David Havener Parker II

When I was in elementary school in the 1990s, there was a certain period we'd all spend writing stories, pretty much whatever we wanted. Most students would write things that were not very long, usually just a handful of pages. Some struggled to write that much.

But I wrote a 'manuscript' about Star Fox (a Nintendo character) that went on and on, far longer by a long shot than what everyone else was writing.

It was rubbish, of course, but from an early age I loved creating and I loved writing. From there, I would struggle to write my first 'novel', from middle school to my College years. One of my dearest wishes was to create my own Harry Potter, my own world that a great multitude would love. My ambitions evolved over time, but writing and creating is something I kept at my entire life. Where I most learned to write, though, was through reading. I absorbed the styles and methods of Stephen King and George R. R. Martin, but it would be years before I developed my own style.

Becoming a devoted Christian has also been an important part of my life. After a violent suicide attempt, as I recovered I was reluctant to do much with my life if it had nothing to do with my faith. I read less stories and more non-fiction, things that had to do with Christianity and the state of the world. Chris Martenson and John Sanford were the sort of things that thrilled me, but in terms of literature nothing could beat C.S. Lewis— he made me feel there was still room for a Christian author, even as the faith crumbles in these 'modern' times. My first book that I self-published, Of Faith and of Fire, was a work I dedicated exclusively to my faith in God, which was not written to please the masses. Next, the novelette/would-be stage play Little Red Riding Hood and the Anthropomorphic Wolf is meant to make the discussion about God interesting, grounded in reason and intellect, and hopefully entertaining as well. But my latest work, Lampwick Smith and the Infernal Gifts, is not meant to be exclusively enjoyed by Christians, but is meant to entertain and to get everyone interested in the faith. It was inspired by keeping company with a group of young boys who were entering their middle school years, and I wrote to engage those boys if/when they would be ready to read it. I wrote to, hopefully, instill wisdom in and to entertain youngsters, provided they had an inclination to reading and intellect. And yes, I want people to love Christ as early in life as possible.