Kevin, describe yourself for our visitors.
I am a Christian of 18 years, a husband of 13 years, and father of a 3 ½ year old boy (my little champ), and a new author. I have served in the same church for more than a decade as an usher and I was a Home Fellowship leader for some time. Though I am not ordained, I relish each opportunity to teach the bible. I am also quite competitive and love my sports. I enjoy listening to worship music and contemporary Christian music. As a poet, I appreciate good lyrics like those of Mark Schulz, Casting Crowns, Wayne Watson, Chris Tomlin, and others.
How do you find time to connect with God?
With my little guy attached to my hip, it is hard to find time at home during his waking hours. I am a bit of a night owl so after I tuck Ryan in and we say prayers, I stay up to do most of my reading and praying. I also try to read at work during my lunch hour and occasionally get out to the lunchtime bible study at work.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
Aside from the bible my favorite book is The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. It is a cherished gift from my spiritual father which he gave me as he was training me for group leadership. I also love Oswald Chambers. In addition to those I like male themed books since that is a common teaching audience for me, and those on parenting, of course (James Dobson and others)
Tell us about your current book? How did you come up with ideas for this book?
Ideas for the book, Look What the Lord Has Done, were quite easy. It’s an autobiography. The ideas came right out of my own journal, my own prayer closet if you will. In fact, it started as a sort of diary about my experiences as an aspiring father struggling with his wife through a long period of infertility. It includes prayers of longing for that elusive blessing of a child. It continues on to discuss the obstacles we faced upon conception, at Ryan’s birth, and what seemed like a very uncertain and unpromising future for him. It chronicles God’s faithfulness at every turn and it ends on a most victorious note. Well the book ends, but the story continues for Ryan as he writes new chapters daily as a determined little walking testimony.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
As I said, the book, Look What the Lord Has Done, was a journal. I was not even sure I would go the route of publication. I decided that a short story written for my son would be a legacy and a monument for him to reflect on as he grew older. As I continued, the exercise of writing was therapy for me. I repeatedly testified about Ryan and it became clear that this could be a book that really glorified God and would encourage many so I sought to get it published.
I became discouraged about the apparent failure rate for authors sending unsolicited manuscripts to large publishing houses and wondered if this work would ever see a bookshelf. I researched self-publishing and decided on Xulon Press, a Christian publisher. Though it cost money up front, I felt it was a worthwhile investment, even if the book only wound up on one shelf, my son’s. The experience with Xulon was a very positive one for me and I learned quite a bit. I had to find my own editor, do my own typesetting, etc. Xulon handled the print, cover design, and the distribution to various outlets. I am responsible for my own marketing however.
In addition, I retain full rights to my work and reserve the right to sign a contract with any publisher that I like, should they wish to pick up my book.
What’s next for you?
It is a thrill to see my book on the web and in stores for the first time and now I have caught the writing bug. I am going to start working on my next. Then again, maybe I have already started it within the pages of my journal.
Look What the Lord Has Done is my first personal book but I have had some poetry published in a book called Surrender to the Moon. It’s a compilation of various poets.
Where can visitors find you online?
I haven’t started a website yet but my email address for correspondence and updates on Ryan is in the book. It is myguyry@yahoo.com. You might also see me blogging on this site and others.
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