Celebrating Published Authors and Musicians
Renée Avilés
Congregation: Toronto, Ontario
Books: The Tutti-Frutti Tree, etc.
About the Books: Over the past few years Mrs. Avilés has published several books, all but one in French. The first and most important one was The Tutti-Frutti Tree. It came to be when she decided to invent a game to teach her two young daughters about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the game was to draw a parallel between real fruits and their characteristics and the spiritual fruits produced in us by the Holy Spirit. A story was written to explain those similarities and she created a tree poster with reusable fruit stickers for her daughters to "see" their daily crop. She also offered a free French and Spanish translation of her story with a purchase.
Not long after, she was given the opportunity to write for a Quebec publisher of school material for French-immersion schools across Canada and penned L'amour sans frontières (Love Without Frontiers), based on an interview with a real mom who adopted 19 handicapped children; Karell, une fille pas comme les autres (Karell, a Girl Unlike Others), the biography of a young girl who persevered and succeeded in spite of her cerebral palsy; and Petites mains, grand cœur (Small Hands, Big Heart), a fictitious story telling how young children have the potential to make a difference in other people's lives in spite of their young age.
Afterwards, Mrs. Avilés participated in two novel contests targeting teenagers who disliked reading. This is how L'inconnu (The Stranger) and L'affaire portefeuilles (The Case of the Found Wallets) came into existence. Later, she was invited by the same publisher to write different pieces as writing style models requested by the Ministry of Education of Ontario for the Francophone schools of Ontario . One of her stories was a letter on friendship mentioning the true story of a member who fell into a bonfire as a baby. Recently, she was invited to write a bilingual French-English novel for teenagers.
About the Author: Mrs. Avilés was baptized in 1982 and has taught Sabbath school over the years. She is always interested in hearing others' stories and anecdotes, as she may just use them in her next book.
More Information: raviles@cogeco.ca.
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June Derrick Barrett
Congregation: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Book: Will I Ever See Jim Again? (2005).
About the Book: "I like to read. But most fiction stories are immoral and have killing and using God's name in vain. I wanted a story that introduces the truth and honors God. So I wrote this book.
"Jim is killed. His wife believes he is burning in hell. The book shows where Jim is. This book honors God; it has adventure, romance, problems, triumphs and miracles. It has a new way of looking at the inspirational love story."
About the Author: Mrs. Barrett was baptized in June 1964 on a baptizing tour. She and her husband, Vendor, raise a few cows and garden. She plays the part of Minnie Pearl in the fun show.
Member Comments: "I am now reading your book—it is great! I am really enjoying it. I'm sure I will read it more than once."
More Information: juneb46@ar-digit.net.
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Andrea Boise
Congregation: Cincinnati East, Ohio
Book: Symphony of Time (2003).
About the Book: "Symphony of Time is made up of over 50 poems and pictures that capture the rhythm of life, from sorrow to joy, love and happiness. It's what I'd call an inspirational memory book of feelings. I started writing poetry to capture the essence of what I was feeling. When I wrote something that really connected with what others were feeling, it was inspiring. I almost scrapped the whole book, but a friend gave me the encouragement to go on.
"I had 20 poems written already. Thirty of the poems were written within two weeks, after a publisher had taken a look at the others."
About the Author: Mrs. Boise was baptized April 15, 2000, and serves at church by giving special music.
Her parents and youngest brother live in Freedom, Ohio, where she was born. She married Reuben Boise in August 2005. A second book is on its way. Some of her hobbies include hiking, knitting, quilting, dancing, violin and harp. She is a licensed massage therapist and a master herbologist.
More Information: lifeispoetryb4u@hotmail.com.
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Richard Burkard
Congregation: Columbus, Georgia
CD: One God, Many Moods (2003).
About the CD: "Several people in my congregation had heard me sing special music, and suggested I make an album. The title can refer to the many ways in which God expresses Himself to us, or how we can approach Him."
About the Musician: Mr. Burkard was baptized in 1984. He sings special music and leads songs in the congregation. His hobbies include running, blogging and developing a new sport called Power Frisbee.
Member Comments: "Thank you for all you do sharing God's love with others" (Renton, Washington).
"My only complaint about the CD was that... there aren't enough songs on it" (Mauk, Georgia).
More Information: You can click on the music link at http://RichardBurkard.blogspot.com.
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Michael Caputo
Congregation: Toronto, Ontario
Book: God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds
About the Book: God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds finds its origins in a TV interview of the president of the American Atheists Association. At the conclusion of the interview, the man asserted dogmatically that "No intelligent person would ever believe in God." Mr. Caputo decided to explore the validity of his statement by digging through the works and private correspondence of the greatest minds of the past and found that in reality the opposite was true. The book won the "Angel Award" from Excellence in Media and the "Silver Medallion" from ECPA. The lie propagated by the leading atheist inspired a work that has brought thousands to see that intelligence is not synonymous with atheism or agnosticism and that in reality the greatest scientists, philosophers, writers, poets, musicians and artists of the past held a firm belief in God.
About the Author: Michael Caputo was baptized in 1972, after which he attended Ambassador College. He graduated from Canadian universities with a specialization in counseling. For several years he worked in the mental health field, after which he served full time in the ministry both in Italy and Canada. Because of health and family reasons, Michael returned to Toronto and joined the field of education. He presently teaches at both the high school and college level and is an elder in the Toronto congregation. He is married to Leonilda and is father to Anthony, Julie and Victor.
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Everett Corbin
Congregation: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
CD: The Oxford Touch (2002).
About the CD: This was the rerelease of an album Mr. Corbin produced in 1980, America's Unknown Superstar, with traditional country music singer Vernon Oxford. The songs are getting more airplay on international radio than they did originally. One song, a gospel-Christian tune "I Love to Sing" remained on a European chart for more seven months.
Soon Vernon Oxford will record still more of Mr. Corbin's songs, leading off with a song of tragedy, "The Last Days of New Orleans," which tells that "man is destined for disaster when building on sand, leaving God out of the picture entirely."
About the Musician: Mr. Corbin was editor of a Nashville, Tennessee, suburban weekly, The Donelson News Diary. His outlook on life changed drastically in 1969 when he was baptized into the Church of God.
More Information: countrymusic1@juno.com
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Gary and Elizabeth Densmore
Congregation: Kittery, Maine
CD: The Dedication by Ivory and Fox (2002).
About the CD: "The Dedication CD is the first album we've recorded out of 12 recording projects we have purposed for the future. It is an easy listening album highlighting the standards. It was dedicated to each of our parents for their love and the support they had given so generously throughout the years to our music and fine arts' profession.
"We enjoy the rainbow of sounds in the color of music because our parents gave us a versatile appreciation for the beauty in the variety of different musical styles!"
About the Musicians: Gary and Elizabeth Densmore are professional musicians with Elizabeth providing the vocals and Gary arranging, producing and playing piano and keyboards to give a four-to eight-piece band sound as the duo Ivory and Fox.
Gary was baptized in August 1977 and Elizabeth has been a coworker with the Church for 12 years. Gary attended Berklee School of Music in 1964, graduated from Champlain College in 1969 and Plymouth State in 1971. He has played throughout New England professionally as a soloist and bandleader, as well as serving the Church for nearly 30 years as a piano accompanist, children's choir director and soloist, including performing original compositions at the Feast.
Elizabeth was born and raised in Cork, Ireland, and has performed in Ireland, Holland and the Isle of Jersey. She has served as a special music soloist and ensemble singer for the Church, as well as providing musical entertainment at the Feast.
Member Comments: "Gary makes those ivory keys talk, and you feel it when he sits down at the keyboard. He puts his whole personality into his music. Add this with Elizabeth's beautiful mezzo-soprano voice and you have one powerful duo sound."
More Information: ivoryandfox@comcast.net.
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Kathy Foster
Congregation: Salem, Oregon
Book: Teach Your Students to Read in Sound Bytes (2000, 2002, 2004).
About the Book: Teach Your Students to Read in Sound Bytes is a 300-page phonetic reading program that allows students to begin reading after learning only five letters of the alphabet. Students are taught letters and the sounds they represent, words using those sounds, then read a story using the sounds and words they just learned. Each new story builds on previous knowledge and adds a little more. The book is being used to teach struggling readers in several Salem schools (including elementary, middle and high school).
About the Author: Kathy Foster has been a reading tutor for many years. The book was developed after one of her children had difficulty learning to read with the whole language method taught in school.
She was baptized in March 1972, is married, has four children (two of whom are teachers), teaches Sabbath Bible classes and teaches at Camp Davidson 's preteen camp.
Member Comments: "I think (as a parent trying to teach a child to read) it is the easiest instruction book for a parent. It was easy for me to follow and teach, and I found the kids liked the format too—they didn't get confused or overwhelmed... both of the boys are on grade level now."
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John Fox
Congregation: Salt Lake City, Utah
Book: Business Ethics—A Call to Action!
About the Book: After being encouraged by industry peers, John Fox wrote a training manual titled Business Ethics—A Call to Action! It was approved in August 2003 by the State of Utah for its continuing education program. This led to certification by the IICRC as an ethics instructor. As a result, Mr. Fox now writes a monthly column for ASCR, in addition to contributing to BSCAI and other venues on topics related to ethics in marketing management.
About the Author: Mr. Fox is a marketing coach. He was baptized on Trumpets in 1977. Married to Lynn, he has two children, one grandchild and another on the way. He enjoys history and music.
When asked why he writes, he replied, "To share true principles. Members and so many others have encouraged me both face-to-face and via e-mail because they find what I say helpful. So I keep at it and am grateful for the opportunities. I am just a pen."
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Larry Carlton Graybeal
Congregation: Hickory, North Carolina
CD: Conestoga View (2005).
About the CD: "On June 2, 2004, my beloved mother, Kathleen, passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's dis ease. Several months later, words to what became a song in her memory came flooding into my mind. The song is about my observations of her and the staff at a nursing home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, named Conestoga View."
About the Composer: Mr. Graybeal and his wife, Patricia, were baptized in July of 1990. Their son, Brian, and his wife, Denice, have three children, Aubrey, Camille and Brian Jr. Their daughter, Aimee, has a daughter, Kaila.
More Information: larrygraybeal@boone.net.
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Rod Hall
Congregation: Spokane, Washington
Books: Are We Living in the End Time? (2000) and 7 Strategies of Success (2000).
About the Books: "Applying the experience and skills gained in my tenure as a television news anchor and station general manager, I was able to fulfill a dream by authoring two books Are We Living in the End Time? and 7 Strategies of Success.
"After over 40 years of analyzing world news and trends in the light of Bible prophecy, it was fascinating to go back and take a fresh, in-depth look at current geopolitical trends and explore secular experts and history in 17 key prophetic areas.
"The book evolved from over a year of extensive research for a possible United publication. However, the material gathered proved to be much too extensive for a booklet and was eventually published with 324 pages.
"7 Strategies of Success analyzes with an underlying biblical perspective keys that make some people more successful than others. It utilizes hundreds of quotes and many examples of the great and near-great of our times.
"Researching the books and helping promote them proved to be the most enjoyable part of the process. Fielding questions from many live call-in radio programs across America for a period of two years was a rewarding experience.
About the Author: Mr. Hall was baptized in October 1968. After attending Ambassador College, he worked 11 years at Ambassador Television Production helping produce The World Tomorrow program. He has been in the television broadcast industry for over 35 years working at 13 network television stations in news, sales and management. He is currently general manager for KQUP RTN24 in Spokane.
More Information: totalmarketing@comcast.net.
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Janet McGuire Hendershot
Congregation: Ocala, Florida
Book: Backyard Burial (2006).
About the Book: "Backyard Burial is a mystery novel with no sex and no profanity. Matrina McCoy, a security agent, is a 9/11 widow who moves to Sarasota, Florida, with her two children to begin life anew. She meets John Fleming, an investigator and widower who is raising three children on his own. An acquaintance of John's from his church is found dead in his backyard. John also thwarts a would-be bomber at Disney World, and afterwards receives threatening letters. Are the bomb threat and the murder connected? John is arrested for the murder, and Matrina has to find the real killer before harm comes to John and his children.
"I wrote this book to portray Matrina as the epitome of a loved one from 9/11 who rallies and goes on with life."
About the Author: Mrs. Hendershot was baptized in March 1969 in Chicago, Illinois . She and her husband, Ivan, who was also baptized in 1969, have been married for 49 years and have five children. She maintains the congregation's tape library and types sermon transcripts for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Web page.
More Information: janetmcguirehendershot.com.
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Stephen Hervey
Congregation: Williamsburg, Virginia
Book: Hymns to the Highest: Biblical Poetry (2004).
About the Book: "My book contains inspirational poetry and songs that are edifying and can be helpful in learning about God's Word. One of the Scriptures that prompted me to write this book was Colossians 3:16. One of my main reasons for writing my book was to share God's truth with others through poetry, which is also a biblical principle, since much of what is written in the Bible is poetry. The book is divided into four sections containing spiritual songs, poems of encouragement, poems of edification and spiritual romantic poems (which also have been used at weddings).
"I would describe my style of poetry as didactic in God's Word and filled with rhythm, rhyme and romance. The primary subject addressed throughout the book is love. It advocates and expounds on love at a time when it's prophesied that the love of many shall wax cold. The poems also cover a variety of other biblical subjects with titles like "The World to Come," "When Christ Returns," "Babylon," "God's Kingdom," "The Holy Calling," "Call Upon His Name," "The Bread" and "Reconciliation," to name a few. One of the more popular poems in the book is a spiritual romantic poem titled "Now," which is my wife's favorite poem.
"I have at times used my poetry in giving sermonettes and sermons. Each poem concludes with a Bible verse that relates to the poem."
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Marcus E. Omer
Congregation: Henderson, Kentucky
Book: Of Sunshine and Clouds (2005).
About the Book: "Over the years, I noticed my mind being filled with stories and thoughts on life itself. I wanted to get these thoughts down on paper, and I found the simplest form was poetry. As the number of poems grew, I wanted to have them in book form so I could pass on my thoughts and feelings to those that follow.
"In the summer of 2005 I published Of Sunshine and Clouds. It is a book of poetry in mostly traditional form. I have tried to reflect the ups and downs that are sure to come in this life; of the happy days and the cloudy days, but always with a hope for the future. The poetry has a wide variety of subjects—from inspirational to humorous; from nostalgia to love poems; and from poems on what's wrong with our society today to the hope we have in looking forward to that wonderful world tomorrow."
About the Author: "My family started listening to Herbert W. Armstrong in 1950 when I was 14 years old. My mother was baptized by Dr. Hoeh in the summer of 1952. I was not baptized until March 1977. I, along with my wife, have been active in the Church for years and in UCG since 1995."
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Rachel Quast
Congregation: Milwauke, Wisconsin
Book: Journey From the Storm Within: 9 Steps to Eating Disorder Recovery (2003).
About the Book: "My primary motivation for writing this book was due to my experiences with anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. Since God blessed me with recovery and gave me the willingness to share it with others, I had to write it. It almost felt like God was driving me, and not writing it wasn't an option. I also came to see that the resources for those suffering from these conditions are very limited. Step programs are especially difficult to find or are ineffective. Eating disorders are baffling and complex and, thus, demand their own model of recovery from someone who has lived through them and studied them. The book has nine steps that guide a person through recovery. It includes a brief biography, personal journal entries, descriptions of each step, over 60 activities a person can work through to process each step and biblical scriptures to support each step.
About the Author: Miss Quast is the founder and president of an organization called SHED (Self-Healing through EDucation). The organization deals with the prevention and intervention of eating disorders and accomplishes these goals through presentations, support groups and one-on-one counseling. In December of 2006, she will have her master's degree in counseling. She enjoys weight lifting, dancing, writing, her job and traveling. She was baptized in August of 2000.
More Information: www.9shed.com.
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Linda Register
Congregation: Cincinnati East, Ohio
Book: Frankie's Fork: Children's Table Manners in Rhyme (2006).
About the Book: "Frankie's Fork is a color illustrated book about children's table manners. The main characters are my daughter, Francesca, and her Siamese cat, Sinatra. While raising my daughter, I noticed that manners and etiquette were falling by the wayside as both parents went to work and strained to get the basics of keeping the household done. There was no time to consistently teach manners. We often went to restaurants and found it difficult to enjoy ourselves because kids weren't trained on basic manners at the table. I decided to write the book about five years ago and just now finished it. I wrote it in rhyme so that it would be easy to teach and remember. I also illustrated the book."
About the Author: Mrs. Register was raised in the Church of God. The activity she enjoys most in the Church is participating in the camp program with the youth. She enjoys reading, writing, drawing, cooking, beading and traveling with her family. She has worked most of her adult life as a marketing communicator. Her family has recently relocated to the Cincinnati area and she intends to look for work again—and will probably write another book in her spare time!
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Emogene Simpson and Ralph Mayer
Congregation: Little Falls, Minnesota
Book: Up the Crick (2005).
About the Book: "Our book is a historical novel about the depression of the 1920s and one family's attempt to cope with the situa tion."
About the Authors: Emogene Simpson was baptized with her husband, Leo, in 1982. She has authored seven books in her 90 years but Up the Crick is the first to be published. She's had a lifelong fascination with literature and spends much of her time in Bible study and reading. Her family consists of three children, 10 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Ralph Mayer is retired and he and his wife, Joyce, were baptized in 1970. He serves as a deacon in the Little Falls congregation and frequently travels to serve in Duluth, Minnesota, Fargo, North Dakota, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. He cowrote Up the Crick and has another book of humor essays to be published soon, as well as two other historical novels in progress. He and Joyce have been married for 41 years and have three children and six grandchildren.
More Information: ottralph@wcta.net.
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Blanche Smith
Congregation: St. John's, Newfoundland
Book: Digger Donald (2005).
About the Book: The book is about a digger (power shovel) that travels into the country for the first time. All the machines and animals that Digger Donald meets make up the story.
"Before going to Perth, Australia, to visit my daughter, son-in-law and little grandson, Conrad, I didn't have any idea that I would write a children's book. But during my brief visit, I became totally immersed in the world of little Conrad. I was intrigued by his fascination for all types of equipment.
"When I returned home, all the things he said and did were written indelibly in my heart. I wanted to write it all down to recapture our time together. With the help of my husband and my daughter Carmel, I made a little laminated book and sent it to Conrad. Some of my family and friends saw a copy of the book and suggested that I try to have it published."
About the Author and Illustrator: Blanche Smith was baptized March 19,1977, and is the wife of Newfoundland elder David Smith. Their daughter Carmel Smith illustrated the book. She graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a degree in studio arts. She lives in Nova Scotia on an organic farm with a menagerie of animals.
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Eric Snow
Congregation: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Book: A Zeal for God Not According to Knowledge: A Refutation of Judaism's Arguments Against Christianity (2005).
About the Book: "This 664-page book is a systematic critique of the arguments Jews make against belief in the New Testament and in Jesus as the Savior and Messiah. It deals with such issues as the alleged influence of pagan religion and gnosticism on first-century Christianity, the historical and other objective evidence favoring the New Testament's reliability, the messianic texts of the Old Testament and whether they were fulfilled in Jesus, the Jewish versus Christian views of how people are saved and whether or not Jesus is God.
"The need to intellectually rebutt the ... book Mystery Babylon and the Ten Tribes in the End Time was the original reason for my research on this issue. I later reworked that research, by putting in various specific Jews' arguments in place of his in the book, and did additional research."
About the Author: Mr. Snow is 40 years old, never married and works as an office facilities coordinator in Southfield, Michigan, near Detroit. He has also worked part time for Davenport University as an instructor. He was baptized in August of 1987 and during the Days of Unleavened Bread in 1995 joined a congregation that eventually became part of the UCG. He serves as the church librarian, does lost-and-found duty and gives sermonettes about once or twice every two months. He has also had a number of letters to the editor published in newspapers in Michigan.
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Randy Vild
Congregation: Los Angeles, California
CD: The World to Come (2004).
About the CD: "While listening to the secular Christian music explosion in 1999, I noticed that the majority of songs were either about praising God or demonstrating how wonderful the life of a Christian is. It was very difficult to find a song about the true gospel of God's future Kingdom. I dedicated the next five years to writing 15 songs that I believe preach the gospel of the Kingdom through music.
"A Web site was created with free MP3 downloads, and five videos were also produced. Since the album's release there have been over 75,000 downloads, and it is the No. 5 Christian album on C/NETS http://www.download.com."
About the Composer: Mr. Vild was baptized in 1986 and is the owner of a video/audio company called http://vildproductions.com.
"I very much enjoy reading the Bible and sharpening iron with fellow brethren. I have a beautiful wife who lives for the Kingdom and am proud to be the father to three lovely children. I'm currently working on an orchestration album due out in August."
Member Comments: "It was only now (after arriving home) that I listened to all 15 tracks on your CD. They were absolutely fantastic! The music and lyrics are excellent and very creative. I am joyful that God has given you (and your helpers) such great musical gifts."
More Information: http://theworldtocome.org.
