With Christmas around the corner, picking the perfect gift for adults and kids alike can be a challenge. This holiday season, local authors Omar Hill and Shellie Arnold have debuted inspirational stories centered around faith that will please both parents and their children.
Omar Hill
Now a Plant City resident, Maryland native Omar Hill traveled frequently with his family when he was young. He spent a large part of his childhood in Alaska.
Through the many moves from state to state, Hill’s faith in Jesus remained strong. His children’s book, “Jesus, My Friend,” came out Oct. 21.
“This is about sharing the word of God,” Hill said.
Hill attends the River Church of Tampa Bay and decided to write a children’s book about Jesus after preaching to the children’s ministry. Tate Publishing, the company that published Hill’s book, shared his views on faith. The company agreed to publish Hill’s book just three days after he sent it to the company.
The book explains the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus, as well as who Jesus was. Hill also explains sin and prayer.
“Prayer is talking to God,” Hill said. “Sin … is just not doing things God’s way.”
So far, Hill has received positive feedback from kids, parents and grandparents about his debut story.
“It’s one of the most rewarding things,” Hill said. “I got saved at an early age. It’s been a lifelong thing. I just want to follow Jesus.”
In the future, Hill plans to continue writing and preaching about Jesus, in addition to focusing on children’s education. Hill is currently enrolled at DeVry University, where he is taking programming classes and working on a graphic novel.
Like his first book, the graphic novel is geared toward children and based around faith, specifically The Good Samaritan story. In the story, children are able to choose different actions and see the results and consequences of their decisions.
“I just don’t see myself stopping preaching about Jesus,” Hill said.
Hill also is working on a program that will teach children about the government and its functions. He hopes to teach the younger generations how they can make effective changes in government.
“Jesus, My Friend,” is currently being translated into Spanish and Thai. After the translations are complete, Hill will begin the publishing process for his next children’s story, “Jesus, My Hero.”
“That one will talk about who Jesus is and what he would do,” Hill said.
The story is in the design phase. Following the completion of “Jesus, My Hero,” Hill hopes to write a story about the Holy Spirit. For his upcoming projects, he plans to stay with Tate Publishing.
“Start with accepting Jesus and going from there,” Hill said. “Everything else is added upon salvation.”
Shellie Arnold
While Hill is providing lessons in faith for children, Plant City native Shellie Arnold’s inspirational fiction novel, “The Spindle Chair,” is a faith-based story for adults.
The novel, which was published Oct. 20, follows a young married couple who have been trying to have a child for seven years. After finally conceiving, memories of the father’s traumatic childhood spring to the forefront of his mind.
The story is the first of three in Arnold’s Barn Church series, which she has written to help marriages through faith. The three stories in the series are based in Rowe City, Alabama and follow three couples from a local church. The second and third stories in the series are set to be released in Oct. 2016 and Oct. 2017, respectively.
“I knew “The Spindle Chair” was going to be about a past pain in one or both spouses,” Arnold said. “If you can dig up the (problem) root and expose the real cause, you can overcome something. I think God can heal anything.”
Arnold’s venture into the world of fiction began in 2007. She was pursuing her career in nonfiction in 2002, but fell ill. Arnold had an anaphylactic reaction to medication before a scheduled surgery. Her husband found her having a seizure. It rendered her partially paralyzed.
“It fried my brain,” Arnold said. “It was pretty debilitating.”
Arnold’s writing career took an involuntary hiatus following the shock. Arnold could not walk or communicate, and couldn’t even write her own name.
“It was very frightening,” Arnold said. “It was very discouraging at times. I only had my attitude. If that was all I had to offer Him, I was going to give Him the best attitude.”
One day, Arnold’s paralysis seemingly disappeared. Following her recovery, she began having ideas for a scene surrounding a spindle chair.
“God healed my brain and turned my head to fiction,” Arnold said. “I either had to trust Him or not, and that’s tough.”
Since changing course, Arnold’s writing has taken off. Her third novel in the Barn Church series, “Abide With Me,” recently won first place in women’s contemporary fiction at The Florida Christian Writers Conference. Arnold also won first place for a nonfiction entry and was named the 2015 Writer of the Year at the conference.
Arnold, who has been married to her high school sweetheart for 29 years, plans to continue helping marriages through fiction, in addition to blog posts and videos on her website.
“We don’t come into marriages with a blank slate,” Arnold said. “I flesh (stories) out from both points of view. I write about the perfect storms in marriages.”
Arnold is part of the Orlando-based critique group Word Weavers International. Her stories are published through Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
BUY THE BOOKS
• Omar Hill’s book,“Jesus, My Friend,” is available at Books-A-Million and on Amazon.com.
• Shellie Arnold’s book,“The Spindle Chair,” is available on Amazon.com.
Websites: OmarHill.us and ShellieArnold.com
IF YOU GO
Omar Hill will be speaking at Krazy Kup Coffee.
When: 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
Where: Krazy Kup Coffee, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd.