The Inspiration Behind A Great Main Character

FrBill_DRIn Persistent Evil, The Demon Slayer, Fr. Oliver is a priest who finds himself in a fight with demonic evil that threatens the Catholic Church. Fr. Oliver is a cross between Bruce Lee and Billy Graham. His character was inspired by Fr. William McConville, a Franciscan friar at St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh. He is a great homilist and a friend to all. His stories about encounters with people and everyday life are the type that could fuel a series of novels for a long time. The Double XX commercials got it all wrong. They should have cast Fr. Bill as “the most interesting man in the world.”

As we are introduced to Fr. Oliver in the book, he has a curious encounter while getting a hair cut. The dialogue between him and the hairdresser is pretty close to what actually happened to Fr. Bill.  Those that have seen him in a short sleeve shirt know that he’s got some serious muscle, which comes from years of body-building. He does not fit the stereotype of a typical priest. This often results is amusing reactions by those that assume he’s a race car driver, bouncer, or maybe a US Marshal.

I’m grateful to Fr. Bill for sharing his real life stories with me and for being such a great role model as he passionately shares his faith.

I am happy to know this unusual and devoted man of God.

 

 

E-Reader Falling Out?

With all the news about e-books, I found this article enlightening.

“Print is where words go to die.” So went the theory in 2007 when Amazon launched the Kindle. In fact, so sure was the world that books were dead that when Ikea redesigned its ubiquitous Billy bookcase in 2011, it was thought to be so that it could accommodate knick-knacks rather than “archaic” paperbacks.

But while it’s true that e-books show no signs of disappearing – the new Kindle Voyage launches next month hot on the heels of the “Kindle Unlimited” subscription service that came to the UK last month – neither does print.

Recently, I realised that I had become so addicted to the speed of new book buying on my Kindle that I had barely bought anything in print in the past year. I had read Americanah and The Luminaries and tens of others on my e-reader, and I was sad that such great books were missing from my bookshelves. Worse than that, though, was a feeling that plots had started to blur, even with books that I had loved. The only way I could explain it is that they had never had a physicality. Not like the black and gold cover of The Secret History, or its weight when I picked it up from my bedside table.

So I decided…

Read the rest of it here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/have-we-fallen-out-of-love-with-ereaders-9778559.html
From The Independent in the UK, Thursday 09 October 2014

Persistent Evil: The Demon Slayer

It didn’t start out as a series, it turned into one after a Rabbit’s Tale, An Easter Story was completed. The story continues and some big surprises are in store. I’m getting ready to start Book 3. Don’t know if it will be a three or four book series. We’ll see what happens.

Persistent Evil is scheduled to be released on December 1, 2014.  Look for it on Amazon.

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