I began writing Willow Falls in 2004. Quite frankly, I had no idea what I was doing. I just told a story the way I thought it should be told. It took me seven years to finish, but I honestly had no idea what to do with it. I approached literary agents and was finally told by one agent that Willow Falls would never be published because it was too secular for the Christian market and too Christian for the secular market. I walked that narrow line, crossing over both, and there was no genre for that.
So, I set Willow Falls down and wrote Sweethome, which crossed those lines even more. It took three years, and I self-published it. It wasn’t long before I was called “An Inappropriate Christian Writer” within my church. That happened at the same time that I lost my job; my wife was diagnosed with Early-onset Alzheimer’s and given five to ten years to live. We had no income and lost our home. We were absolutely devastated.
To help during that time, there were a few within our church who said, “You’re being punished for writing that book!” – Yet, that book had already changed one life and led to one man’s salvation that I knew of, so how could I believe I was being punished? I did not. Yet, we were in a barren wilderness for over two years where I could not find work, not even through a temporary service. Thankfully, we did not live on the streets; we lived with one of our older daughters and her husband, which was humiliating, to say the least.
Hope. As a Christian, I often repose upon the Lord, like a man reclining on a hammock. There are times when I know there is nothing more I can do except remember what the Bible says: Be still, and know I am God. And put my trust in him. Why? Because I’m a Christian and Jesus is my Lord. I am far from perfect that I do know. But writing to me is more important than just a hobby or something I like to do. We have suffered so many things in my family and my personal life that I know how important the word “Hope” is. Having hope when the world collapses around you, and your foundation is rocked is the message of the Matt Bannister Series. Yes, it can be rough, it can be brutal, but soft books don’t prepare for hard times. When the foundation you stand on is rocked by anything within a wide variety of terrible things, there is hope, which is found in Jesus.
A Love to Die For is the last book in the Matt Bannister Series. Much of my marriage and twenty years of my life have been invested in writing this series. It is hard to bring it to an end, but it is time. – I thank each and every one of you who have been a part of this series. It’s because of your support that it has continued to this point. I am blessed with the most loyal and supportive reader base. Thank you for the many emails, messages and public support to tell others about this series. Thank you.
Before I end this, we lived eight long and challenging years with my wife’s diagnosis and declining brain function. Finally, while facing another life-altering challenge, our granddaughter fought cancer for three years before it became terminal. Shortly before our granddaughter went home to the Lord, Cathy, my wife, was told she had been misdiagnosed and did not have Early onset Alzhiemers. After eight years of doctors, medication and all the stress and things that go along with living with it, we got that news. – I don’t believe she was misdiagnosed. I believe the Lord healed her. A misdiagnosis should have been caught in years one, two, three, four… and so on. But it wasn’t. I have eight years of memories that pop up on Facebook with stories, and I remember the heartache, the loneliness and the feeling of being alone. I remember it all. – No. Soft Christian-based stories are not what I know. I know hardships – enduring and overcoming them without losing my faith.
So what’s ahead? I am excited to say that I am starting a new series that expands on the Matt Bannister Series – called The Jessup County Chronicles. Book one of the new series is titled The Gypsum Creek Massacre – Matt’s back! I hope you’ll join me in a new series of adventures, excitement, drama and fun in the next chapters of Matt’s life.
Sincerely,