Three of my books have summer birthdays.
The first two were “born” the same summer, which is a story that I like to tell.
In 2017, I came across a call for book proposals for a new series that would explore theological themes in the song catalogues of popular musicians. I decided to submit a proposal for one based on the music of Dave Matthews Band, one of my favorite groups. The reply came that my approach wouldn’t really fit what the series editors were going for, but they encouraged me to submit it to the same publisher separately. So I did, but then as the weeks went on, I started to figure that I wouldn’t hear back.
Around this same time, I had an idea for another book about praying while doing other activities such as chores, exercising, and sitting at one’s desk at work. I decided to focus on pitching this idea, and it gained tentative acceptance contingent on my writing a complete manuscript for them to review before they truly said yes.
As I began work on this new manuscript, I finally heard back that the other publisher did in fact wish to publish my Dave Matthews Band book. So I did my best to finish the prayer book so that I could then write the DMB book. It was incredible to suddenly have two publishing contracts at the same time!
In June 2018, Wonder and Whiskey: Insights on Faith from the Music of Dave Matthews Band was born. Its slightly younger sibling Prayer in Motion: Connecting with God in Fidgety Times came out that August.
In 2019, I started putting together a book idea for something related to one of my favorite shows Doctor Who. I had so much fun writing the Dave Matthews book, and I wanted to write another based on faith and popular culture. I settled on an idea to compare and contrast the experiences of the show’s titular character with the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul as depicted in his letters. My proposal was accepted late that year.
2020, of course, was a weird one. Not only did the pandemic cause so much disruption on a national and global scale, but I was also in the midst of a job transition. And now I had this obligation to a publisher. Working on this manuscript actually ended up serving as a good distraction and healthy creative outlet as all these other events swirled around me.
Finally, The Doctor and the Apostle: Intersections Between Doctor Who and the Letters of Paul was released in August, a mere 4 days after Prayer in Motion‘s birthday.
I’m grateful for and proud of all three of these books for so many reasons, and I’m glad to celebrate their birthdays each summer. If you haven’t done so already, I hope you’ll pick one or more of them up.
For a complete list of all my books, check out my Books and Writing page.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 