Damneck Naval Base in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Despite being slated for sea rotation on a Guided Missile Destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam, President Nixon froze rotations and so I remained on the base. The President wanted to end the war and refused to move any personnel until North Vietnam agreed to a truce. Several times I packed my bags and waited for travel to the ship, but each time was sent back to the base because the negotiations failed. When at last it was time to ship out, I couldn't because I only had six months left on my tour of duty. I spent four years in the Navy and on a military base and two years in the Navy Reserve.
How did your family and friends encourage you to write short stories?
College for me began at age forty. In addition to the required English classes, I added creative writing to my electives. Many friends and family members were subjected to listening to or reading my material for feedback. The overwhelming response was surprisingly positive. Many of the work assignments in college received high mark along with notes from the professors encouraging me to expand my writing talents. I write constantly now as I'm now retired.At the moment, in addition to working on three novels, I write short stories to keep my talents fresh. I also read other authors and education information on creative writing. I'm a member or a local Word Weavers writing group, joined Jerry Jenkins's writing guild, and Christian Writers of America.
What made you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
Although I had some success with my writing, nothing prepares you for the real world where critics are plentiful and harsh. Despite this, I continued to write and educate myself. In early 2002, an article in "Christian Women" magazine caught my eye one day. They were seeking reader's feedback on the subject of "Capital Punishment." I wrote a several page diatribe and submitted to the magazine. Their response blew my socks off when they raved about my material. They explained they were only seeking paragraph comments, but my several page writing exceed their expectations. They asked me to reduce the material to one page. A daunting task, I carved several page down to one hard hitting page. To my surprise, Christian Women magazine published my writing as a companion to their capital punishment article. This success encouraged me to write more.
Which was your best experience of all the Silicon Valley start-up companies you have worked with?
Despite working in Silicon Valley for fifteen years, I worked for a total of eight companies. Nearly all were start-ups with grand promises of company stock should the firm go public. None ever succeeded and after two to three years, I watched employee layoffs begin--a sign the company was struggling. As a mid-level manager, I experienced workforce reductions eventually and spent almost a year looking for work. There's a certain adrenaline rush working for cutting-edge technology companies with the dream of a bright future, but reality set in the I began the process of staring again. Along the way, I met fantastic people whom I remain in contact with on a regular basis. Learning about new technologies and their potential in the market provided energies to propel employees to work long hours, often for free. I traveled the world visiting many countries and speaking with clients from all walks of life. I maintain friendships with many individuals I met. It was a bitter-sweet relationship working for start-up companies, but in 2002 I dropped out of high-tech and purchased a clay manufacturing business with a friend and went low-tech making clay for schools and business, plus a retail store.
If there’s one genre you never see yourself doing, what would it be and why?
My greatest accolades have come from the Christian Historical Fiction genre where I have "Persuaded: The Story of Nicodemus." I'm writing another manuscript titled, "Nazareth's Craftsman: Joseph, Step-father to Jesus." The number of reviews and high scoring leads me to believe this genre is my niche. "Persuaded" has remained in the top 300 of Amazon's best seller list in biblical fiction since it release in June 2020 and sales are steady. General Christian fiction is another genre I enjoy writing. "Final Grains of Sand" continues to reach a broad audience and generates interesting reviews from non-christian readers who find the book unusual and thought provoking. I'm in the process of finishing another general Christian fiction manuscript titled: "Adage Lake" and working with a publisher.
How did you come up with the plot of Persuaded: The Story of Nicodemus?
During my personal Bible studies in the Gospel of John, and reading about the night Nicodemus visited Jesus, I noticed in John’s Gospel, the name Nicodemus mentioned two more times. When I researched I discovered he is not mentioned anywhere else in the other Gospels or the New Testament books.
John’s record of his interactions with Jesus was written years after Mark, Luke and Matthew. In fact, John felt there wasn’t much he could add to the record about Jesus until he was encouraged by the seven churches of Asia to provide his story.
I was intrigued and wanted to know why John included Nicodemus in his account. The more I studied, the fewer answers I found, and soon developed additional unanswered questions. I turned to extra-Biblical documents as well as research papers to find further information.
Nicodemus was not a Pharisee but served in the Sanhedrin council. Based upon John’s second account of Nicodemus, we read that this curious man defended Jesus against his peers when they attempted to condemn Jesus without a trial. The senior Pharisees and elders rebuked Nicodemus publicly and embarrassingly. Had he been an equal peer, they would have waited until they were in their chambers to argue. At the most, if they disagreed with Nicodemus and respected him on equal terms, they would have shaken their heads, thrown dirt in the air so it landed on their heads, or torn their robes. They did not see Nicodemus as an equal and I suspect he was young and learning to become a Pharisee.
The third account in John’s Gospel is when Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea ask Pilate for the body of Jesus, and then prepare it for burial.
At a time when the relations between the Jews and the Romans was tenuous, how did a young upcoming Pharisee-in-training and a Jewish businessman get the authority to approach the powerful Roman Governor, and at the same time defy the strict orders of the Sanhedrin. Why would these men risk their lives, their reputations, and quite possibly their livelihoods for a man their religious leaders hated?
It was at that moment, I realized Nicodemus had a life-changing experience when he met Jesus. It wasn’t an instantaneous change, but one that occurred over time. He came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and his story needed to be told.
As I started to write this book, I would have dreams about whole chapters. I used material from all four Gospels and Acts to create the timeline.
On many occasions, I would awaken from my dreams at odd hours of the night and start writing. When I’d turn to the Bible for reference, I was amazed at the accuracy of what I had written when compared to the Biblical texts.
Who inspired the character of James Kreider in "Final Grains of Sand"?
Final Grains of Sand found its birth during a conversation with a friend who told me about her father. When she described the man, he seemed larger than life, but at the same time, he had this tremendous influence on his family and friends.
I realized we rarely know someone completely. We see facets of the individual from our perspective and often make judgments from our point of view. To know someone completely, we would need to share from all walks of a person’s life and formulate a grander vision.
Unfortunately, all too often, we wait until a person dies before we discover who they really were, but then it seems too late. This book wanted to give the reader a behind the scenes view of one man’s life. The following is a tribute to the man, whom this story found its genesis:
Dedicated to Roy Kreider Woods II -- February 6, 1936 ~ March 14, 2013
Although I never personally met Roy, I discovered through his daughter the truth concerning this brilliant man. A wonderful husband, terrific father, and loving grandfather, Roy instilled in his children appreciation for classical music and the ballads. A member of Kappa Sigma while attending the University of Illinois, Roy served four years in the U.S. Navy as a pilot. He enjoyed and continued flying as a civilian.
A man of inspiration and character, Roy was an adventurous spirit, participating in every sport, including skydiving, racquetball, boating, traveling, and studying. Roy appreciated and loved traveling the world. Roy was also a wise business investor, and he worked as an industrial engineer for Northwestern Steel and Wire Company for more than thirty years.
I wish I could have met Roy because this loving man was a tremendous influence on his family and many other people. Plus, he crammed an enormous amount of life into the limited time he had on this earth. The life of Roy Woods provided the inspiration for this book.
What do you do in the morning to start your day on the right note?
Each day, while I lay in bed, I speak to Jesus and ask him to guide my day and protect me. After caring for my wife, getting her breakfast and lunch for her work day, I spend time reading and praying. Emily and I have communion during breakfast and I pray for her day before sending her off to her job.
Why don't you share your clay art on Instagram? We are sure your followers would love to see them.
Writing is my current passion and clay art has taken a backseat for the time being. I occasionally provide Sunday messages in various churches where I use my wheel to demonstrate how God shapes us for His purposes, no matter how old or young we are, and relate the message to the prodigal son parable by Jesus. My clay art is available for viewing on my website (Desert Inspiration) and Facebook (Desert Inspiration LLC
Since how long have you been residing in the Prescott area of Arizona with your wife?
We moved from Show Low to Prescott Valley in August 2018. We live with our border collie Shiloh.
Has your wife, Emily read any of your books?
Emily is my number one supporter and constantly ensures I have what I need to succeed in my writing. She has read nearly all my books and manuscripts. Some of our life experiences have found their way into my books (but I shall not specifically say which).
Have you explored more about clay art during quarantine?
I make large bread bowls and wind bells now. Clay art forms are a difficult market, but these two items are in demand.
How has your experience of being associated with AllAuthor been?
AllAuthor is great exposure for my writing and they have been very supportive. I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this interview and share inside information for AllAuthor's readers. I look forward to more opportunities in the future.
