The first story I ever wrote was a comic strip called Doctor Dog. Ironically since that time I don't have much use for fiction. I'd rather read a biography any day.

I write pretty much like I'm telling a story. I love John Grisham, even though I say I don't care for fiction, and I see a lot of his style in the things I write.

I don't remember the first story I ever read, but I do remember reading The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs. For a short story it really made an impression on me--be careful what you wish for!

I want the cover to be a bit of a tease, and to convey an idea from the book. In the first edition of my book Slowly by Slowly I choose a silhouette of a man climbing a mountain which I felt communicated the idea that the book was about a slow journey. In my latest edition I choose a picture I made in Ethiopia of a road with mountains in the distance. Look closely and you'll see a sign that warns for steep inclines ahead; metaphorical imagery of a hard road less traveled.

Hands down my favorite book is Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. That one book has informed my life more than any other book except the Bible. My other favorites tend to be biographies, Christian living, history or technical books about gardening and architecture.

I have an old fashioned teacher's desk which is cleaned off each Friday, but by Monday afternoon there are assorted stacks to deal with. I built a short hutch to top my desk and give me additional storage space and access to a built-in power strip--no typewriter here.

I grew up in a small town in Northeast Mississippi. I am sure I was influenced by a great number of Mississippi authors and story tellers. As a story teller I find that my writing style is very much like my speaking style. Like it or not--what you see is what you get.

Slowly by Slowly is actually in its forth printing. It is not only the story of my life; it is the story behind my passion to serve the poor in the developing world. My hope is that it will both encourage and challenge readers to a simple, obedient faith.

I don't like rejection, and very few publishers would publish the life story of an unknown. I find ordinary people much more fascinating than the famous, and I draw encouragement from the remarkable stories of unremarkable people.

I've kicked around the idea of writing a work of fiction based in Ethiopia. Since I am not much of a fiction reader I wonder if I'd be much of a fiction writer.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Grisham and R.C. Sproul