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Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: Do you have a question for Bill? You can ask about whatever is on your mind: subjects discussed in the book, his background...whatever. Your question and his answer will be posted on this site. If you have a question, click HERE.
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Do you support yourself as a writer? Do you have a "real" job? |
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Sort of. I work as manager of public relations for a non-profit trade association, so I do lots of writing. The salary I make at that job pays all my bills and supports my writing habit. Writing novels, at this time in my life, is my hobby, though my partner might call it an obsession. |
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As the back of the book and the author's page indicates, I spent 20-plus years in the ministry, with seven of those in the youth ministry and more than 15 years as a Pastor. I was raised and educated in the Southern Baptist denomination, with a concentration in applied theology and Biblical languages (4 years of New Testament Greek and 6 years of Old Testament Hebrew). For 11 years, I pastored one of the fastest growing Southern Baptist churches in my hometown. |
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He's younger than I am, and built better. But we share the DNA of experience; most of what happens to him in the book comes out my life--either my own experience in the ministry or from the experience of folks I know. |
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Yes, I am. In fact, I have several that I'm working on right now. (Sounds like A.D.D., doesn't it?) I have outlines for several more, as well. |
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Your bio says you are a speaker. What is your subject matter? |
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In my career, as a PR professional, I get the opportunity to speak on that subject frequently. I do workshops on public relations for small companies, as well as other subjects related to the industry in which I work and I frequently speak at PR conferences. |
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Can we get you to come to our area for a book signing? Would you come and speak to our book club? How do I arrange to get you for a speaking engagement? |
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Certainly! Send me an e-mail with your request, including when, where and what you would like me to talk about. |
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One of the first rules of writing is write what you know. I served the majority of my ministry in Southern Baptist Churches and my theological education was in a Southern Baptist-sponsored college and seminary. I've spoken at many other denominations, but that is the one I know best. |
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I've never been to a Southern Baptist Church. Will I understand your book? I don't consider myself religious. Will your book appeal to me? |
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I think so. The story is less about the church and more about the people and their conflict, which I see as universal. The church is only a setting; the people are the subject. The book is not a "religious" novel and certainly not a "Baptist" book, but a story about how people in a religious culture. If I may be so bold, I can offer this comparison. I am not a lawyer, but I can enjoy reading a John Grisham novel. |
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The Southern Baptist Church in your book is nothing like the one I attend. Why didn't you make it more realistic? |
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If you know anything about Southern Baptist Churches at all you know that they are all different. By the very nature of their structure, each church is self-governing and autonomous; there's no cookie-cutter pattern. I have been in several in my life, and they are all different, though they all maintain some general consistencies-mostly in beliefs, etc. However, in recent days, even that's changing. For so many years, the Baptist taught the Bible is the only authority for beliefs and "prided" themselves on having no creed. One of the foundational premise, "priesthood of the believer," stressed the role of each individual believer to study and interpret the Bible. In recent years, the denomination is moving toward more directive set of belief, especially in issues such as the role of women and homosexuality. |
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Because each Southern Baptist is different, as outlined earlier, I didn't want to define any one church. What takes place in the church in my book would not accurately represent any specific church, and it would be wrong to present it that way. By creating a church as the setting, it allows the situation to be presented and shows how the religious mindset affects responses and reactions. (Plus, I don't the money for the legal fees that would incur if I'd used an actual church!) |
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Are the places mentioned in the book real? Are the people in your book based on real people? |
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The book is fiction. The people are only real in my mind. Some of the places are real; some are not. (Examples: Morris Avenue is an actual place, but the bars on the street are not. There is no city of Mountain Heights, so there's no First Baptist Church of Mountain Heights. Five Points South is real. Vulcan is real, and so is his bare butt!) |
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As a gay man, I strongly object to the way you portrays gays in your book. I was hoping your main characters would be more supportive of their situation. |
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Maybe you and the folks who wrote the questions objecting to my "lax" position on homosexuality (below) should debate this. Here's how I see it: I think it's important to remember that this story takes place in 1975 - 1976. And it's in Alabama, which is not known for being too progressive. (They only changed the state's Constitutional prohibition of inter-racial marriage a few years ago!) The attitudes of that time and that culture are accurately portrayed, I think. The characters struggle with the issue. What I wanted to show was that even people with strong (traditional?) Christian convictions can accept others who might not fit into that narrow framework. In other words, it's possible to be Christian and tolerant and accepting at the same time. As one who has taught personal evangelism, I have never understood how we as Christians hope to influence anyone if our attitudes are so negative and our love so withheld. |
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I find it hard to believe the stuff about those ex-gay programs in the book. Are they real? How did you get the information about the ex-gay groups you mention in the book? Are the ex-gay groups in your book based on real group or actual experience? |
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Unfortunately, it's all too real! In the early days of these ministries (and often still today), the techniques of these groups were/are less than scientific. They work by behavior modification, sheer willpower, the influence of peer pressure and lots of intimidation. While some may claim "victory" over the behavior, it's impossible to gage actual success since no one can know what truly goes on inside each individual "success story" and honesty is not always popular. It is very destructive. And in my dealings over the years with those who've gone through the program, and those still in the program who are honest, my experience was not the exception. Outward success depends on the person's ability to suppress inherent sexual orientation, acquire an imposed heterosexual behavior and resist the God-given desires of their sexual nature. Those who are more disciplined may be able to sustain the guise, but all are not. One of the reasons the success rate for these groups is so nebulous is they don't always track those who leave the program. Only those who "persevere" and remain become part of the statistics. But what about those who don't change? What about those who give up? And what about those dear souls who (like one of my best friends) choose death over the rejection? I doubt we will ever see those numbers in the marketing brochures of these ex-gay groups. |
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The cover of your book is interesting. The colors and the collage caught my attention. Can you explain the symbolism, if there is any? |
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I hope this means you HAVE NOT read the book, because I think once you read it, the symbolism becomes clear. I had a wonderful graphic designer who helped me to translate my story into this visual. At the center of the picture (as in the story) is our surfer boy--Peter. He's moving toward a stained glass window, which is the new direction in his life. The window is actually a depiction of the creation story in Genesis, which is appropriate for the new beginning in Peter's life. But the circular picture also connotes the whirlwind he'll encounter in his new venture. And in the background is the sailboat, which is an ongoing metaphor in the book of the heart that's open to the direction of "The Wind." |
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Do you have plans for a sequel to "Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind?" |
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Several folks who've ready the book have asked me to write a sequel, but at this point, I don't have any plans. I have some ideas bouncing around in my head&ldots;but nothing precise. There may come a time when I decide to write something, but I think it might be more of a separate book using some of the same character rather than a sequel. For example, the book ends toward the end of the 1970s. I would love to see how Chuck and Skeet deal with the crises of the coming decade. By the way, I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on what should/could/would take place in the sequel. Send me an e-mail and let me know what you think should happen next. |
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I can't find your book at my local bookstore. Is it only available online? |
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If your local bookstore doesn't have it in stock, you can ask them to order it. But yes, it is available at most major online booksellers. Click HERE for links to them. |
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How long does it take a write a novel? How long did it take you to write this novel? |
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It took me more than 4 years to write this one, but that's not writing full time. Each person is different, each book is different and the timeline is different. I'm hoping the next ones don't take that long! |