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home : • news : news	July 31, 2010

4/26/2009 6:26:00 PM

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Area man publishes second inspirational novel
By RACHEL MORGAN

Staff Writer

Clark Wayne Leeth, of Washington C.H., recently published his second novel "Redeemed! The Journey Begins," the sequel to his

first novel, "The Haunting of Downing Chapel."

Leeth, a retired contractor, wrote his first novel in 2002.

"It was winter 2001 and I was not working and I just felt a calling to write," he said. "I said, Lord, I can't write, I don't know how

to cross my t's or dot my i's."

Leeth, as it turns out, underestimated himself.

He started off writing religious articles for local churches, including his own, the Washington Avenue House of Prayer.

He then decided to tackle the ultimate challenge for a writer - writing a novel.

Less than a year later the first book in the Prodigal Series, "The Haunting of Downing Chapel" was published by Publish America,

a Maryland-based publishing company that specializes in publishing the new or unheard of authors.

But the publishing process was not easy. Leeth admits that he almost simply threw away the manuscript but decided to send it to

just one more publisher. Three days after he sent it, Leeth received an email from Publish America.

"They said, 'We want to publish your book and you won't have to pay a dime,'" he said.

"The Haunting of Downing Chapel" tells the story of Brad Greystone, a prodigal son-esque character who was summoned home

by his father, the founder of Downing Chapel, to restore it so services can be held there again. Through the process, Greystone

comes to terms with his own faith.

Despite its title, "it's not a scary book. It's about the voices of the past haunting him," Leeth said.

The sequel, "Redeemed! The Journey Begins," was published on March 30. It chronicles Greystone's spiritual journey as he

becomes the pastor of the church he restored.

Leeth wrote this book in approximately four to five months. He admits that the second book was relatively easier to write than

the first, since it had a lot of the same characters. However, Leeth did add a few new faces to the sequel.

As a newly-published author, Leeth still faces challenges while writing.

"The hardest part for me is the middle of the book," he said. "I know what I want to happen at the beginning and at the end, but

it's the middle that's hard."

And he does all his writing on the computer.

"I usually write about two to three hours a day," he said. "But sometimes I would get involved and write for one whole evening."

Leeth is currently working on his third novel, which will be a semi-autobiographical account of his wife Penny's battle with cancer

from 2001-02.

"The book jumps from (my point of view) to hers," he said as he recalls Penny's battle with cancer.

"She went from 154 to 74 pounds," he said. "She was in a coma for two weeks and I asked the doctor, is she going to live? And he

said, it's up to (God.)"

Turns out God wasn't finished with Penny yet, because she was declared in remission on Memorial Day 2002.

He hasn't gotten very far on that book yet, he said. "It will probably take 4-5 months to write. I'm trying to recall the events. I was

kind of in a daze at that time."

Leeth donates all the profits from his books to his church.

"It's not about the money," he said. "It's about getting the message out there."

Leeth's inspiration for his novels is partly nostalgia for what he calls "old-time worship," he said. "I'd like to get back to that old-

time worship, when people played an active roll in worship, back to what made America great."

And like most author, he draws heavily from personal experience.

"I had one person come up to me and ask, are you Brad Greystone?" he said. "And I said in a way. Except I wasn't called to

preach."

And it seems as if Leeth has already found his calling.

Leeth is a guard at the DHL airpark and lives in Washington C.H. with his wife Penny. They have four children, Tammy Kocher,

Daniel Leeth, Angela Cockerill and Jason Leeth.

Leeth is holding a book signing for "Redeemed! The Journey Begins" from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. May 23 at Carnegie Public Library.

To order either of Leeth's books, visit his website at www.theprodigalbooks.com.

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