Category: Daybreak

Daily Thoughts, Daybreak

My first Book signing: How this novel came to be!

djpasternak

My first book Signing: How this novel came to be.

After attending a Wednesday night Mass at our home parish Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Fr Gabriel, our interim priest, suggested I have a book signing event at the church. Having self-published my first novel, Daybreak from on High, I seized the opportunity and held the event on July 11th after the 5 pm Mass and July 12th after the 12 noon Mass.

My friend Patricia, helped set up the tables and chairs for the quests and also made ready the coffee pot and hot water for tea. With the help of my husband, Tom, and oldest grandson, Matthew, we decorated the signing and refreshment tables. Fr Gabriel and Deacon Al announced the event at all the Masses.

Saturday, five of my grandchildren and five fellow parishioners came. I began with telling them: “I am a writer not a speaker, so hope you will bear with me as I read How this novel came to be.” Needless to say, I read the presentation perfectly.

On Sunday, my heart palpitated as people, parishioner and friends, poured into the room and began lining up, some with books already purchased on Amazon and others buying them that night. Thankfully Matthew and Tom assisted as I sign all twenty plus novels. Then I read my presentation, but tried to look up and lost my place several times. But the audience listened and Fr Gabriel led the applause. The following photos (by Matthew writer/editor/map maker) attest to the success of my first book signing.

Daybreak

Writing Historical Biblical Fiction: Is it worth it?

djpasternak

 

Having just self-publishing my first novel Daybreak from in High and currently editing a sequel Hadar’s Son, I wonder if the genre, Historical Biblical Fiction, has a large enough audience to be worth all the many hours—especially those spent on research.

As fate or providence would have it, I came upon a favorite Gospel passage on EWTN daily Mass readings today, at the very end of the Gospel of John (21:20-25 NAB).

24) This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his witness is true. 25) But there are many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the whole world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

It is true the Main Characters in my two novels are purely fictional, but the historical events are as accurate as I could possibly document. In addition, the novels came together with amazing ease. I like to believe the Holy Spirit led me in the writing from the beginning to the ending. However, the research involved came about from perseverance—also a gift from the third person of the Trinity.

Have a Blessed Pentecost!