Christian mystery author, speaker, and retired pastor David N. Clay is a member of my local writers group. I came to know him through his always thoughtful, often funny, and deeply relatable writing—most of which is true stories from his childhood and young adult years.
David is the author of three books and, while technically retired, still preaches and speaks at churches and venues throughout Virginia. His strength for storytelling, compassion for others, and love for the Lord is evident in his writing and character, and he was gracious enough to answer some questions for my blog readers. I hope you enjoy hearing from David and learning from him as much as I have!
Introduce yourself—who you are, where you’re from, what you do/did for a living, and what you’ve written.
I am David Norman Clay. I grew up in the sand and sea of Pensacola, Florida. In 1980, LeAnne and I left our jobs in Mobile, Alabama, and I enrolled in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From that institution, I received my Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. My first ministry job was as a youth minister at a small Baptist church in Hodgenville, Kentucky. From that time until now, I have been a minister/pastor at numerous churches, mostly in Virginia. I have been pastoring since 1992. As a pastor, I have written thousands of sermons, but in retirement, I have written three books: Buried in Baptism, Better a Millstone, and Life with Father. The first two books are cozy/gritty mystery novels where the pastor is the sleuth. The third book is a series of stories about life with my adopted father, Forrest Clay, written by my sister, Janna Clay Edwards, and me. I also have published a few short stories.
How long have you been writing?
Writing sermons for thirty years, sometimes two or more a week, prepares you for the process of writing a book. For me, each week, the Sunday morning sermon was, for the most part, written out and then condensed into an outline of sorts. So, the process of sermon writing began in 1992. I attempted to start a novel in 1995. (This unfinished novel became my first book, Buried in Baptism.) Every morning before I went to work, I would write. After about three months, I think I had about fifteen pages of text. At the time, I was too busy being a dad and husband and pastoring, serving, and growing a church to have time to write. It was a busy, busy time. When I retired in 2021, I immediately began to write. I found an old manuscript of what would become Buried in Baptism and retyped it on my laptop and began to write again.
What is your writing process? Do you enjoy reading as well as writing? Who are some authors who inspire you?
First, I began the process of writing by reading. I read a lot as a child. Having asthma before all the wonderful medications and inhalers, I would be up at night, and the only thing to do, in those bygone days after midnight, was read. I enjoyed baseball autobiographies, stories about baseball, history, and war stories. In middle school, I discovered Sherlock Holmes. In high school, I was required to read many of the classics. As a teen, I read, To Kill a Mockingbird and My Antonia. I’ve read them several times, and they are my favorite novels. Both books changed me and influenced the way I write.
In college, seminary, and as a pastor, I read many history, biographies, and religious works. I could devour a good book in a short time. When I retired, I decided that to be a good writer you must read great writers. So, I began to read all the great classic novels from a list of the “One Hundred Greatest Novels of all Time.” I have read about half of the list, but because I could not read the books on the list quickly, I read short stories of those authors who were on the list. In retirement, I discovered Dashiell Hammitt and Raymond Chandler, and I enjoy the writings of Graham Greene, Willa Cather, and W. Somerset Maugham. (In his short stories, his prose is outstanding.) Whenever I read, if I find a great sentence or paragraph that could be useful to my writing, I lift it by copying it in a notebook ingeniously entitled (by me) “Great Quotes.” Remember, it is important to give attribution to the original author of the quote.
There are a few books that are great guides. Of course, Stephen King’s On Writing is fantastic advice. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing is a great tutorial on writing for the beginner. Somerset Maugham in Mr. Maugham Himself, which I found very instructive, describes the tedious difficulty of writing good prose, and suggests, “A good style should show no signs of effort. What is written should seem like a happy accident.” Also when I retired, I reread a good book on grammar. You must know the rules of grammar before you can break the rules of grammar.
My writing process begins in the morning when around 8 a.m. I make a cup of coffee and sit down at the laptop and write, write, write. I try to sit for three to four hours. I am a “pantser.” That is, I put the seat of my pants in the chair with only a few ideas and write until my brain turns to mush. I cannot write for more than four hours. In the afternoon, I work around the house or work out. Come evening, I read. To write and read you have to push aside the TV, phone, YouTube, etc., I repeat this four to five days a week. When I begin writing the second draft, I try to find a lonely place on a mountain or near the sea and spend a week just rewriting and editing.
My wife is a retired eighth-grade English teacher. She is my first beta reader and my first editor. I hire a grammar editor to edit my final drafts. My wife and I read through the final draft word for word together until the text is finalized. When Amazon sends me an author’s copy to review, my wife and I review it again and always, always find mistakes.
While I am writing the novel, at times, I need a break, so I write a few short stories that are glib, satirical, and, hopefully, funny. I have a writer’s group I go to for criticism and encouragement. Emma is great at both.
I know you write a lot from personal experience. How do you choose life experiences to guide your writing?
Everybody has a story, and every story is a sacred story. Living life with so many people through the most difficult times of their lives gives one a sacred solemness about life. In one of my pastorates, I served a church with many military veterans. As they were dying, while I was sitting beside the hospital bed or in their homes at their bedside, they would invariably talk about what happened to them when they went to war. Those are sacred stories. I was at the bedside of hundreds of dying saints and listened to their joys and successes as well as their past mistakes and disappointments. Those are sacred stories. I’ve sat with young couples in the maternity wards and welcomed new babies into the world and grieved with parents who have lost babies and children. I’ve sat beside parents of teenagers at basketball, soccer, and football games, cheered for their children, and rushed to their homes when they lost a teen to suicide or an accident. Those are sacred stories.
I have had the privilege to know people who were, what I call “due north” people who are truthful, honest, and righteous, and I have known folks who were devious to their own detriment and demise. I’ve tried to not shy away from the awful. I have been a leader in many 12-step programs and traversed through every tragedy and triumph known to mankind. I hope, in some way, that when I write these stories, I have honored the memory of some of the greatest people who have ever walked on this globe and also sounded the warning to those who wanted to choose wrongly and destructively. I am a library of sacred stories yet to be written.
Your most recent book, Life With Father, was written in collaboration with your sister. What was it like writing a book with a family member about a family member?
At first it was a little bit of a struggle. I love my sister dearly. She is seven years younger than I am, so I was there on her first day here. She and I have very different personalities. She is more like her father; I am more unlike my adopted father. Plus, being male, my relationship with our dad was sometimes difficult. She has a daughter’s love for her dad. As we began to write and talk about the stories and share honestly with one another, the book began to take shape. We have had many hours of laughter and tears writing the book. For me, writing, rewriting, editing, and reviewing them with my sister, brought a heightened appreciation for what my parents did for me and my sister.
Writing is more than just a hobby for you—tell us about how your writing impacts your ministry and vice versa.
What is very interesting is that the stories in all three books have become parables in my sermons. My sermons have changed in that now I begin with a story/parable that is five to ten minutes long and is separate from the sermon. This is attached to the sermon/preaching by theme, but the parable stands alone. Then in the sermon, I expose the text, but the theme of the sermon is the theme of the story. The purpose of the parable is the purpose of the preaching. Some people relate well to the story for they see themselves in it. I hope I am still a fairly good exegete of the Scriptures, so many in the congregation hopefully are blessed by this approach. But, and here is the interesting thing, some people will take notes while I preach, but more often than not, some will say, “Pastor, tell me that story about your first vehicle,” or “Can you tell my wife here the story about the telescope.”
What advice do you have for aspiring writers who may want to consider writing memoirs or fiction based on their life experiences?
Read. Read. Read. Read the best writers of every generation. Read a good grammar book and learn how to write well. Study the “how to” books on writing. Then write, write, write. Join a writer’s group. Listen to criticism. (A large bag of barbecue potato chips will usually assuage any discomfort following the criticism.) Don’t be hurt when you are rejected. Don’t compete with others. I know others think differently, but I would write what you know and like. Early on, don’t get too discouraged. Somerset Maugham suggests writing what you like, and the audience will find you; it just might take more time. At times, take a break from writing and then come back refreshed.
Do you have any writing projects you’re currently working on?
Right now, I am starting my third novel which will be the last novel in the series. My wife and I have just returned from Maine and while there, between the lobster and the reading, we shared ideas and outlined the next novel. (Maybe I am becoming more of a plotter.) Also, I am always writing stories and sermons for publication and preaching, and I am working on a book of devotions.
Where can people follow you and find your Christian mystery books?
Folks can reach me through email at d.normanclay@gmail.com. All three books are available on Amazon. I am available for any event that would be enhanced by a presentation of stories that are funny and faith-based.
Pastor Scott Mystery Series
Non-fiction Books
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share my thoughts on writing. It was fun and a joy.
Thank you for interviewing Clay. It was an interesting, in depth conversation. I just ordered Buried in Baptism. I appreciated what Clay added to our writing group. I especially liked hearing about how his sermons begin with stories/parables. A unique sermon.
I do read, read, read, but I don't know if I am reading the greats. I have-- my education mandated that-- but it's been awhile. I'm feeling a little convicted. It's also been awhile since I visited a book about grammar or about writing. Thank you for sharing this interview! What a great person to have in your writing group! He is very thoughtful and interesting. I am certainly interested in reading his works now, including his sermons!