An Interview with Robert Callaway

Robert Callaway was born in Hollywood, California, and moved with his parents and sister to Utah when he was six. He grew up in the Orem-Provo area. He attended BYU, where he studied science, mathematics, education, and religion. He also studied medical transcription and office management.

Robert enjoyed serving a two-year mission for his religion in Chile, where he learned to speak Spanish fluently.

Robert was employed in building maintenance, and was later self-employed in the food industry with his wife, Jeanene. She has since passed away. All his life, he has enjoyed learning about and observing the weather. He has also sung in many church choirs throughout his life.

Robert was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at age thirty-six. He has overcome practically all aspects of this disorder and presently lives in a small town in Utah.

The Glorious Plan is his fourth book.

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Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

As this book, The Glorious Plan, is my fourth book published by Atmosphere Press, its title easily came to me, associating it with the titles of my three previous books. It also follows the format of the continuing story of the characters in these earlier books.

I feel that the book’s title is very appropriate, considering the extremely important message it contains concerning all of us and our futures. This message is beautifully illustrated within the book, through the touching stories of various families presented in this work. This book’s title came to me as I was pondering the messages to present in my book about the real reasons we are born into families, living on this earth as families, and Christ’s plan for us as families in the future. These messages answer the questions concerning our many trials and hardships during our lives here on earth, and the process to have happier families.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I felt very excited when I saw the final proof of my book cover, after adding all my input to how I desired it to appear. In fact, there are parts of it which also went beyond my expectations in its symbolic portrayal. I also really enjoyed actually holding a physical copy of my book! The design team at Atmosphere Press has always provided the perfect book covers for my books, through collaborative efforts with them. When I saw the finished cover for my latest book, The Glorious Plan, I immediately knew that it was the image I had envisioned for it, even above and beyond what I had imagined. I’m excited to share this book with many people, as there have been positive comments about it, indicating its compelling nature.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

My wife’s counselor, Heidi, and a known published author of inspirational books who has known me much of my life, indicated that I should share an important message publicly by writing it. This author, Brad, really encouraged me to finish writing, and to get my works published. Both he and Heidi know I have a great message of hope to share about people’s brain disorders, how they can improve, and how they can help their families. They indicated that I have a very important uplifting message to share that will inspire many people. Some close friends agreed, so I started writing my manuscripts, focusing on experiences of a person diagnosed on the autism spectrum, who is more functional. I explained the assistance, encouragement, and blessings he received, which through his efforts helped him to basically overcome all aspects of autism and its associated characteristics.

I expanded on this topic by including some other disorders in this story, such as Down’s syndrome, anxiety disorder, and depression, explaining how divine intervention is an important part of how people’s lives are positively impacted and can be greatly improved, no matter what major issues they face. I also indicated that trials and issues are divinely placed into our lives to assist us in our progression.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I have been on committees for planning events, and have participated in the organization of and setup for a few public events, such as the layout for outdoor vendors, setting up PA systems, etc.

When my wife was living, we opened our own country-style bakery and pizzeria, where we baked various types of homemade country breads, sweet rolls, brownies, etc. We also hand made many types of country-tasting pizzas, cheese sticks, and cinnamon sticks. All these were made by using some special recipes, and adding our own special touches, where people commented that they had never tasted any pizzas, homemade bread, or cheeseburgers (that we later introduced) as delicious as these were. This experience gave me the idea of introducing the story of ‘Lexi’s Gourmet Kitchen’ in my last two books.

Also, starting back in 1980, I served a two-year mission for my religion, around the area of Vina Del Mar in Chile. I taught the people there about Christ’s gospel, which I have illustrated in my book, The Glorious Plan.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Being able to help people by having my inspirational, encouraging information and messages, presented in story form, made available to the public by having my books published is the most meaningful part of the publishing process. Giving them a better perspective of themselves is very rewarding.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

First of all, music mentioned being played in ‘Lexi’s Gourmet Kitchen’ restaurant would be some of Michael Buble’s music, along with piano music by Jim Brickman. Some examples of soft, soothing, comforting instrumental music played there would be tunes titled Somewhere in Time, Sails, If Love Is Real, Song From A Secret Garden, and Everything I Do.

When Lisa Loveless first saw Esther’s new piano on page twenty-eight of The Glorious Plan, she was excited to try it out and played a couple of hymns: Amazing Grace and This Is the Christ.

On page 107, after finishing their Christmas dinner, Sarah sings Joy to the World while Ethan accompanies on the piano. Ruth then joins her in singing O Little Town of Bethlehem.

The main part of The Glorious Plan where music is mentioned in abundance is the time where Rachel enters her teen years and begins to frequently play the piano. For example, she played the song Hallelujah on Esther’s piano at her townhouse.

Some Christmas music Rachel played on the piano at home during the following Christmas seasons is: O Holy Night, What Child Is This, Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming, Dreams Are More Precious, Joy to the World, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, If I Were There, One Small Child, Ave Maria, The Hallelujah Chorus, and Oh Come, All Ye Faithful. She played these and more Christmas music during the times when all the family and friends gathered for Christmas dinner each year.

When Rachel was invited to play an inspiring song at the in-school recital on page 173, she played the song titled Freedom, which won her a high honor award, after professionally playing it with much feeling. Later, Rachel was invited to perform Somewhere in Time on the grand piano at the community concert event with a band and orchestra ensemble. She was asked to then participate in a regional competition, where she performed the piano version of the song The Moon Represents My Heart, winning her the position of second place out of thirty participants. A week later she performed Rachel’s Song with her own variations added, winning her second prize which included a trophy.

Rachel frequently played piano music at home, which included: Heaven’s Lullaby, Nadia’s Theme, A Walk in the Rain, A Time for Us, All the Things You Are to Me (from Secret Garden), Sleepsong, and Jesu, the Very Thought Is Sweet. She especially loved playing the theme from Chariots of Fire.

Later, she attends an interfaith musical program in a large cathedral, where she performs some numbers on the grand piano and pipe organ. The soundtrack of this performance includes her piano hymns: Thou Gracious God Whose Mercy Lends, Come Unto Him, Be Thou My Vision, How Firm a Foundation – arranged by C.J. Madsen – and A Mighty Fortress. Rachel accompanies a two hundred-voice choir on the grand pipe organ, which is described on pages 186 to 187. They perform the hymn Alleluia, Sing to Jesus, music by Roland H. Pritchard, with added embellishments, such as those previously performed by Diane Bish.

Rachel also performs an organ solo, Sunday Morning Suite, which is similar to the organ performance of this hymn by Hammond. This is described on page 188 in The Glorious Plan.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I hope readers will feel much happier and encouraged in their lives, knowing what is in store for them and their families as they incorporate a few simple items in their lives. I desire that readers will be more inspired to follow the admonitions presented in my book, as there is much more that can be learned about their own lives by placing themselves into the story and relating it to their own lives. I hope that readers will accept the truths outlined here and understand how much these truths intimately apply to their futures, as illustrated in this beautiful story.

The perfect reader would be a person who would be enthralled with the wisdom and truths explained in the book, and would feel very excited to make improvements in his or her own life. This person would also relate to the story very well, and would really feel as being right there, experiencing the same emotions as the real characters portrayed, and learning new information and truths along with them. The reader would also feel more confident and experience much more happiness and joy after having read The Glorious Plan and would desire to share it with many others. This reader would enjoy my work and feel much better emotionally and would then do everything possible to promote my books, while sharing many positive experiences in reviews.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am starting to work on some anecdote-style short stories, which will present some very interesting viewpoints about life. I am also working on refining a stage play based on my book Living a Miracle, so it will captivate the audience. I’m doing it in such a manner as to invoke great emotions in themselves as they are learning more about Christ’s love, and how His great love intimately applies in each of our own lives, during our trials.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

Working with all of you at Atmosphere Press was very satisfying. You completely fulfilled all my desires for my book’s appearance, layout, and professional expression of its content. I highly recommend you to other writers. After all is done, the author will come out ahead in every way, as compared to traditional publishers. I will tell other writers to publish through you, and after reading and acknowledging their manuscripts as worthwhile, I will share their information directly with you, and I will let them know that they will not need to have their manuscripts wait in line.

Publishing my latest book through Atmosphere Press took a little longer, as this book was a bit more lengthy, and I wanted to make sure that it was just right in every aspect. I would tell other writers that this process is faster and more satisfying than what traditional publishing would be.

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