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Above The Fold - June 14, 2010
DONALD JAMES PARKER
Insightful, Thought-Provoking Author
And Christian Activist
Donald James Parker is a 1968 graduate of Madison Central High School in Madison, South Dakota. He graduated from Dakota State University in Madison in 1972 with a degree in secondary education, and after moving to Washington State in 1981, he studied computer programming and turned his writing efforts to software. After twenty-five years of IT work, Donald's passion for writing flared up again, and the doctors couldn't do anything to cure it; the outcome is a five-book series involving two generations of the Masterson family. If demand warrants, the series will expand as the future unfolds.
To learn more about Donald, visit his website at:
BOOK VIDEO TRAILER:
Against The Twilight
(Donald James Parker)
Against The Twilight
(Donald James Parker)
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Donald James Parker (Against The Twilight)
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Donald. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book and other efforts with our readers.
What inspired this quite clever, multi-layered romance tale?
Donald James Parker: The story was supposed to combat the vampire mania, as the Apex review accurately identified. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I just arrived at the fact that a woman involved in writing such literature needed to learn that what she was doing was not innocuous. The romance part just came as I typed. I thought I brute forced the ending in a way so that my hero acted in an unwise manner of making an extremely critical decision hastily.
AR: What's the deeper significance of the book's title?
DJP: Twilight represents the blending of light and darkness. Many Christians are living in that twilight zone with one foot in the kingdom and one in the world. The Bible says that God shall spew the lukewarm out of His mouth. So this book is a call to the church to walk away from anything that smacks of evil. Then of course the Twilight series is one of the targets of the book so that interpretation of the title is intuitively obvious.
AR: Given their obvious differences, what is it between David and Heather that attracts them so powerfully to one another?
DJP: Physical attraction. One of the hardest lessons to learn is that beauty is only skin deep. Hollywood has sold us on the fact that our spouse has to be a hunk or a beauty queen. God said that true beauty comes from inside our heart and spirit. Obviously I can relate to David’s problem since I made that part so convincing.
AR: As good as Cindy apparently is for him, why does David struggle to break away from Heather in favor of her?
DJP: Moth to a flame; we are often drawn to the things that destroy us.
AR: What kinds of responses have you gotten to the book thus far?
DJP: Almost nobody has read it yet. One lady at my church read the ebook twice and when she got a paperback for her granddaughter, she said she was going to read it a third time before she turned it over. My proofreaders have read it. Other than that I have had no feedback.
AR: One of the trademark signatures of your writing style is humor. Is it difficult for you to infuse levity in all your tales?
DJP: Absolutely not. I was in the running for the class clown. Everything that comes out of my mouth sometimes is an attempted joke. My daughters don’t even think I’m funny at all. That analysis doesn’t dissuade me from trying to create heart medicine through levity.
AR: Who have been some of your chief writing influences?
DJP: Mark Twain maybe. O Henry. I don’t consciously study anyone’s style and attempt to be their clone. Michener was a reverse influence. I swore I’d never write with all the description that he bogs readers down with. Hemingway’s brevity appeals to me.
AR: Please share more with our readers about your publishing company, Sword Of The Spirit Publishing.
DJP: Sword of the Spirit Publishing was founded to publish books which will not find a home with a traditional publisher due to the controversial nature of the content or the belief that they won’t be lucrative and provide a return on investment. SOS has the mission statement to crusade against deception – in the world and in the church. So we publish whatever we can that will aid in that battle.
AR: We noticed that you're now starting to publish other authors through the company. What inspired you to take that step?
DJP: I had always intended to publish others' works. I have two more manuscripts that I’m preparing right now. I don’t have time to write and publish many each year, but I hope to obtain at least a couple of good manuscripts every twelve months. I’ll soon be publishing a novel concerning adultery by Michelle Sutton entitled Never Without Hope. Another non-fiction book by David Allen Brown is named Love Notes from Above.
AR: What's next for you?
DJP: I am working on four books right now. I need to figure out what to blitz to the finish line. I’m about 60% done with a book about a Native American reservation in my homeland of South Dakota. I also have a manuscript barely started about a daughter who walks away from the Lord and her earthly father. Another manuscript on Internet dating is about 30% complete. And I already have a sequel to that one underway. I need to focus on one and get’r done. I finished Twilight in 15 days in my spare time, so I know I can churn another out pretty soon if I would only get to work. I stared a BlogTalk radio show, am writing two monthly columns for web magazines, and am planning to start my own Web television show in the new few weeks. So I’m not letting any grass grow between my toes or any other part of my anatomy. Unfortunately all of that outside activity cuts down my book productivity.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
DJP: www.DonaldJamesParker.com They can download any of my ebooks for free there.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
DJP: Knock on my front door. Or email me at scaramouche9999@yahoo.com
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
DJP: Another big thank you to Apex. Kudos to Latonya for another excellent review. According to her, I hit the bulls-eye with my fiery dart, so I’m pleased.
AR: Thanks again, Donald, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Donald. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book and other efforts with our readers.
What inspired this quite clever, multi-layered romance tale?
Donald James Parker: The story was supposed to combat the vampire mania, as the Apex review accurately identified. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I just arrived at the fact that a woman involved in writing such literature needed to learn that what she was doing was not innocuous. The romance part just came as I typed. I thought I brute forced the ending in a way so that my hero acted in an unwise manner of making an extremely critical decision hastily.
AR: What's the deeper significance of the book's title?
DJP: Twilight represents the blending of light and darkness. Many Christians are living in that twilight zone with one foot in the kingdom and one in the world. The Bible says that God shall spew the lukewarm out of His mouth. So this book is a call to the church to walk away from anything that smacks of evil. Then of course the Twilight series is one of the targets of the book so that interpretation of the title is intuitively obvious.
AR: Given their obvious differences, what is it between David and Heather that attracts them so powerfully to one another?
DJP: Physical attraction. One of the hardest lessons to learn is that beauty is only skin deep. Hollywood has sold us on the fact that our spouse has to be a hunk or a beauty queen. God said that true beauty comes from inside our heart and spirit. Obviously I can relate to David’s problem since I made that part so convincing.
AR: As good as Cindy apparently is for him, why does David struggle to break away from Heather in favor of her?
DJP: Moth to a flame; we are often drawn to the things that destroy us.
AR: What kinds of responses have you gotten to the book thus far?
DJP: Almost nobody has read it yet. One lady at my church read the ebook twice and when she got a paperback for her granddaughter, she said she was going to read it a third time before she turned it over. My proofreaders have read it. Other than that I have had no feedback.
AR: One of the trademark signatures of your writing style is humor. Is it difficult for you to infuse levity in all your tales?
DJP: Absolutely not. I was in the running for the class clown. Everything that comes out of my mouth sometimes is an attempted joke. My daughters don’t even think I’m funny at all. That analysis doesn’t dissuade me from trying to create heart medicine through levity.
AR: Who have been some of your chief writing influences?
DJP: Mark Twain maybe. O Henry. I don’t consciously study anyone’s style and attempt to be their clone. Michener was a reverse influence. I swore I’d never write with all the description that he bogs readers down with. Hemingway’s brevity appeals to me.
AR: Please share more with our readers about your publishing company, Sword Of The Spirit Publishing.
DJP: Sword of the Spirit Publishing was founded to publish books which will not find a home with a traditional publisher due to the controversial nature of the content or the belief that they won’t be lucrative and provide a return on investment. SOS has the mission statement to crusade against deception – in the world and in the church. So we publish whatever we can that will aid in that battle.
AR: We noticed that you're now starting to publish other authors through the company. What inspired you to take that step?
DJP: I had always intended to publish others' works. I have two more manuscripts that I’m preparing right now. I don’t have time to write and publish many each year, but I hope to obtain at least a couple of good manuscripts every twelve months. I’ll soon be publishing a novel concerning adultery by Michelle Sutton entitled Never Without Hope. Another non-fiction book by David Allen Brown is named Love Notes from Above.
AR: What's next for you?
DJP: I am working on four books right now. I need to figure out what to blitz to the finish line. I’m about 60% done with a book about a Native American reservation in my homeland of South Dakota. I also have a manuscript barely started about a daughter who walks away from the Lord and her earthly father. Another manuscript on Internet dating is about 30% complete. And I already have a sequel to that one underway. I need to focus on one and get’r done. I finished Twilight in 15 days in my spare time, so I know I can churn another out pretty soon if I would only get to work. I stared a BlogTalk radio show, am writing two monthly columns for web magazines, and am planning to start my own Web television show in the new few weeks. So I’m not letting any grass grow between my toes or any other part of my anatomy. Unfortunately all of that outside activity cuts down my book productivity.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
DJP: www.DonaldJamesParker.com They can download any of my ebooks for free there.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
DJP: Knock on my front door. Or email me at scaramouche9999@yahoo.com
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
DJP: Another big thank you to Apex. Kudos to Latonya for another excellent review. According to her, I hit the bulls-eye with my fiery dart, so I’m pleased.
AR: Thanks again, Donald, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!