Let’s Chat! Author David Todd
Welcome, Everyone! And Welcome, Author David A. Todd!
We welcome David Todd to our chat circle this week. David tells an interesting life story. I’m honored to present the latest on David Todd, a prolific author of a wide array of works.
David is offering one of his books in print or ebook format to someone who comments at the end of the interview! Winner may choose from Doctor Luke’s Assistant, Preserve The Revelation, The Gutter Chronicles, The Candy Store Generation, Documenting America, Documenting America: Civil War Edition, Daddy-Daughter Day, and In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People.
Congratulations to Evangeline Gober, winner of David’s In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People!
David Todd: Roots
Born and raised in Rhode Island, I attended public schools, including University of Rhode Island, where I earned a bachelor degree in civil engineering.
My Christian upbringing was in the liturgical church (I was a good altar boy), having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. Learning true Christianity through a girlfriend, a Billy Graham crusade, and the witness of some Navigators, I prayed for salvation alone in my room on Easter Sunday, 1974. Since then my walk with God has been unbroken—though imperfect.
My mother died from an awful, debilitating illness when I was 13, a formative life event. Dad worked nights, and we three kids were latch-key teens. I played high school football and ran track, so he had left for work when I got home at 6:00 p.m. and was asleep when I left for school at 7:30 a.m. And so it went, day after day. I wouldn”t see him from Monday morning till Saturday noon when he got up. We could have gone bad, but we grew up to be responsible citizens. (Click to Tweet!) Looking back, even though we didn’t know God, I believe his hand of protection and guidance was upon us—and on the parents who raised us.
David Todd: Adult Life
Upon graduation from URI, I moved to Kansas City to work. My wife and I married, and we welcomed our two children in Kansas. I earned my masters in civil engineering from the University of Missouri.
Then we relocated to Saudi Arabia, to North Carolina, then to Kuwait, where we lived until Sadaam Hussein kicked us out. Our bunch landed in NW Arkansas to be near family in 1991 and now call the area home.
My work as a civil engineer necessitated all those moves. I wouldn’t have missed all the adventure for anything (even smuggling Bibles into China, the basis for my novel, Operation Lotus Sunday) but I’ve had enough. It’s the good ole USA for me from now on.
The Writer, David A. Todd
Forty-three years later, with many engineering projects, engineering and construction articles, and conference presentations under my belt, I anticipate devoting more time to writing in just one year, five months, and a few days.
David Todd’s Debut Experience
The writing bug bit me in 1998 and was diagnosed incurable in 2000. (Click to Tweet!) I have been at it with considerable seriousness and regularity ever since.
My first novel, Doctor Luke’s Assistant, a fictional account of the writing of Luke’s gospel told from the point of view of a Jewish assistant, debuted in 2012. Laboring over it more than two years, I learned publishing was virtually impossible. After attending writers conferences and learning the ropes, I shelved the first novel and kept on writing. I knocked on several doors for the first and subsequent books, but they seemed closed shut tight. No one answered from the other side.
Finally, in 2011, I self-published via Amazon and Smashwords. To test the waters I put up a short story about my mom’s death. Wanting to publish a full-length work, I pulled together some of my newspaper op-eds, expanded them, and published it as Documenting America: Lessons From the United States’ Historical Documents, a non-fiction, historical-political work I intend to expand into a series.
I finally published Doctor Luke’s Assistant in early 2012. Preserve The Revelation, the sequel to Doctor Luke’s Assistant, debuted this year. This novel tells the story of Luke’s assistant who helped Apostle John write his Gospel of John and the Revelation. He and his sons encounter many adventures in their travels.
What’s up with David Todd Now?
I now have twenty-four items for sale at Amazon, and most of them at Smashwords. They are: five novels, one novella, five non-fiction books, eleven short stories, one professional essay, and one book of poetry.
That book of poetry, Daddy-Daughter Day, is really a novella in verse. It’s the story of a Saturday a dad promised to spend with his daughter. She wakes him at the crack of dawn, but he sends her away. Later he thinks better of it and follows through with his promise. Their special day blesses him more than his daughter. A paperback told in 30-odd poems of different styles, most of them formal verse, it hasn’t sold well, but I hope someday it will catch on.
Most of my books are for the general market, not the Christian market. I underpin each of them with a Christian worldview, however. My two baseball novels, In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People, and its sequel Headshots, follow this pattern.
In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People tells the story of a Christian young man who breaks into the Major Leagues, only to see his life manipulated by Mafia Dons who bet on games. The first book emphasizes the Cubs winning the pennant and World Series. It deals with the Mafia, professional baseball, and the sometimes-seedy side of life without resorting to swearing, explicit sex scenes, etc.
At present, my writing project is the next book in the Documenting America series, due out in August.
Future Plans
After that, I plan to write the next in my eleven-book church history novel series, a prequel to Doctor Luke’s Assistant.
I plan a series of cozy mysteries based on a man who researches his genealogy and finds skeletons in his closet. And, there are more short stories in my series about an unconventional CIA female agent. I put her in the many places my travels took me around the world.
How We Can Find David Todd and His Books
My website is davidatodd.com. I blog on Mondays and Fridays about my writing life, plans, and achievements, with a few other topics along the way, including author interviews.
I also have author pages at the sellers Smashwords distributes to, which includes Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
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Lord, You are the Author of Truth. How refreshing to learn of Your work through David Todd’s unspeakable loss as a teen and in lands opposed to Jesus. Bless him in the final months of his career and bring him success as a writer beyond his dreams. Show Yourself through David’s words.
~ For Jesus’ sake
Dave, I repeat the prayer–perfect for you! You are a remarkable man in so many ways. Thanks for all you do for the family, and best of luck with your writing! Keep Joy in the journey!
Hi Katie: Thanks for coming by and commenting.
David is a new author to me, and I would love to win one of his books. WOW! What an eventful life he has had. I wish him the best in the remaining time in his writing career. Blessings on you, David!
Thanks for commenting, Evangeline. Just back from a long weekend trip and saw your comment.
Great to see you in our chat circle, Evangeline! Please come again.
David Todd is a new author to me, but wow amazing travel to get where he is today. Thank you for the nice interview and sharing all of Todd’s books. The best to him in the coming years of writing and publishing.
Thanks, Marilyn. Yes, it has been an interesting, circuitous route to this point. I think, if I ever write an autobiography, I’m going to title it “The Journey Was A Joy”.
Thanks for joining the chat, Marilyn!
You can’t find a more authentic and reliable guy than Dave, a good friend since our high school days. He’s a pretty good writer too.
Thanks so much for joining in, Gary. Come visit with us again!
Gary: Thanks for stopping by and commenting, even though it’s not RIID or NBIPD (we’ll let others wonder about those). Off to The Dungeon now.
Excellent interview! Completely Dave in every descriptive word.
I agree wholeheartedly, “Bless him in the final months of his career and bring him success as a writer beyond his dreams.”
Thanks for stopping by and joining the chat, Susan. I know David appreciates it too. Please come again!
Hi Susan: Thanks for the comment, and the prayer. For other readers, I must make full disclosure: Suz is my cousin, a writer in her own right.
Even though I’ve known Dave since meeting him at a 2011 writing conference, I learned new things here. I’ve enjoyed his books on his teen years and his “Candy Store” book too. He’s an excellent writer, and I’m anxious to learn more about those upcoming cozy mysteries …
Thanks so much for stopping by, Susan. I’m sure David appreciates it too. Please stop by again. God bless you’
Hi Susan. Thanks for dropping by and commenting, and for plugging “The Candy Store Generation” and the Danny Tompkins short stories. You see I’ve been hiding things from you! The cozy mysteries will happen some day, as long as I’m able to write into my 70s. This day job sure gets in the way of writing.
From the looks of all your books, your day job hasn’t scratched the surface of your productivity. Bravo, David!