By Jill Williamson for NovelTeen.com

Last month Novel Teen Book Review reviewed Bryan Davis’ new book, Starlighter. I got a chance to ask Bryan Davis some questions. I particularily enjoy his thoughts on Broccoli for Breakfast Day.

Welcome to Novel Teen, Mr. Davis. Is writing books your “day” job or do you work someplace else?

I have been a fulltime author for eight years. Before that I was a computer professional for twenty years, working in systems analysis, programming, etc. Yes, I was a real geek. J

I must prefer being a writer. I get to work at home and be with my family all day, every day, and I can make whatever schedule I want. I am able to go on promotional tours, and I always take at least one family member with me. It’s wonderful to be able to concentrate on these endeavors without another job getting in the way, so I can live and breathe the passions of my heart. It’s a dream career.

What was your favorite subject in high school? Your least favorite?

I enjoyed math. It always had a correct answer, no argument, nothing subjective. A teacher couldn’t take off points on essays because of philosophical disagreements. I could trust numbers. They were unchanging and trustworthy.

This might sound strange coming from a writer, but I didn’t like literature classes. The teachers assigned the “classics,” which were usually horribly boring books. To this day I can’t understand why they are considered classics. It’s sad that so many kids became turned off to reading by these purportedly great books. I was turned off myself, but I am glad I had the opportunity to choose my own reading material when I became an adult, and I restored the freshness of reading in my life.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a professional baseball player. I loved watching baseball, and I went out to practice by myself day after day, throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it, fungo hitting in the field, and creating imaginary teammates and opponents. It was a dream that didn’t get much outside encouragement, so it eventually faded away.

I am grateful that my later dream to become a writer never faded, and I am thankful that I never gave up pursuing that dream, even though I received more than 200 rejections over an eight-year period. Dreams that become passions cannot be allowed to die.

In less than 20 words, please give us your life story pitch sentence.

By grace, God transformed me from sinner to saint, so I write to draw others to the saint maker.

You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books (not one you’ve written). Who would you choose and why?

I would choose Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a loving father who displayed the highest moral character in the face of hate-filled opposition. Even members of his family didn’t understand him, but he did what was right. I would like to probe his mind and ask what he was thinking when townspeople shouted epithets at him and when his own children doubted his actions.

As a writer, I sometimes receive criticism when I create characters who are morally upright, who make wise and noble choices. People say such righteousness is unrealistic and unattainable. I claim otherwise, and I look to Atticus Finch as a great example of how literature can portray the highest integrity in a truly realistic character.

A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Learn the craft. Most teen writers have great imaginations and ideas, but they don’t have the tools to fill out those ideas and make them into great stories. Read good books on writing, such as Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King (warning, some profanity).

Go to writers’ conferences and have your work critiqued by professionals in the writing industry. Become friends with published writers. They can help you learn how the industry works. Conferences are expensive, but every career requires a financial investment, and many conferences offer scholarships.

Have patience. Good writing is not a fast-food experience. There is no express lane. It takes hard work to craft an excellent story. Don’t think your story is finished after one or two drafts. Write and rewrite and rewrite again. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

You’ve invented a new national holiday. What’s it called, and what does it celebrate?

Broccoli for Breakfast Day celebrates the virtues and delights of eating broccoli as your morning meal. It is especially good smothered with spaghetti sauce, thereby providing a balanced, healthful meal, unlike many popular breakfast choices.

Remember those “classics” that you had to read in high school English class? Which book was your favorite? Which one should no one ever be forced to read?

To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite. It is beautifully written and doesn’t bog down in the author’s self-important desire to impress with boring details that are unrelated to the story.

The answer to the second question is the same. Being forced to read To Kill a Mockingbird might turn this fabulous book into a chore. It should be handed to a reader as a gift, not an assignment. It is to be cherished, not dreaded.

God tells you that you’ll never publish another book. Do you still keep writing?

No. Although I love writing, if I couldn’t publish my books, I would be unable to see the point. Writing isn’t an activity I do for myself; it’s a ministry I carry on for others, a way to communicate the passions God has set afire in my heart. If God didn’t want my writing published for others to read, then He would have a good reason for it, and I would pursue other ways to minister to people.

What world issue are you passionate about? Why?

I am passionate about the sacredness of life, so I am adamantly opposed to abortion in all forms. Our culture has accepted the slaughter of the most vulnerable and innocent human life, relegating it to the trash heap. These murders are heinous, the worst form of evil imaginable. And even many in the church have accepted this low view of pre-born life through approval of invitro fertilization, which always ends up destroying human life, and many practice chemical means of birth control, which also kill the unborn.

We can’t claim to love God while destroying the life He creates, and I stand against the murderers and their supporters.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for Novel Teen, Mr. Davis! And thanks for writing such wonderful, God-honoring, clean teen fiction. May God continue to use the gifts he’s given you for his glory!