Interview with Davin Whitehurst, author of children's book ' I Have Faith'
Davin Whitehurst lives in the
beautiful high desert of Southern Arizona with his wife and son. He is
releasing his first book "I have Faith" in May of 2016 but has so
many more that are in the making. The motivation behind the books are deeply
rooted from in his own past. He is a living testimony of Proverbs 22:6.
Growing up in Southwest Kansas and in a Christian household, he was trained up
in the way he should go. By the time he became a teenager, Davin turned
away from God and left church. Fast forward into his late twenties and God
brought him back with a powerful calling. He and his family have been
faithfully serving at Seed of Abraham Christian Center International for over
seven years now. Proof that when we teach our children the way they
should go. When they get older, they know where to turn and will not depart
from God. Davin wants each book written to be a resource that parents
have to help train their children in the way they should go. He writes
stories in a simple way that will be fun and practical for every child. He
wants children to get excited about faith and the things of God.
His latest release is the
children’s book, I Have
Faith.
For More Information
About the Book:
Are
you ready to get your child excited about faith? “I Have Faith” puts your child
right in the footsteps of Danny as he begins to learn about faith. Danny and
his older brother have been wanting a dog, but both know their parents don’t
think they are ready for a dog. When Danny’s mom begins
teaching him what
the bible says about faith, he puts his faith into action. After praying and
releasing his faith for a dog, doubt and even his best friend keep telling
him that he will never get a dog. Over time Danny never loses his faith in the
promises of God and finds that God is faithful and that faith works. Come along
on this journey that is a real life event that took place in the author’s
life as a child.
This
book has great illustrations that support a wonderful story about finding
faith in God. As you are teaching your child about principals in the bible;
this book will help you teach faith. What a wonderful experience it
is when we can see our children begin to develop their faith in God, and grow
from a tiny mustard seed to a firmly planted tree. The back of the book has a
parent/child discussion which will help children gain understanding in faith
and some scriptures that Danny’s mom used to get him excited about faith.
What first inspired you to write or who inspired you?
About seven years
ago I started getting ideas for children’s books. I am the type of
person that rights things down and draws out concepts for business ideas,
books, inventions and all sorts of things. So I just put them aside not really
knowing why all these book ideas kept coming to me. Until one day I began to
realize that children’s books were part of the calling God has placed on my
life. Seeing the impact that books had on my life as a child, I got inspired to
publish books that will have an impact on children as well.
At what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I knew I was to write books around the age of 27, but it was
not until I was about 33 that I made the final decision to complete a book
idea.
Do you take notes when reading or watching a movie?
I don’t normally take notes while watching tv or movies but
I do take notes from reading. I normally have a small notebook or evernote on
my phone ready so that I can take notes and ideas down whenever I get them.
Ideas can flee your mind so quick. Don’t let them get away.
Has writing always been a passion for you or did you
discover it years later?
Writing was never really a passion for me until about 2
years ago when I really started to get into putting my ideas and thoughts down
into an engaging format. Now it’s one of my favorite things to do. I rarely go more
than a couple days without writing.
Do you have a day job?
What do you do?
I am a part time government contractor and work for multiple
contracts around the United States.
When I am not doing that, I am a full time author and business owner. I just
started my own publishing company and establishing that and my books is
definitely a full time job.
Can you name three writing tips to pass on to aspiring
authors?
1. Never let an idea slip away. Have something to take down your ideas. I
like to use pen and paper sometimes but other times I may speak into my note
app on my phone.
2. Just write. You can always refine and add the details later.
3. Write from your heart because that’s where your uniqueness comes from.
God has given me a specific way to write and convey my message to children. I
can’t write like a lot of other authors so I just stick to what’s in me. If you
do the same, your uniqueness will shine through.
Do you let unimportant things get in the way of your
writing?
I try not to any more. When I was still working full time, I
would let work and long days stop me from writing. Now I make time to write. I
don’t watch television anymore and I limit myself on movies because I focus my
time on establishing my brand. When I have had a busy day or worked a lot of
hours, I decompress from the day. Then I force myself to either work on writing
or the business side of the books.
What hours do you write best?
I am kind of a spontaneous writer. I don’t limit myself to a
time of day but write whenever the ideas and concepts are flowing. Other times
I just force myself to write. I have learned that for me, I have to be very
disciplined on writing or the time begins to slip away and I am no longer
writing.
How often do you write?
I try and write every day. I am working on multiple
children’s books and a YA novel. Sometimes I get a block and I just stop until
the ideas begin to come to me. If I am not working on my books though; I love
to just write notes about what I am reading in my bible or short stories on crazy
ideas that I have.
Are you an avid reader?
I go through phases.
I really enjoy business and inspirational or self help books. So as long
as I can keep a good one or two of those around, I read a lot.
What are you reading now?
I am reading my bible for one. I try and make sure I read it
from cover to end once a year on top of my study time. I am just beginning a
book called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker, which is a good
book that teaches on developing wealth.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently
marketing my book I Have Faith which is a picture book that helps children
understand what faith is and how they can develop it.
Plus I just meet
with my illustrator to go over a new children’s book that goes over the first chapter
of the book of Genesis. We are preparing to have that out the beginning of
December.
I am currently
working on my first novel series which is based around samurais and ancient Japan. It is an action story with elements of
sci-fi. So I am pretty excited about working on that.
All of this is
wrapped into my new publishing company Childlike Faith Publishing. I am busy
getting the brand established so be on the lookout for more great works to
come.
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