Tag: writer

The Upgrade

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I love you Lord;
For your voice means the world to me;
Say it, I’ll do it,
I needn’t understand
For you have made your dwelling with me.

O Lord you will lead me through the valleys,
Of the shadows of the death of me,
You O Lord puts the word in season in my mouth;
You have made my tongue the pen of a ready writer,
For you have chosen me for deeds noble.

I will never really understand your love,
How you choose to love an adulterer,
Or make prayers in folded palms,
For the ones whom a hole,
They drilled into your palms,
Or choose to let a kiss betray you,
And yet still gave your life,
As a sacrifice! All for what?
To prove your love for me,
Yes, I have denied you more than three times,
Yet, you choose to love me,
I guess my eyes will always see love differently,
Love that crossed my I’s,
Love on the crossed-eye
love of God, for I!

How do I tell this story,
A tale as old as two cities,
Before time could even speak,
My brain never seems to figure out the math,
Of how you could love scandalously,
How a Prince gave up everything,
To love a low-life like me!
My scars didn’t scare Him,
Rather He kissed them!
Now I see nothing but love!

And when I kept at you,
You looked at me so tender
You said, “spread your mercy abroad,
To the good and to the ungrateful,
You’re like me that way,
What I do for my living,
This is the upgrade you need”.

Olaoye Adeleye,
Favour Omeje,
©2020

THE C.V.

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The sparrow’s songs. The jackal’s laughter.
The lion’s roar. Eve’s allure.
Adam’s strength.
One string through them all.
I am the one in all.
I am.
Me.

I’m the greatest artist of all time
Way before Shakespeare conceived Juliet
I had you in mind, my Jewel, yet
Unlike Juliet and her Romeo
My romantic tales with you end with no woes.

I am Lover. I am Writer.
Warrior drenched in blood and sand.
Ten thousand chariots, one rider. Me.
I created light. I am Light Himself.
Within, outside, and beyond time.
I am.

Stand in awe before me. Beauty Himself.
Most Amazing. Most Intelligent. Most High.
I am the One who was, who is,
Who always will be jealous for you.
I just am.

Notice.
That organ beating beneath your rib cage?
It sings my praise.
Each and every breath you take
Is a testimony to my genius. No tease.
And when a strand of your hair falls, I notice.
Note this.

I am the grandest musician ever
See, I set your heart beating
And those strings that play each time you blink
I made those long before
Beethoven ever played Duh Duh Duh Duh!

Duh!
For you, I am haven.
For your problems, I’m a monster.
I’m your most primal craving.
Though you know it not.

Forget Ali. I’m the greatest.
I call into your depths. And you answer.
I cancel your debts.
I destroyed your death.
I’m the depths

With a staff, I divide seas.
Dry rod flowers. Ax floats on water.
The bulldozer. I am.
When I nod, the mountains melt.
The seas? They flee when I breathe.
I do the impossible.
I am impossible.
I am.

I am.
I touch your tongues, and you spit flames.
I make you hot. Make you look hot.
But if you’d rather look warm
Then out of my mouth will I spew you.
Who’re you kidding?
I took the punishments due you.
I call many. Choose few. You.

I am.
I’m Tsidkeneu. I make you new.
I am Creator. Crazy Romantic.
I am Theos. Yah’owah. The Vyevo-Vyavo.
The Lily – not of the valley, cos I made those too.
I’m the Lily. Period.

I am.
I am the beginning. I am the end.
I am each and everything between zero and infinity.
The infinite. The without-which-not.
I am not just God. I’m also the Just God.
The God of justice. The God that just is.

I am.
Yahweh. Shaddai.
Omniscient. Omni-knowing.
Omni-sabi.
Na only Me sabi as e dey do you.

I. Am. God.

Nonso John
© 2019

C.S LEWIS: A biography

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I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but
because by it I see everything else …

C.S Lewis

 

Quick Facts
Full Name: Clive Staples Lewis
Born: November 29, 1898
Died: November 22, 1963 (aged 64)
Work: Writer, Apologist, Poet, Scholar
Most Popular Works: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters.

Known by friends and family as Jack (a self given name he adopted up after his dog
Jacksie was killed by a car). You could say he was a man born before his time in many
ways or rather still a man who launched the world to new times by his rich imagination
and rigid faith.

Born in Belfast, Ireland (present day Northern Ireland) into the well positioned family of
Albert and Florence Lewis. As a young lad, his imagination ran free with a particular
fascination of anthropomorphic animals, he and his brother Warnie soon created the
world of Boxen, populated and driven by talking animals. His appetite to read was
stirred and well watered by his parents who stocked the house full of books, his dad
being a solicitor and his mom a graduate of the Royal University of Ireland (a fit quite
rare for women in those days). Lewis himself being a bit prodigy himself was reading by
age three and by five had begun writing stories, he fed extensively and voraciously on
those books, he writes in his autobiography, Suprised by Joy “endless books… There
were books in the study, books in the dinning room, books in the cloakroom, books (two
deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as
my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds” and none was off limits to him.
Life took a not so pleasant turn when his brother Warnie was sent off to boarding
school in England, leaving the young Lewis alone, he became somewhat reclusive,
spending more and more time in books and his imaginary world of dressed animal and
knights in armor. Things went even more sour when he turned 10 and his mother died
of Cancer, he became even more driven into himself and his books, his father never
really fully recovered and this led both boys to feel even more estranged from their
dad. His mom’s death planted a seed of doubt in God, he reasoned that God, if not
cruel, was at least a vague abstraction. About five years down that line around 1912 (in
the tender teen age of 15) and with the additional influence of his boarding school
(where his father had now enrolled him) and, Lewis abandoned the Christian faith and
became an avowed atheist, he later described his young self as being paradoxically
“angry with God for not existing”.

 

By September of 1914 Lewis was sent to Great Bookham, Surrey, to be privately tutored
by W.T. Kirkpatrick, this man had a tremendous effect upon the young Lewis, he
introduced him to classics in Greek, Latin and Italian literature. Being a tutor that must
see result he helped Lewis learn how to criticize and analyze, taught him how to think,
speak and write logically. After nearly three years with Kirkpatrick Lewis had grown in
bounds and leaps in his literary academic prowess, this showed in his success in the
scholarship examinations at Oxford and later in his outstanding performance at
University College, grabbing highest honours in honour moderations, greats and
English. His hardpressing mentor also helped him reinforce his atheistic beliefs, but his
admission to Oxford and the associates he would soon make would cause the budding
Lewis to rethink his God-void universe.

He entered the world of Oxford in 1917 and in a sense he never left, despite the call to
fight in World war 1 and his professorship later in life at Cambridge, he always
maintained his home and friends in Oxford. During World war 1 he and his college
roommate Paddy Moore, made promises to each other, that if either of them should
die in the war, the other would take care of the deceased’s family. Paddy Moore died,
Lewis kept his word and took care of Paddy’s mother, after completing his first degree
in 1920, Lewis decided to share the same lodging with Paddy Moore’s family so that he
could more carefully look out for their needs, this kind gesture got Lewis outside of
himself and taught him patience. Soon the books The everlasting man by G.K.
Chesterton and Phantastes by George MacDonald began to dig through his stony
atheistic heart, he would later write of the book Phantastes “what it actually did to me
was to convert, even baptize…my imagination”

 

The years went on but distress in the stony heart of Lewis only kept increasing, friends
from his student and post student life like Owen Barfield and Nevill Coghill often
pounced on the logic of Lewis’ atheism. He would later meet two more Christians with
whom he became close friends; J.R.R Tokien (author, Lord of the Rings) and Hugo
Dyson. Eventually the two paths converged in Lewis’ mind: one was reason and the
other intuition, he vigorously resisted conversion, noting that he was brought back into
Christianity like a prodigal, “kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every
direction for a chance to escape”. He painted his final struggle to come to God in his
book Suprised by Joy, “You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen[College,
Oxford], night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my
work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.
That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity term of 1929 I gave
in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the
most dejected and reluctant convert in all England”

After his conversion to Theism in 1929, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931, after a
lengthy talk and late night walk with his close friends Tokien and Hugo Dyson. He
became a firm member of the Church of England -somewhat to the disappointment of
Tolkien, who had hoped he would join the Catholic church.
The second world war, proved to be a set time for C.S. Lewis, he spoken on radio from
1941 to 1943 by the BBC while the city was under periodic air raids, these broadcasts
were widely received and ministered greatly to the people, also increasing the
popularity of Lewis. After the war in 1951 he declined a honour by George VI as
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in order to avoid association with
political issues.

It is interesting to note that with the increase of Lewis fame came other pressures,
numerous invitations to entertain guests, grant interviews, give lectures and preach
sermons. And even though he felt called by God to write, he likewise felt it was
required of him to counsel all those who came all the way to his home. As his books
became popular he was flooded by letters, and because he believed that it was Gods
will for him to answer most of this mail himself stating that there were “no ordinary
people” he took his time to write with care to each correspondent regardless of age,
education, or place in society, needless to say this consumed many hours each week.
Joy entered his life in 1956, literally. Joy Davidman, an American writer also a convert
from Atheism to Christianity became Mrs Lewis. She and her two teenaged kids
changed C.S. Lewis’ life for the better. His happiness can be seen in a note he wrote to a
friend soon after they got married “it’s funny having at 59 the sort of happiness most
men have in their twenties… ‘Thou hast kept the good wine till now’.” She brought him
love, companionship and tow stepson with all its accompanying drama, she also
encouraged him to renew his writing of apologetics. Unfortunately his Joy was short
lived as she died of Cancer 4 years into their most blissful marriage. Lewis was quite
devastated by this loss and describes his experience of bereavement in his book A Grief
Observed, he expressed his feelings in such a raw and personal manner that he
originally released it under the pseudonym N. W Clerk to keep readers from associating
the book with him. Funny enough, many friends recommended the book to Lewis as a
method of dealing with his own grief.

 

C.S. Lewis was a reputed Scholar, prolific writer and noted Novelist who infused Biblical
themes in his story lines, his novel, The Pilgrim’s Regress following John Bunyan’s style
in The Pilgrims Progress was the first of Christian publications he would make and more
were sure to follow. The Chronicles of Narnia in particular, which has been adopted
both into feature films and programs carries the biblical theme of Christ (Aslan in this
case) who basically gives his life for the salvation of those He loves and comes back to
life again. His book, Mere Christianity was voted best book of the twentieth century by
Christianity Today in 2000, he has been called “The Apostle to the Skeptics” due to his
approach to faith, presenting a reasonable case for Christianity, other books in this class
include, The Problem of Pain and Miracles. In 2008 he was ranked by The Times as the
eleventh on their list of “the 50 greatest British writers since 1945”
Lewis died at the Kilns on November 22, 1963, buried beside his brother who passed on
10 years later, he authored more than 70 titles, including works of science fiction,
fantasy, poetry, letters, autobiography and Christian apologetics, Lewis’ book sales are
reported to be more than 2 million annually.

References
http://www.britannica.com/biography/c-s-lewis
http://www.biography.com/.amp/people/cs-lewis-9380969
http://www.explorefaith.org/lewis/bio.html
http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/c._s._lewis
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues//issue-7/cs-lewis-profile-of-hislife.
html#storystream
http://www.cslewis.org/resource/chronocsl/

Our society will never attain morality until it exalts God – Bill Bidiaque, Author – Jesus In Jeans (An Exclusive Interview)

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So to begin, I’d like to know your full name.

Bill Bidiaque.

 

Middle name?

No middle name 😁.

 

 Oh that’s nice. Where were you born?

  Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

 

That’s where you’re from also?

 Yes. Urue Offong Local Government, precisely.

 

 Tell me about your childhood. What was it like growing up?

I was raised by a single woman as the only child, with novels for siblings. I was bullied through secondary school and I expressed my self-pity in my notepads. It veered into more productive content. About the home, there was nothing much to make of it, other than I spent most of my days alone with books.

 

Wow, that’s interesting, and to think a bunch of children go through this scenario daily. It’s awesome to see how you channeled all the negative energy to writing. What are some of your favorite things? (Book, Color, sport, subject, etc)

Wow. I didn’t have a favorite book. I read everything, but mostly fiction – Anything by Hardley Chase (original and fake Chase), Ian Flemmings (007 Series), Nick Carter, Don Pendleton (Mack Bolan Series). Read a couple of Mills and Boons but romance wasn’t my thing, so I left it. I never had the luxury of a favorite color either. I read mostly spy/detective/crime stuff, I wasn’t into sports. (Nice. I read Hardley too. Kept me company as a child) Oh Chase is quite common and popular, which is why there a lot of Chase novels out there that were not written by René Lodge Brabazon Raymond. I also loved Agriculture – because, I was raised in a village and farming supported my mum’s income.

 

So talking of income, how was it at home? Was it steady?

Oh, Akwa Ibom State Government has never been known to pay regularly. My mum worked with the General Hospital in Oron as a nurse, so income wasn’t steady, which is why we had to farm and sell the produce to support the little home.

 

That must have been challenging

Well, yeah! Mum, did what she could and we were okay. There was always food on the table.

 

 Is she still with you?

Yeah, she’s retired now in Akwa Ibom and  I am resident in Lagos

 

 That’s good to hear. What about the friends you had grown up? How did they influence you?

I had one friend in primary school and Two in secondary.

I owe my creative bent to the friend in primary school. His parents were literature teachers and buffs. All the story books and novels I read while growing up came from him. They had about five shelves of novels.

 

Incredible! That’s a lot of novels.

 Did you attend religious activities, growing up?  What are the challenges you’ve faced because of your beliefs?

Yeah. I attended religious activities. My mum was and is still very churchy but after secondary school, adolescent rebellion set in and I veered off. Christ found me in 2007. My greatest challenge was graduating and receiving instructions to create Christian content. I wish I could say I have been burning ever since but I am just a struggling Christian trying to make sense of my walk with Christ.

Hitherto I was already writing for local TV and that instruction was hard to follow, is still hard to follow, seeing I have responsibilities. Also, I find in me a conflict to take in illicit content prevalent in the media today and a desire to stay off. Simply saying, going to the movies or not.

 

What about school? Tell me about your academic history. (Primary school, secondary school, University, any other degrees?)

Primary School – Infant Jesus’ Nursery school/Onyieme Montessorri Primary School (1989 – 1995)

Secondary School –  Methodist Boys’ High School/Methodist Senior Science College Oron(1995 – 2001)

University of Lagos (Psychology) – 2005 – 2009 Just a B.Sc

 

Okay Nice. You mentioned earlier how you were bullied and expressed  yourself  in writing. How often did you express yourself with the ink and when did you eventually start writing professionally?

Writing was cathartic for me as a teen because I was bullied a lot. I spent my days expressing my thoughts on paper, but my pieces then were mostly on self-pity and loneliness. I remember my first poem pad in Junior Secondary School, I believe I was thirteen then. I gave it to a cousin to read and she said, “Billy, why are your poems always sad? Isn’t there anything happy about your life?” That remark changed my perspective and I started writing about things other than my self pity.

I write as often as I can, which is almost everyday because it also happens to be something I do professionally. I wrote my first script for TV in 2004 – It never got produced. My first show to be broadcasted was about 5 episodes of “Family Affair” directed by Kingsley Omoefe. That was 2005.

 

That’s pretty cool. What is your favorite genre to write? Being a professional writer, which author influenced your work and how did you improve over the years, What was the process like, Who helped you through?

I have a myriad of authors whose works I respect (this is not an endorsement of them as people, as I don’t know them personally),– some of them are Mario Puzo,  Robert Ludlum, Ted Dekker, Dan Brown (he does his research), Stephen King. These are all Fiction Writers

For non-fiction – Robert McKee, Christopher Vogler, John Piper, John MacArthur, Francis Chan, Tim Keller, Charles Spurgeon, C. S Lewis (I love his fiction too). I read a lot of books on writing and film-making. Even when I was in university. I would cover my course syllabus early in the semester and borrow writing/film-making books from the library to read. I watch YouTube videos too. You’d be surprised at the depth of writing materials on YouTube.

I can say through the years, I have spent more money buying books than buying clothing items. Improving over the years was and is still hinged on research and study. About a preferred genre, I am not sure I do crime and fantasy well For TV, drama comes naturally. And when I write for Stage, comedy comes naturally.

But the most important thing in any genre I choose to write per time is the audience I am writing it for. Once the audience had been identified, it is easy to understand their needs and deliver. Audience and Value.

 

Awesome! You’re a well read African! Give me some gist on your book, Jesus in Jeans. (what inspired you to write it? When did you finish? When did you start? What were the challenges you faced writing and publishing?)

With “Jesus in Jeans” (JIJ) I just wanted to write the Jesus Story in contemporary times I started research in 2010, then started writing in June 2012 (Stayed in my apartment for two months without leaving the compound).

(How did he eat?)

When Pastors say, Daniel survived the lion’s den, what is the lion’s den in 2017? The routine was simple – wake, devotion, drink coffee, workout, work till 7 or 8 pm, sleep. That was the cycle I was living in a family apartment, so I didn’t need to step out to get food.

(Ok. Praise God.)

I don’t think I would do that anymore, seeing I have responsibilities now.

About publishing, it took me three years. I contacted Thomas Nelson and they rejected my manuscript because it wasn’t solicited, but they referred me to their self-publishing arm – WestBow Press. The major challenge I had was funding the publication. It took everything I had and some to publish the book in 2015. There you have it.

 

You finished writing the same year?

 Within two months, because it was a marathon write.

 

In the publishing industry and among your audience, was there any opposition because of the Christian view?

I don’t think so, even though it wasn’t widely accepted I didn’t get any obvious opposition.

 

 How would you describe the plot and setting of the book, was it easy bringing someone from 2000 years ago to 21st century?

Hmmmmm. The plot is simple – Jesus’ story; he came, battled with the “Syndicate of Religious Lawyers” and was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, then was sentenced and executed. It wasn’t easy merging the settings and some people think I took it too far. For example, the scene where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman by the well – She was married 5 times and living with another man (Harlot, so to say). The well was forbidden for Jews (a nightclub is forbidden  for Christians). So I made “Jay” (Jesus), preach to a stripper in a nightclub. Is this something Jesus would do? I will ask him when I see him.

 

 What are the hopes you have for the novel? What kind of impact did you intend to make with it and what kind of feedback did you get, how did you feel about them?

My hopes for the novel? Help my generation see a relevant Jesus. Not a teacher who lived 2020 years ago but a homie who also happened to be God I was disappointed after publishing, because the book didn’t “blow” as I thought it would. Also, I was hoping to distribute it free in Secondary Schools, sadly my budget wasn’t high enough because I printed in the US. Howbeit, I distributed to about 6 schools, then I gassed out. However, I know better now.

 

That must have cost a lot. But I’m sure you didn’t give up. Are there any more of your works out there, what other occupations are you involved in? 

I have a blog that I haven’t posted on since last year (you found the blog. Shame). I’m hoping to change that this month – C.I.A (Christed I Am). I am also a documentary filmmaker – I create documentaries, video profiles, presentations, commercials through my company Ideomania Limited.

 

I like the style of the blog, It’s really relatable. So What are the goals you are still working towards?

Per Goals – The vision is to establish a movement where any one who wants to create any form of Christian content can come, learn/develop the necessary skills, receive funding and shoot out. When I say Christian content, I mean anything arts and entertainment that proposes the relevant Christ.

 

That’s a really wide vision. I trust it will be actualized because this is what the world needs and what better way to start than in the immediate community. So what have you done so far that you are more proud of? How do you want people to remember you?

I believe that question is too early for now. Right now, I am more Jonah than Paul and I don’t believe I have done the best I can. So, nothing.

 

Well thankfully, Jonah got out of the fish eventually, I believe you will too.  So Bill,  Is there anything you do currently that you have decided  “you know what? I would never do this again God help me”, and is there anything you would love to do over again?

Okay, procrastinate! I do that more than I should. Anything I would love to do over? I am not sure.

 

Being a creative, do you have someone who supports you through your process? A significant other perhaps? ( Are you married?)

Yes, I am, to a beautiful woman.

 

Wonderful! How does she contribute to your creative process? Oh, and what’s her name? If you don’t mind sharing.

She’s my number one critic. She reads all my works before they go out. Her name is Ibiene Bidiaque.

 

I’d like to hear your view on a prevailing issue in our society. What do you think is the problem with morality in our society? As Christians, what is the reaction to it and should it be that way?

Today, humans want to uphold morality and discard God. That is our society’s fault. The moment God is excluded from the equation then there is no single truth – no standard for morality I believe the entity who created this standard is God. Hence, there is no morality without God. So if this entity isn’t human, who or what then is this entity? An entity that isn’t human because humans cannot create a standard because all humans are flawed. I am no religious authority and I do not have any titles. My views are mine and must not be seen as doctrine – search for doctrine in the Bible. I am just a struggling Christian trying to make sense of his walk with Christ. But I know this, our society will never attain morality until it exalts God.

 

Then, any words for young Christian creatives out there?

For young Christian creatives, you have the Holy Spirit, allow Him lead. Even when you can’t make sense of where you are .

 

 I forgot to ask; How old are you? And when is your birthday?

 I turned 32 on July 31st.

 

Great conversation, Bill. It was nice getting to know you and we look forward to seeing more ground breaking work from you.

Thank you for having me, I hope my views will remain mine and seen as holy. We all learn. And I am always open to learn as long as Christ tarries.

 

Speaking with Bill taught me  to take the creative process a step at a time and to be focused(how do you stay 2months in isolation writing?!). I do hope you learnt more.

To purchase a copy of Jesus In Jeans please follow this link https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Jeans-Bill-Bidiaque/dp/1490866574

 

Interviewer: Ifeanyi Chikereuba

For: The Christ A Poet Team

 

 

You heard it from me!

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Hey there, my name is Favour Omeje and I write.

I have known the joys of writing especially wielding my pen to summon words together to tell the love story of ‘the Word’=Christ.

Writing has been to me like lending readers shoes to walk back and forth time to experience what good things, I have experienced in Christ; simply put, writing has become like a kiss and tell story.

Soon enough, I got signed up to the Christ A Poet team where I was given a loud voice to express my Christian experience. It was there that I took a dip in excellence and team spirit. Christ A Poet  Team provided different platforms for people like me who love to read and write to gain writing prowess while telling the Lord’s story in diverse translations. One of such platforms is the Freestyle Friday.

Freestyle Friday is boundless needless to say.

This is how we do it:
We gather virtually on our social media platforms where a theme is dished out; then we all do justice to it using the different forms of literature available to man.

This time, we want you to share in the experience that we have enjoyed exclusively as team mates for years and you don’t have to be committed to us to enjoy this.

Just follow the link and request entry!

 

Do you love to read?

What about write?

Then you don’t want to miss this fun. You can take my word for it!

Favour Omeje

For: The Christ A Poet Team

KAREN KINGSBURY – A Biography

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BRIEF INTRODUCTION

kk1

Karen Kingsbury is an American Christian novelist. She was a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times and later wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News. Her first book,”Missy’s Murder (1991)”, was based on a murder story that she covered in Los Angeles. During this time, she had an article published in “People Magazine”

She has written more than 50 novels, with five co-written, and has nearly 13 million copies of her novels in print. She is the #1 New York Times and USA today best selling novelist with the last dozen books published topping bestseller lists.

She is really good like that!

Some of her novels are being developed into movies by hallmark Films including The Bridge and A Time to Dance which aired in 2015. The 23 book Baxter family novel series is being adapted to a television series. Lightworks Media and Roma Downey have the rights to develop the series.

Kingsbury also does public speaking and through national events she reaches more than 100,000 each year not to mention, Karen Kingsbury co-wrote her first song, “Walls” with Gary Baker and Richie McDonald; it appeared on McDonald’s inspirational album, I Turn to You and hit Christian and Country radio in January 2009. She wrote the song, “Tell Me to Breathe”, that will go on to be included on the upcoming album from Marie Osmond . She also wrote “Miracles Happen”, a Christmas song sung by Richie McDonald which now appears on McDonald’s CD, “If every day could be Christmas”.

She is multi-talented like that!

 

PERSONAL/FAMILY LIFE

Karen Kingsbury was born in June 8, 1963 in Fairfax Virginia as the oldest of 5 children. Her family moved around a lot because of her fathers job with IBM. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Cal State University Nothridge in 1986. After she graduated she worked for the Los Angeles Times as a sports writer.

New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Kingsbury poses for portraits in the Hancock Welcome Center on February 24, 2015. (Photo by Ty Hester)

New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Kingsbury poses for portraits in the Hancock Welcome Center on February 24, 2015. (Photo by Ty Hester)

She married her husband on July 23, 1989. They found out they were expecting their first child, Kelsey, on their sixth month anniversary. Their third child, Austin, had a severe heart defect and had heart surgery at three weeks old. They adopted three sons from Haiti which are Sean, Josh and EJ.

Kelsey, her daughter, is an actress and is married to Kyle Kupecky a Christian recording artist and they have a son. Tyler, her second oldest child is becoming a screenwriter and Sean, Austin and EJ are students at Liberty University, while Austin is in high school.

Karen Kingsbury’s father died due to complications from diabetes. She chose to start eating healthier and to cut out sugar and as a result lost 70 pounds between January and November in 2007.

Amazing right!

 

HER WRITING ACHIEVEMENTS

kk3

She has authored an impressive number of novels which include

 Standalone novels

(1) Between Sundays

(2) The Bridge – this was made into a television movie in 2015 shown on The Hallmark Channel

(3) The Chance

(4) Coming Home

(5) Divine

(6) Fifteen Minutes

(7) Like Dandelion Dust

(8) Oceans Apart

(9) On Every Side

(10) Shades of Blue

(11) This Side of Heaven (w/ friends from Cody Gunner series)

(12) Unlocked

(13) Where Yesterday Lives

(14) When Joy Came to Stay

(15) Angels Walking series

(16) Angels Walking

(17) Chasing Sunsets

(18) A Brush of Wings

(19) Heart of the Story collection

(20) The Family of Jesus

(21) The Friends of Jesus

 

9/11 Series

(22) One Tuesday Morning

(23) Beyond Tuesday Morning

(24) Remember Tuesday Morning – former title Every Now

 

The Lost Love series

(25) Even Now

(26) Ever After

(27) Red Gloves series

(28) Gideon’s Gift

(29) Maggie’s Miracle

(30) Sarah’s Song

(31) Hannah’s Hope

 

Forever Faithful series

(32) Waiting for Morning

(33) A Moment of Weakness

(34) Halfway to Forever

(35) Timeless Love series

(36) A Time to Dance – made into a television movie in May 2016 and shown on The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel

(37) A Time to Embrace

 

Cody Gunner series

(38) A Thousand Tomorrows

(39) Just Beyond the Clouds

 

Redemption series – BAXTER ONE

(40) Redemption

(41) Remember

(42) Return

(43) Rejoice

(44) Reunion

 

Firstborn series – BAXTER TWO

(45) Fame

(46) Forgiven

(47) Found

(48) Family

(49) Forever

 

Sunrise series – BAXTER THREE

(50) Sunrise

(51)Summer

(52)Someday

(53) Sunset

 

Above the Line series – BAXTER FOUR

(54) Take One

(55) Take Two

(56) Take Three

(57) Take Four

 

Bailey Flanigan series – BAXTER FIVE

(58) Leaving

(59) Learning

(60) Longing

(61) Loving

(62) Children’s books

(63) Always Daddy’s Princess

(64) The Brave Young Knight

(65) Far Fluttery

(66) Go Ahead and Dream

(67) Let Me Hold You Longer

(68) Let’s Go On a Mommy Date

(69) Let’s Have a Daddy Day

(70) The Princess and the Three Knights

(71) We Believe In Christmas

(72) Whatever You Grow Up To Be

 

Gift books

(73) Forever Young

(74) Be Safe Little Boy

(75) Stay Close Little Girl

(76) Forever My Little Boy

(77) Forever My Little Girl

(78) True crime

(79) Missy’s Murder

(80) The Snake and the Spider

(81) Deadly Pretender: The Double Life of David Miller

(82) Final Vows

 

E-shorts

(83) The Beginning – prequel to THE BRIDGE

(84) Elizabeth Baxter’s 10 Secrets to a Happy Marriage

(85) I Can Only Imagine

 

Treasury of Miracles Books

(86) A Treasury of Christmas Miracles

(87) A Treasury of Miracles for Women

(88) A Treasury of Miracles for Teens

(89) A Treasury of Miracles for Friends

(90) A Treasury of Adoption Miracles Devotional

 

She has also featured in some movies such as:

(1) Like Dandelion Dust (2009)

(2) Gideon’s Gift (September 2015)

(3) The Bridge (December 2015)

(4) A Time to Dance (May 2016)

 

SOME LESSONS FROM KAREN KINGSBURY

karen-kingsbury-3

(1) She has the passion to inspire people(of different ages)through her books, movies, songs and speeches; which we should also show forth in our dalily life ( and bring sustained sparks in people’s lives.

 

(2) She has a helping and faithful heart as shown by the help she rendered by adopting the three Haitian children and by having faith in God concerning her own biological son that came down with a heart disease at the early stages of his life.

 

(3) She shows excellence and creativity in all her works, which should also be part of our lives especially in whatever field we may be relevant in.

 

Other lessons are embedded in this biography, so let me not say it all.

 

Search it out by yourself!

 

She lives with her family in Tennessee, United States Of America.

 

References:

(1) New release today

(2) Simon and Schuster

(3) Wikipedia

 

-The Christ A Poet Team Biographies Team