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An Interview With Eric Kampmann About Trail
Thoughts
I recently had the opportunity to review Eric Kampmann's latest
book Trail Thoughts. It is a very reflective piece with
biblically inspired thoughts for each day of the year. This is
a book designed for the reader to sip and enjoy, rather than
guzzle down like us reviewers are apt to do!
I had the opportunity to ask Eric about his book, and also
about himself.
Can you tell us a little about yourself
Eric?
In one way, you need a "unified field theory" to understand my
bio. I am an entrepreneur, a businessman, a publisher, a
distributor, a teacher, a photographer, a section hiker on the
Appalachian Trail, and most importantly of all, I am the author
of Trail Thoughts: A Daily Companion for Your Journey to Faith.
I guess the real point is I love all the things I do and I
particularly enjoy sharing them with other people.
Trail Thoughts is a very reflective piece, where did
the idea come from and how long did it take you to put it
together?
In a sense you are asking another biographical question. This
journey began with a discovery. Up until the late 1980's, I
knew about the Bible, but I certainly did not know the Bible.
Quite the opposite. But in early 1991 I began reading a little
bit every day and over time I became committed to not only
knowing the Bible but also sharing it with others. That was the
seed for my first book Tree of Life which began as a book of
daily Bible verses for my three sons. It later became a
full-fledged book of verses of wisdom for men. (Not a brilliant
marketing move as most books are bought by women). But again we
are talking about planting seeds and so in January 2003 I began
writing a daily reflection for each verse in The Tree of Life.
Approximately five years later, Trail Thoughts was
published.
What kind of feedback have you received from
readers?
I have had great individual reviews and I have even received
testimonials. People sense that Trail Thoughts is a work of
love, written to touch the human heart as well as the mind. So
I have been really pleased by the response. It also has a near
highest rating at Amazon.
Do you have a web site where people can find out more
information?
The Web Site is trailthoughts dot come. Not only can you get a
devotion a day sent to you, but you can view some of my
photographs in the gallery section. Plus we have a place where
the readers can blog.
Changing the subject completely for a moment. When you are not
writing, and I understand that you currently have 3 books to
your credit, you are involved in the publishing industry. In
fact if my memory serves me correctly it was your house that
published the O.J. Simpson If I Did It book. Can you tell us a
little about that project?
Talk about a question that requires a long answer! Yes, my
publishing company did publish If I Did It last September.
Perhaps I am na?ve, but I did not expect the intensity of
interest that the book generated during the moments after it
was announced that Beaufort would indeed publish the book. A
point of clarification: The Goldman's owned the book Beaufort
published, not OJ Simpson. The Goldman's won the book in a
bankruptcy court as part of the judgment they had won against
Mr. Simpson years before. Ironically, they hated the book, but
the court awarded it on the condition that they publish it. The
Goldman's knew nothing about publishing. I did, therefore, I
decided to do what I could to help them succeed in this
endeavor.
As for the decision to become involved, I had few qualms
because I was working for the Goldman's and not OJ Simpson.
Many people were enraged that the book would be published but
they missed the real point. OJ Simpson's own words would
finally show the world who this man really was and people could
then decide whether justice had been rendered in LA back in
1994.
Apparently, the public wanted to know more about this case and
they wanted to read Mr. Simpson's own words. The book became a
national bestseller topping out at number 2 on the NY Times
bestseller list.
In retrospect was it a good business
decision?
In retrospect it was a riskier project than I first thought. It
is only from the vantage point of today that the book looks
like an inevitable bestseller.
What is your next personal writing project going to
be?
I believe I am headed more in the direction of speaking. I have
no books planned, but I would love to fill up my speaking
calendar.
What would you like readers to get out of Trail
Thoughts? What would you like them to take away?
When I began reading the Bible on a daily basis I began to
become aware of the power of language, the beauty of it and how
profoundly it changes our view of not only ourselves but also
of the world. Psalm 65 ends with this magnificent picture: "You
crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with
abundance. The grasslands overflow; the hills are clothed in
gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys
are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing."
You can see it, feel it, taste it even. Who doesn't want to be
in this bounteous place? And just think: It was written three
thousand years ago. Amazing.
Thanks for taking the time to do this, it is greatly
appreciated.
by Simon Barrett - 7th August 2008
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Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With
the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is
also a contributing editor for http://www.bloggernews.net
and maintains a personal blog at http://zzsimonb.blogspot.com
.
Article Source:
http://www.creativewriter.me.uk
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