Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
At the mention of books my ears perk up, I get a spine-tingling sensation (no pun intended), and I can’t help but find out what read is on discussion. With my first computer at twelve years of age, I began writing, and I am an avid reader, always with a stack of books by my bedside and listening to as many audiobooks as possible whenever working on a task that doesn’t require much thinking. When Jesus saved me at the age of twenty, I started reading the best book you could ever read, over and over, recognizing the Holy Bible as a letter from the Creator of all things.
I thought one day (when I was old) I might write a book for God. But God thought I should write something sooner, and told me in a prayer session on January 1st, 2016 to write my book. Since then I’ve written several drafts of books and completed GOD is HERE: Finding God in the Pain of a Broken World.
In other prayer sessions, God called me to preach His Word, seek His face, and go into the land He would show me. I and my wife, Trinna, and three children, are following this call to show the love of Christ to the world. This was first exhibited teaching and leading worship in our local church, then by working with people with disabilities, then going to preach at the state prison, loving our neighborhood community, and now reaching out to women and children enslaved in human trafficking.
When I caught a glimpse of how God saw me, everything changed, and I have since sought to show others this good news. I’ve recognized most people, Christian or not, feel unfulfilled and don’t know their life’s purpose. This has led me to help people find their calling and have a life of adventure with God. To be encouraged in the way God sees you, and to keep up with what God is doing with me and my family, go to GodAndYouAndMe.com.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is GOD is HERE: Finding God in the Pain of a Broken World. I was inspired to write this book for a few reasons, first off: because I kept hearing people ask if God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world (a question I used to ask, and led me to hate God)?
Secondly, I wanted to tell the story of how God reaches out to us when we feel far from Him, and invites us to know and love Him like He does us.
Lastly, I was being obedient to God in writing but wasn’t sure where to start, so I took a sermon I had preached at a prison and began expounding on it. This was the first point in that sermon. I realized it was too big of a topic to just be one section of a book, and wanted to keep the material concise and accessible, so I ended up with what you have here.
Despite that the book is only roughly 150 pages, it took me two-and-a-half years to complete. At a certain point, I had to accept it as it was and quite adding, subtracting, and polishing. I pray it blesses you and draws you closer to God.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My most unusual writing habit is I typically write in a closet beginning around 4:30am. I write in the closet and so early because I usually begin my prayer time there, my family doesn’t have a lot of extra room so I don’t have a study or an office, and I wanted to have a quiet space where I am not bothering my lovely wife and three cute kiddos (and I am out of their sight and mind too for the most part).
I also wrote most of the first draft of this book (and my next two which have first drafts completed) in my commute to work. I would edit and see what my manuscript was missing in the morning, then generally plan a topic I would “write” on that day, and on my drive to work I would record myself talking about that subject off-the-cuff. At the end of the day, I would transcribe that recording, and do quick edits to make sure the transcription was accurate. The next day I would start again.
I tend to have bursts of creativity and inspiration. I have found I am able to work well when scheduling my time to write and making myself start, but I am often battling myself to make this happen consistently. I write in the margins of my life right now too and have taken up helping other authors during that time, so finding the right balance of working on my own material and helping others has been difficult. But no matter how much I mess up or miss days/weeks of writing, I keep going back to it.
I’ve realized how valuable communication is—especally when your subject is important. You can write a sentence hundreds of different ways, and organize a paragraph/chapter/book in many multiplications of that as well. Being sure you’re understood is so essential, because otherwise, what’s the point? That being said, sometimes I can get bogged down trying to perfect sentences and the order of the information I am delivering.
The scariest thing was going back and reading my first draft intro to my first book—it didn’t make sense to me! But after I broke it down and essentially re-wrote it, I started to feel better as I moved on to the first chapter and found it was a little better than the intro. Each chapter got a little easier to understand and required less fixing, so I could see a progression of improvement in my writing.
But I can be a perfectionist, and that’s not good, because I don’t think it’s possible for us humans to create something perfect. At a certain point, I had to put my material out there and pray someone understood it! 😉
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read and have many influences. But I’d have to say my three highest author influences are C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity), John Eldredge (Waking the Dead), and Watchman Nee (The Normal Christian Life). I also love fantasy and sci-fi where I am inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings), Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), and Orson Scott Card (Enders Game series).
What are you working on now?
Besides projects to help other authors, I’m working on several of my own projects: a non-fiction novel about who Christians are meant to be, another one on hearing God, a devotional prayer-book on physical healing, and there are several ideas for fiction books rolling around in my head too.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website and blog https://www.GodAndYouAndMe.com. Facebook http://www.facebook.com/godandyouandmeblog. Twitter http://www.twitter.com/nichols_johnw
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Develop a writing habit, learn how to self-edit but still get others help, value communicating clearly, learn from others (there are so many good books and courses out there), but mainly just keep writing. After you finish your book, get it edited, and then get it out to the world with a good cover and a good marketing plan. The launch is important, but it’s not everything, we are in a marathon so keep marketing your book. Don’t stop there, move on to the next book and keep going!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
What are you reading now?
The Bible, The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson), Love Does (Bob Goff), and Boundaries with Kids (Dr. John Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud).
What’s next for you as a writer?
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4??? I’d have to choose a Bible first which is hard enough, but I think I’d go with the Zodiates NASB Bible. Then I’ll limit the rest to fiction and choose The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien), Perelandria (C.S. Lewis), and Enders Game (Orson Scott Card).
Author Websites and Profiles
John W. Nichols Website
John W. Nichols Amazon Profile
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