Five Christmas Plays: Author Interview with David L. Winters

What made you decide to write a book of plays with a Christmas theme?

For ten years, I wrote and directed the Christmas plays at my home church. For the first several years, I also acted, usually in a role without too many lines. Staging, practicing and performing the plays brought so much fun and joy into our church. Even in the years when this particular church went through some tough circumstances, everyone lightened up and enjoyed our Christmas programs. Anyway, I wanted to spread the cheer and hopefully, encourage other folks to give plays a try as well.

Could you give me a short synopsis of one of the plays for my readers?

In "The Singing Trees," Mimsy Watters is running around spending tons of money and trying to buy the very best Christmas for her extended family. With the help of four singing Christmas trees and several humorous mishaps, she learns that the important things in life can't be bought. (For the original staging of this production, I bought four Christmas Tree costumes that were absolutely hilarious. The behind-the-scenes pictures of the cast still make me smile today.)

What do you expect people to take away from reading these plays?

Each of the plays has a gentle moral lesson. One of them is forgiveness; another is about faith. Whether reading the plays just for the enjoyment or acting them out with your church or family, it puts the focus back on Jesus for the holidays.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

Getting together with family and friends makes the season for me. Having a big party and cooking Tex-Mex food is about as good as it gets.

What’s next in your writing?

My first novel, Driver Confessional, was released earlier this year. It’s about a part-time Uber driver who stumbles onto the scene of a murder and must solve the crime before the Russian mob wipes out his family. Antonio is a Christian and he's trying to help all of his passengers get closer to God, while dodging bullets and trying to graduate from law school.

In Spring 2018, the next book in the series, Stock Car Inferno continues with Antonio as he defends a woman stock car driver. Emalyn aggressively baits her male rivals to try to gain a competitive advantage. Eventually, she bumps her archrival and his car explodes into a million pieces. Antonio comes in to defend her and try to figure out what really happened during the race.

Any special awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

I'm so thankful for this year. I joined Carpenter's Son Publishing, snared a literary agent (Steve Laube) and won several awards for my first non-fiction book, Sabbatical of the Mind: The Journey from Anxiety to Peace.

The coolest award came from the Next Generation Indies. The award ceremony was held at the Harvard Club in New York City. While there was no monetary award, the medal was nice and I probably ate $200 worth of fancy snacks at the reception.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given that you’d like to share?

Read the manuscript aloud before you release it. Despite all the editing that gets done, that final oral reading always turns up a few things that I would like to change.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?

For new authors, the best thing you can do is write a lot and get a ton of feedback. The more you write, the better you get - if you listen to the feedback. 

Any last words or tips?

Spend time praying before you decide what to write about. Then, stop and listen to God before each writing session. He's given you specific messages that bring His word, the Bible, to life for a specific audience.

That’s all for today’s interview. If you would like to learn more about the various forms of David’s writing, here are two links to get you on the right path.

 Website: https://www.sabbaticalofthemind.net/store

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zV4jUs