Part 3: Q & A with William Sirls, Author of The Reason

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Enter the drawing for an autographed copy of The Reason by William Sirls. Here's how:

Leave a comment here with your email address – up to 4 entries (one for the review and one each for the three days of author interviews.)

Be a friend  of William Sirls on Facebook -- 1 entry

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Be sure to leave comment here to let me know how many entries you are eligible for. Drawing will be held October 15 and winners will be announced here.

Q & A with William Sirls – Part 3

Including a Kenneth character in the book made me uncomfortable at times, but by the end I felt it worked. Did you have any reservations about telling the story the way you did?

I have had readers tell me Kenneth is an angel, a prophet, Jesus, and even God himself. In rewriting the manuscript, transitioning this character from magical to spiritual was the most rewarding writing experience of my life. Kenneth was the ideal character to help me share personal lessons I learned in prison involving patience, forgiveness, grace, and most importantly faith.

I think many people are uncomfortable initiating conversations about their faith with non-believers. It is my desire that people who have read The Reason will pass their copy on to a friend that may be “on the fence” … and then ask them who Kenneth is. I think this will remove some of that awkwardness from the topic and then hopefully spark dialogue that could lead someone in God’s direction.

There are so many interesting characters in this book. And, unlike many books, there wasn't a main one. Did that make the book easier or harder to write? Did any of the characters try to take over as you wrote?

There are many characters in The Reason, and they come from different walks of life. Not having a main character made the book easier to write from the standpoint that I could split the focus on all of the characters and freely describe their different problems and unique needs for both love and healing. At the same time, it also made it more difficult, because it’s risky to write without a main character. Still, I decided to do it this way, hoping that readers would latch on to different characters … perhaps with the one that closely resembles the reader. With God’s help, I think I may have gotten away with it.

Did any of characters try to take over as I wrote? That’s a great question. Once the characters all made it to the church to work on the cross, they all started telling me what to do, particularly Zach Norman. He’s a recovering control freak, much like the guy that created him.

What was your favorite scene to write? Why?

The chapel scene at the end of the story. This was actually the part of the book that I had written first. Once I had a target to hit, I then went back to the beginning and the characters guided me to the end.

What was the most difficult scene to write? Why?

Forgiveness is something that I have received more of than I truly deserve. Forgiveness plays a huge role in all of our lives on earth, whether it be giving it to someone or receiving it from someone. With that said, the most difficult scenes for me to write were Zach Norman in the cemetery and Carla under the bridge. These scenes reminded me of the only real forgiveness any of us ever need, and I found myself wiping tears off my cheeks while writing both of these scenes.

How has publishing The Reason changed your life?

When I originally rewrote The Reason, my primary goal was to challenge readers to be open to the possibility that God manifests himself in front of each and every one of us every single day. If they look, they will recognize and see what can only be Him. When we first began transitioning the story from a self-published reader copy to a traditionally published book, one of my first conversations with Thomas Nelson was with Natalie Hanemann. I’ll never forget her telling me that our two primary goals were to entertain readers and help bring them closer to God. Something about that second goal flitted around in my head for quite a while. It almost seemed absurd to me that a convicted felon would even be considered for such a task. Now, a year later, I’m reading emails, reviews, and having conversations with people that are beyond anything I ever imagined, and there is no better feeling knowing that with God’s help, we just may be doing what we set out to do.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I love to hear from readers, and they can find me at WilliamSirls.com, on Facebook (William Sirls) and on Twitter @williamsirls.

Read part 1 of the interview here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/part-1-q-with-william-sirls-author-of.html
Read part 2 of the interview here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/part-2-q-with-william-sirls-author-of.html
Read review here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-review-reason-by-william-sirls.html

Part 2: Q & A with William Sirls, Author of The Reason

Win an Autographed Copy of this Book

Enter the drawing for an autographed copy of The Reason by William Sirls. Here's how:

Leave a comment here with your email address – up to 4 entries (one for the review and one each for the three days of author interviews.)

Be a friend  of William Sirls on Facebook -- 1 entry

Be a follower of the Christian Bookmobile -- 1 entry

Share this review on Facebook -- 1 entry

Share this review on Twitter -- 1 entry

Be sure to leave comment here to let me know how many entries you are eligible for. Drawing will be held October 15 and winners will be announced here.

Q & A with William Sirls – Part 2

I read that you went to WestBow before being published by Thomas Nelson. Does that mean there were many rejections first? Did you have an agent at that time? Why did you pick WestBow?

Whenever I think about this, I shake my head. God has been too good to me. I’m fortunate to have missed any rejection. Looking back, it’s funny, because I don’t think I ever had any intention of publishing the original story. When I was released from prison in 2010, I was given the opportunity by some family members to work on the book and hone it so that it was presentable to readers. I loved the creative control one has with self-publishing, so we started looking around with our three biggest goals being expanded editing, a good product, and distribution. I really didn't care about the book ending up on a shelf at a store … I wanted people to go online and get it if they wanted to read it … which brought us to WestBow.

I have a niece that loves doing research. She knew what we wanted, and she sent me a link with WestBow’s information and handful of pretty good reviews, so I gave them a call, and ultimately nobody compared to them. Since Thomas Nelson is the driving force behind WestBow, it was a pretty easy decision.

A few months before the self-published version of the book was going to be released, WestBow’s publisher and director of channel sales, Alan Bower, had me testing different titles and different covers with my group of trusted readers. Before long, we were comfortable with what we had and decided to print 100 advance copies to create a little buzz.

WestBow took some copies, I took some, and the rest went to friends and family.  I had also decided to call some of the biggest churches in the country and asked if they had any avid readers who would be interested in reading advanced copies of the book and maybe provide me with feedback.  Once I had permission, I included a letter with each copy. I introduced myself, provided my phone number and email address, and mentioned I would greatly appreciate it if the reader would let me know what they thought. 

I didn't hear anything for a month or so, and was expecting, at tops, maybe a half a dozen responses. I wanted to identify recurring themes or concerns readers had so that I could make revisions before the final version of the book was released.

Then I received my first email from a woman out west that said she enjoyed the book and couldn't wait for it to come out.  It was an awesome feeling. Then I received a phone call from a woman that ran a church bookstore, wanting to know how they could buy it.  Before I knew it, we had well over 200 responses from men, women, teenagers, and ministers, sharing how the book affected them in ways that I couldn't believe. Their responses have changed the reason I want to continue to write. Fortunately, one of those advance copies ended up on the desk of a receptionist at Thomas Nelson, and it was her response to the book that resulted in it being passed on to their fiction team. Just before we were to release the self-published version of The Reason, Thomas Nelson picked up the title along with a request for me to write two additional titles. Once again, God has been quite good to me, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Read part 3 of the interview tomorrow.
Read part 1 of the interview here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/part-1-q-with-william-sirls-author-of.html
Read review here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-review-reason-by-william-sirls.html

BOOK REVIEW: Nick of Time by Tim Downs

The books I like best make me laugh, cry, gasp, and stay awake at night thinking about the characters. Nick of Time caused me to chuckle. Two or three times.

Nick Polchak, a forensic entomologist, who apparently is more comfortable around dead people than live ones, surprises his few friends by announcing he is getting married to Alena Savard. Alena, a dog trainer who lives alone in a double-wide mobile home in the Virginia woods, has fewer friends than Nick does, if you don't count her pack of dogs.

Nick is a member of the Vidocq Society, a group of forensic specialists who meet in Philadelphia monthly to investigate cold cases. He is enticed to attend a meeting just a week before the wedding. Alena is not too happy about Nick leaving her with all the wedding preparations. But he feels he must go. He gets her a cell phone and, since there is no cell service where she lives, they agree for her to go into Endor each night so he can call her.

At the meeting, Nick learns the friend and fellow member of the Society who had asked him to come to the meeting had been killed. His death is apparently related to a cold case he was working on. While investigating the murder, Nick ends up in jail and is not able to call Alena. When Nick doesn't call for several days, Alena wonders if he is in trouble or is getting cold feet about their marriage. Either way, she decides to find him, taking three dogs with her. One for protection, one for tracking, and one to find a dead body.

For the rest of the book, Nick searches for the killer while Alena searches for Nick. Both stories are interesting. She proves to be as good an investigator as he is and she would have found him quickly if she had not been misdirected by people she trusted.

Does Nick find the killer? Does Alena find Nick? Do they get married? You'll have to read the book to find out.

Nick of Time is well structured and well written. There are places where I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. Unfortunately, there weren't enough such places.

My main criticism of the book is that the characters never came alive for me. Nick and Alena were alike as advertised on the back of the book. But there could have been some differences. Even the supporting characters sounded a lot like Nick to me.

Rating: 3 Stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” After reading the book, I donated it to a church library.

BOOK REVIEW: Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

This is a story about three women, working in criminal investigative jobs in Portland, Oregon. Federal prosecutor Allison Pierce, FBI Agent Nicole Hedges, and television crime reporter Cassidy Shaw, long-time friends from school, team up to find a cold-hearted killer before more lives are lost. Time becomes more critical when the killer threatens to harm them and their loved ones.

This is the third book in a series called Triple Threat, named for the three main characters. In my opinion it is the best yet. As usual, it is suspenseful, full of action, and about interesting characters. I like the way the reader is given insights the three women don't have yet. This adds to the suspense.

Although each book in the series stands alone, I felt the characters in this one had grown emotionally since the last book. Each had gone through life events that would make anyone stop and evaluate their situation. Or, perhaps the authors have grown. I say that because I also felt the other characters, the criminal ones, were more real to me than in past books.

There is a subtle message about how different people react to God, but it does not take away from an enjoyable read. I strongly recommend Heart of Ice!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” After reading the book, I donated it to a church library.

BOOK REVIEW: A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury

This is the story of Abby and John Reynolds and how they got to the brink of divorce after twenty-two years of being happily married, all while keeping their marriage problems secret from their three children and their friends.

While I enjoyed reading the book and got caught up with the characters, I never fully believed this could happen. Why? Because these were spiritual people who were supposedly brought together by God. When the story begins they weren't even going to church. Surely someone would have noticed that. They went to a marriage counselor, but not a Christian one as far as I could tell.

The children were not as blind to the marital problems as their parents thought and it was their prayers that may have helped more than the counseling. Nicole, their daughter, was especially aware of there being something wrong, all while wanting to pattern her upcoming marriage to that of her parents. I enjoyed the scenes told from Nicole's point of view.

All in all, it was worth reading. I just wish it could have been more believable.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” After reading the book, I gave it to a church library.

BOOK REVIEW: The Falling Away by T.L. Hines

This is a story of good versus evil as seen through the eyes of an unlikely group of Americans. Street people with obsessive compulsive disorders become soldiers for God. Drug users and alcoholics, drug runners and criminals, all are pawns in this battle. Cult members are sedated by the evil one to get them to infect others with hate and evil.

There are two main characters, Dylan Runs Ahead, a recent veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who was wounded at the same time his friend was killed. He is also an American Indian, but left the reservation to join the Army after his sister Joni disappeared. He felt the blame for her disappearance since he was late picking her up.

The other main character is Quinn Simmons, who was fifteen years old when her mentally ill mother disappeared from the homeless shelter where they were staying, leaving Quinn to manage on her own. She became a member of the Falling Away to rid the earth of evil, sometime through prayer and sometimes through more extreme means. Her job in the book was to keep Dylan from being taken over by the demon Li, who ran the HIVE, a cult communal farm.

This is a book best read all the way through without stopping. Not because it's hard to read, but because it's hard to put it down after you start reading it.

I made the mistake of starting it one night after I climbed into bed hoping to get sleepy quickly and, like I usually do, drop the book where it falls as I reach up to turn off the lamp.

That didn't happen with The Falling Away.

I stayed engaged with the story straight through to the end. The author did an excellent job of quickly getting into the action while slowly, unobtrusively, inserting back story about Dylan and Quinn. However, by the time I finished the book, I knew it was not the story of God's love that I thought it would be. It reminded me of Rosemary's Baby in a way. I'm not against the use of symbolism, but I didn't find the redeeming factors I need to make the story useful and fulfilling.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The book was donated to a non-profit organization after I read it.

BOOK REVIEW: Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl and April Henry

I purchased the CD edition of the book, read by Pam Turlow, for a long automobile trip and enjoyed it so much I bought the first in the series when I got back.

Hand of Fate is the second book in the Triple Threat series, so named because of the three main characters, Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor, Nicole Hedges, an FBI special agent, and Cassidy Shaw, a TV crime reporter. These three are friends and have a history of being in college together.

The story begins with the murder of a radio talk show host in Portland, Oregon, and the main goal is to find the killer, or killers. One of the trio is a close friend of the victim and the other two had scheduled a meeting with him before he was killed because he was receiving threats. Unfortunately for Jim Fate, he was killed before the meeting.

The story moves along quickly with suspense, action, and realistic characters. Each of the triple threat women have subplots going on in their lives not directly related to solving the mystery, but these subplots did not distract from the story. There were many twists and turns along the way, just like in any good book.

I would recommend Hand of Fate to anyone interested in a good mystery.

BOOK REVIEW: Angel Song by Sheila Walsh and Kathryn Cushman

This is the story of Ann Fletcher, a New York City home and office staging designer, who finds herself at a crossroad where she must choose between success in the big city and what she knows deep down is the right thing to do.

She is happily progressing in the business world until the death of her sister Sarah brings her back to her childhood home in Charleston and the reality that she is all alone in the world.

Sarah's friends show Ann the same Christian love they had shared with Sarah, but Ann only wants to sell the house and get back to New York. She is torn between wanting to let Sarah's friends into her life and pushing them away so that it won't hurt her so much when she leaves Charleston. Sarah's neighbor Tammy and her son Keith get close to Ann as does Ethan, who feels compelled to help Ann. Keith, who has Down's Syndrome sees angels, and points out the ones who are always with Ann. Ann doesn't believe in angels, but she hears music (angel song) she can't explain.

The overall message of Angel Song is inspiring, without being preachy. Because of the way it is crafted, the angel element of the story is believable. The book moved slowly in places and it wasn't until near the last one-fourth of the book that I became more emotionally involved.

One message in the book is that we always have choices. Even when Ann had to make decisions that might negatively impact the lives of her friends and her friend's children, she had a choice. Another message is that no one is alone in the world.

This book is worth reading, just give it time to hook you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” After reading the book, I gave it to San Gabriel Presbyterian Church Library in Georgetown, Texas.

God Works in Mysterious Ways--Again

I told you about going to the Writers' League of Texas Agents Conference last month. At one of the sessions I heard about how bloggers can get free books from publishers in return for reviews. One publisher mentioned in particular was Thomas Nelson. I knew this company published Christian books so I contacted them and was approved to do reviews.

When asked, I specified Christian Fiction because that would fit best with The Christian Bookmobile. However, when I checked in to request a book, the only one available to me was Fearless by Max Lucado, a non-fiction book.

While waiting for the book to be delivered, I read the sample chapters provided online (Chapters 1 and 9) and, based on what I read, found a solution to a problem I was experiencing in my life. I didn't think until later that perhaps this was another example of how God helps us in mysterious ways.

I have much to be thankful for in my life, but two recent negative incidents, both out of my control, completely overshadowed the positives. As I read Fearless, I realized I was feeling fear. Lucado writes, "...fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness. Happiness complies and leaves." Aha, that was what was happening to me.

Continuing to read, I found the solution. "What if faith, not fear was your default reaction to threats?" Then, I understood. At that moment, my fear and feelings of being out of control went away.