I grew up in Durham, NC across the street from the Bird Park, which was a city park with a meandering creek, a little league ball field, a picnic shelter and multiple sites for eating, a church 1/2 block away, a community recreation center another 100 yards away, and an elementary school 1 block away with a middle school a bike ride away. My first book was an expose on growing up in this type environment and the life effecting decisions created by it. I wrote my first story when I was in the third grade and fell in love with the written word. As I matured, I became entrenched in the church teachings and read more devotionals and Bible sturdy material. I spoke my first message at this church 1/2/ block away and my second at my uncle's church 90 miles away. By the time I got to high school, however, I slipped away and became my own sinful self.

My loving parents challenged but did not antagonize; sheltered but did not spoil, laughed with me but did not preach to my mistakes, and continued to push me until I finally outgrew my youth (at an older age) and became the man they had seen in me. I never moved away from Durham all my life and now at 67, I have begun renewing my first love--writing.

Though I wrote my first Sci-Fi story in the third grade, I guess I consider my junior year in high school when I first became sure of the power of words. I wrote my draft copy of my book report on Silas Marner and titled it "...and a child will lead them". I was sick at the time and did not attend the next day when we were to produce the final draft. Based on what the teacher saw in my rough draft, I received an A+ and read the report to the class. I have never been so proud and I continue to tell this little story to anyone who listens today. It taught me to be prepared, do your best every step of the way, and love what you do.

I worked 30 years for IBM, 10 as a senior buyer and was always interested in doing my best job. As a result, I got burned out and retired at the age of 47 with little promise for the future. I went back to North Carolina State University and completed my degree and took a job in a small, minority company where I became plant manager after completing my degree. I left that job and opened my own marketing rep business. Since I did not market as well as many, I failed in short order. I then took a job at Duke University Medical Center and shortly thereafter met the most wonderful people I had ever met; each team member sought to help, support, and encourage each other rather than climb a ladder to personal success. In the course of the 15 years I worked at Duke, I quilted memory quilts, baby blankets, and did anything I could to complement this team. The devotions in my latest book describe how each of these team members touched and molded me to get back into writing and serving others rather than self!

E-books has simply opened a new opportunity for all writers. I have a couple of self-published books, but I already told you about my marketing skills. When I read a couple of Smashwords writers on my Nook (second retirement gift), I investigated and knew that even with my limited skills, time, and money I could find personal pride in this endeavor. I have gotten into this and fully enjoy and support the impact that Smashwords has made on digital publishing. Thanks for giving all of us newbies and indies motivation and an outlet for our thoughts--fiction or devotionals.

Success is a matter of personal opinion. I have already told you how much I appreciate Smashwords being there for us authors. I have now written 7 books(downloaded 533 times on Smashwords) and have a new one due out in September and a novel due in first quarter 2014. Without Smashwords, I would not have the motivation to do this. My books are free, but because of the author/affiliate program, I have put $288 into my PayPal account. That is simply Smashwords marketing! I do nothing but look for new book ideas. My success is telling His story in ways and thoughts I can express effectibvely (and it certainly does not include self-promotion).

As I sit reading my Bible or on-line explanations of something I am researching, the light goes off and I go from lost to leading. I get excited every time I hit a stretch and suddenly the light goes off! Just feeling that He is along side me writing when I get dissed (distracted, discouraged, and disinterested). It is hard to give up when I know that He is right beside me waiting to show me something new to share with others.

I wrote a short Sunday School novelette on my granddaughter and her life in the fifth grade I have decided to write a novel due out the first of the year about this same granddaughter and what has happened to her afterwards. Her mother and father have now been divorced for 12 years during which time she has not seen her father. The main thought the girl expressed from the time she turned 5 until she was 18 was, "Where were you when , , ," As her father lies in his death bed, he finally tries to answer her questions.

Mqx Lucado is "hands down" my favorite author. I read much more than devotionals, but his style, approach, message, and presentation are simply the best. I read anything that Jan Karon or Nickolas Sparks puts out because both of them show the love of God without preaching it. I love blatant "God propaganda" but I love seeing God in action through these fictional writers. Nicky Charles is the Smashwords author that impresses me the most because not only her books are free, but she has a creative flow beyond most and I learn so much about my own self by reading her character building. Another one is Stephanie Meyer. How could anyone create such an easy script? I was blown away by her creativity!

Since I retired the second time, I need physical activity to free my creativity. I have taken up house flipping along with my wife and son to fill those hours and take away those dollars (I am earning on my free books at Smashwords). I have learned so much about myself, my team, and my dreams. I used this experience to write my house flipping on my blog and that helped me to write even more about the things I love. The honeymoon time that I get to spend with my bride of 45 years is all the inspiration I need to get up and get on!

Well, Tony Robbins has been copied by me. I spend time gathering data about a subject and then I storyboard it. Looking at the data I have, I generally see where I am going and how to get there quickly. Of course, when we write we must allow our God-given self to take control. I often end up way off where I began, but that leaves me material for yet another book (the original one).

Going back to my third grade story is always a pleasure to me. I read a comic book Sci-Fi story and it inspired me to copy little insignificant things like plot, character, setting, and surprise ending. Of course that did teach me how important a model can be. I am not afraid to plagerize to small degrees because I think that is complementary to the author. We get much more from a great author than just a great story; we get a new fresh perspective. Every story we read should motivate us to see what the story means to our story.