Author Bio:
Greetings from Central Texas! It’s only 94°F outside the window of my office/suite this afternoon—a few degrees cooler than last week. I’ve kicked off my boots to enjoy a few quiet moments while I share with you my story.
Becoming a writer wasn’t even on my bucket list. My professional life had been spent in the aviation industry. I have over 8000 hours as a pilot-in-command, and I have founded two aircraft refinishing companies, but my story would not be complete without telling you how and why, at the age of 66, I became an author and wrote my Cody Musket series.
Our companies supported outreaches to destitute people around the world, and even sponsored a chaplaincy program in a Texas facility for troubled youth. But I became burned out after so long and decided to sell my enterprises and retire. That’s when the real trouble started, the beginning of a sixteen-year-long wilderness in my life.
First, we lost 80% of our retirement in the financial markets crash of the year 2000. After that, I lived in a state of depression and panic for several years. It was a type of PTSD, I realize now. As a Christian believer, I tried hard to trust God through it all, but eventually I didn’t even trust myself any longer.
Thereafter, I failed at everything I tried. After sixteen years, I was so defeated that I could no longer see any purpose for my life. I ran out of options, and the boredom coupled with failure was killing me. I reached the point of wanting God to just take me home.
Through it all, my wife Carla was a rock. She never wavered in her trust for me or for her Lord. She’s my hero. I wish I were more like she is. She seemed so unaffected by the turmoil, but I was a mess.
After I came to the end of my proverbial rope, something miraculous happened. Was it an answer to prayer? I wasn’t sure at first. One night, out of nowhere a story invaded my head about a US Marine pilot who . . . well you get the picture—Cody Musket, a man who has reached the point of desperation, who meets a heroic woman whose faith is unbreakable.
The story grew in my head for months, but it never occurred to me to write a book. (Doofus!) I even asked God to take this story out of my head because it was disrupting my life. Finally, after about six months, I told Carla about the story. I told her I was gonna go crazy if I didn’t at least write it down. She said, “I think you should.” That’s it. “I think you should.”
I began to write feverishly and could not stop for two years. I studied hard to learn how to write fiction. No Pit So Deep, The Cody Musket Story was released in 2016 as a stand-alone novel, and I have now expanded this saga to a four-book series with a combined 440 customer reviews from around the world, many of which reveal lives that have been impacted. Book 1 has been on the Kindle #1 Bestseller list twice, and has won several awards.
So, there I was, just a few years ago, thinking my life was over, and feeling abandoned. But if my life had not slowFdrankly, ed down to an agonizing crawl, I would never have written this story. If I had achieved the retirement I had always dreamed about, I might have missed a greater destiny
I have learned that God can have a surprise waiting even when things seem hopeless. Where we may see an ending, maybe He just sees a brand-new place to start.
What inspires you to write?
Frankly, I'm unable to write unless I am inspired. I cannot just sit down and write an intriguing story like great authors are capable of doing. My inspiration comes from true stories of overcoming, beating the odds–faith, hope, matters of the heart. I write real events into my fiction stories, injecting reality into the plot and characters.
Tell us about your writing process.
Everyone has his/her own process. I'm not necessarily suggesting that anyone follow my lead on this. When I wrote my Cody Musket series, I could see the characters and environmental features in my mind like a full-color motion picture. I simply wrote down what I saw and heard. (I'm not trying to get weird, just telling you the way it was.) Nothing like that had ever happened to me before.
I didn't have an outline. I just wrote as things developed. For example, Brandi discovers that Cody has a large, ragged cross-shaped scar below his left knee. He refuses to reveal how it happened, but promises to tell her later. Even I, the author, had no idea how he had received the scar until he finally tells her in chapter 21.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don't talk to my characters. That would be too weird! (Smiling) But I do feel something for the characters that I've created. It's almost like they are my kids. And, my characters actually surprised me at times with their dialogue. I learned some important life principles while writing their parts.
Who are your favorite authors?
A few of my favorite authors are John Eldredge, Lisa Worthey Smith, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton
How did you decide how to publish your books?
My Musket series was recently picked up by Winged Publications, a traditional publisher.
I self-published initially because I was a first-time author with a debut book. and was told by most it would be nearly impossible to get traditionally-published.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The future is moving more and more toward audio and video. There will always be a demand for the printed page, but electronics rule in this age.
What genres do you write?
Romance, Christian, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Military, Sports
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
Follow James Nathaniel Miller II On Amazon
Author’s Social Media Links
Facebook
All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.
