English is not my first language. Understandably I dreaded writing and speaking in front of a crowd. I remember the first time I was asked to write an article for Church Bulletin and proofread the whole Bulletin afterward. I was scared at first; but was proud of myself and happy for completing that difficult task. After that, I have begun to have some self-confidence in my writing ability.
But, that was not how I have begun my writing career. Although I have always enjoyed reading Children Stories and Mystery Books since my early childhood, I have been reluctant to write my first book. That effort has only come about when I was moved to another church as my friends urged me to keep in touch with them by writing. However, what was I going to write? After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to write my first book called “Lord Jesus, I Want to See… (Children Edition).” It is a collection of fifty-two Bible Stories with explanation and personal reflection. After this, I have decided to write an Adult Prayer Book “Lord Jesus, I Want to See… (Adult Edition)”, which is also based on Bible passages for three hundred and fifty-five days, or the whole year. My purpose to write those first two books was to connect Children and Adults to the Bible and help them find hope and encouragement in their daily lives.
Then, under a lot of pressure and encouragement of my friends, who have heard all sorts of harrowing stories about my life in church and wanted to hear them in a cohesive form, I have put them all in my Memoir “Living for a Higher Purpose: Story of a City Boy Who Survived the Viet Nam War by Living for Jesus and Others.” Besides putting all my personal stories into a book, I have also intended to introduce myself to my readers and fan in that way. This book was much harder for me to write because it brought back many painful memories about the Viet Nam War and its aftermath along with a horrible life under the Communist system and a harrowing escape to find a new life in America. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I wrote each page of this book. Thankfully I was able to complete the whole book. After my third book, I have continued to get inspiration and new ideas to write another one. At the moment, I have finished nine books with another completed Children Book and a fictional Trilogy currently in the work.
However, as you might know, it is one thing to write book. It is another thing to market and promote it. I have to confess that I have been scammed by lots of bad companies that have taken my money without doing the work agreed upon. But, I have never lost hope or let those bad people discourage me from promoting my books and keeping on writing. I remember a wise advice of a friend who encouraged me to continue requesting for reviews of my books and asked me to respond it in this way, “always be polite and grateful.” So, I continue to be grateful to all the benefactors that God has sent my way and persistent in my writing and promoting it. That is one of the important lessons I have learned in my writing career. Author Peter Vu