The first thing you need to know about me is I’ve wanted to be an author ever since I was five years old. So, finishing this book makes me feel like my life has come full circle. What took me so long you might ask? A couple of things. It took that long for my fear of regret to exceed my fear of judgment. Once that happened I could see the insanity in my reasoning. To avoid the experience of others who might reject my writing, I chose to reject myself as a writer which I somehow reasoned would be less painful than self-judgment.
Doing Scary
I have attention deficit disorder. To write this book I had to make peace with a mind that is not only hypercritical but easily blown off course. At some point, I abandoned the notion that to write I had to be focused and disciplined. Instead, I focused on being mindful about the choice to write. Whether I wrote or not wasn’t the issues; choosing to write or not write was. Instead of trying to force myself to write through the brute force of my will, I made writing a choice not a chore. If I wasn’t writing it was because I had chosen not to write, I stop entertaining the notion that my lack of writing was tied to some flaw in me. The more mindful I became about choosing to write or not the more I decided to write. Another thing I did to tame my ADD’s need for novelty and to avoid burnout was to never write in the same place more than five days in a row.
I started off writing a self-help book on how to recover your dignity after an affair. It took me nearly three years of trying to write a self-help book before I realized that I was a storyteller and not a writer. Once I decided to translate what I wanted to say into a story, the material came alive and the words began to flow. It took me three months to write the story. Publishing the story? Well that’s another story.
When my publisher asked me to categorize my novel, the best I could come up with was to describe it as a hybrid novel that fuses the romance genre with the psychological genre. A friend of mine calls it psychological romance. The best way to envision my book is to think of it as a romance novel told from a behind-the-scenes perspective that addresses the why of the passion and desire.
I am a binge researcher. When I come across a subject I am interested in I immerse myself in it to try to understand it from all angles.
Ok, enough about me as an author. Let’s use the last five to talk about me as a person. Here is one that very few people know outside of my wife and children. My number one guilty pleasure is watching romance movies, particularly romantic comedies. Throw in Christmas as a backdrop and I am a happy camper, which is why I love the Hallmark Channel! If I were to psychoanalyze myself, I would say I use my faith and romantic comedies to stay hopeful, despite all the heartache and disillusionment I encounter as a pastor.
I have been in ministry for thirty-nine years. The best part of being a pastor is watching people grow in their faith to the point where they stop living in fear, taking ownership of their lives. The worst part of my job is watching people quit on themselves and settle for less than what they could get out of life because they are in bondage to their past. Ninety percent of the people I counsel already know what to do, but need some encouragement/permission. The number one reason people make an appointment to see me is to help them with a relationship issues. The number one reason people stop me to talk to them is to help them with a job situation. And finally, the greatest threat to a good relationship is staying in a bad one too long.
I love Carmel by the sea, off the central coast of California on the Monterey Peninsula. To me, it is simply one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It is my happy place. Though it’s become somewhat of a tourist spot, it still has maintained its small-town appeal.
I love sports, but I can’t watch an entire game. And even though baseball has been called America's national past time it moves entirely too slow for me to watch it on TV. But throw in a few friends and family and some overpriced junk food and I am there! When it comes to being a fan, I am not a fan of players or teams. I am a fan of well-run organizations who demand excellence and character from everyone in the organization. That is why I am a fan of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team and the Pittsburg Steelers football team.
If I had a bucket list, number one on the list would be driving from the Canadian border to San Diego in a convertible (top down of course) in a classic Rolls Royce or Bentley on a photo road trip. By my side would be my wife of twenty-three years, Michelle. In the back seat would be my yet to be found, totally chilled because he was trained by Cesar Milan, next dog. By the dog’s side would be my camera case with my new Nikon d500 - outfitted with a super-telephoto lens for birding and the new Nikon d850 equipped with an ultrawide prime lens for landscapes.
About the author: Donald M. Bell Sr. is the Senior Pastor/Teacher of Covenant Blessing Fellowship (CBF) launched out of an adult bible study 2001. Pastor Bell has been preaching since he was sixteen and holds a professional degree in Organizational Psych. Behavior. Bell’s profound ability to communicate spiritual principles in secular settings has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC 20/20, and the documentaries Sister I’m Sorry, and Soul Mate. He was also a weekly guest on KJLH nationally syndicated radio program Love in the Spirit hosted by Kevin Nash. Bell lives in a suburb of Los Angeles with his lovely wife, Michelle, who wedded in 1994 and is the father of three. He has previously written 30 Days of Spiritual Detox. Doing Scary by Donald M. Bell (published by Clink Street Publishing October 5th 2017, RRP £9.99 paperback, £3.99 ebook) will be available to buy online from retailers including Amazon.com and to order from all good bookstores.