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Your Thirteenth Gift of 25 Gifts – For Advent Day 13

Gospel Medley Writer's Block: My Experience

Your Thirteenth Gift of 25 Gifts – For Advent Day 13 of 25 Gifts to Christmas. Merry Christmas, you’ll enjoy this Christmasy excerpt from my non-fiction book, The Gospel Medley. My book goes on sale from December 15th to 22nd, 2024.

Check out my past Advent gifts listed below, next to the back cover of The Gospel Medley.

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
The Gospel Medley back cover
  1. Advent Day 1 – Get Your Free Copy of Secret Supers on Advent Day 1

2. Advent Day 2 – Grab Villain’s Vacation for 67% Off, For Advent Day 2

4. Advent Day 4 –Three Free Excerpts from Three Secret Supers Books – Advent 4

5. Advent Day 5 – Get Your Free Copy of My Most Popular Book–Advent Day 5

6. Advent Day 6 – Three Free Zombie Detective Excerpts – Advent 6

7. Advent Day 7 –Meet My Undead Mother-in-law My Gift for Advent 7

8. Advent Day 8 – Paranormal Privateers Is Your Wildest Ride — Get Your Excerpt

9. Advent Day 9 – Oops! You Get Double Gifts for Advent Days 9 and 10 – My Mistake

10. Advent Day 10 – Double Posts Double Your Gifts – Advent 10

11. Advent Day 11 – Laugh At Four Free Audiobook Excerpts – Advent 11

12. Advent Day 12 – Four More Free Audiobook Excerpts for Advent 12

If you want to keep track of all my blog posts and get free books you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here.

For Advent Day 13 – What Happened Before Jesus Was Born?

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
The four icons of the four gospels

The Conception of Jesus

Luke 1:26–56; John 1:14

26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’ 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father, David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to His Kingdom[1].”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. 36 Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”

38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

14 The Word became flesh . . .

38 The angel departed from her. 39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

Your Thirteenth Gift: From The Gospel Medley, Mary and Elizabeth

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

46 And Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. 54 He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; 55 As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”

56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.


[1] 2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son.

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
Back cover detail


Your Thirteenth Gift Concludes

Gospel Medley cover spread

What do you think of your Thirteenth gift for Advent? Let me know right here. Don’t forget I’ll give you a free book after I get your email.

If you like The Gospel Medley you can subscribe to my newsletter here to see all my blog posts and get free books every month. Or you can just stay at my blog, checking back every day until Christmas.

You can also get an autographed copy of The Gospel Medley by clicking here right now!

Psst! Audible lets you listen free to my books. Click here right now to find out how.

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Juicy Details from Paranormal Privateers – What’s It Like?

Quizzes, Questions

Juicy Details! How do I begin Paranormal Privateers?  With the hook!

Here is my actual first line hook and the rest of the first paragraph:

Dirac sighed with relief when the US flag came down and the surrender flag went up on the mast of the titanic luxury yacht. He didn’t mind firing rounds from his AK-47 over their heads, but he hated killing people. He knew they were only infidels, but they were still people.

The reader learns: 1) a US yacht is surrendering; 2) the pirate’s name is Dirac; 3) He’s ready to use his AK-47 on them; 4) The pirate considers the US citizens infidels.

More questions leap to mind immediately. Don’t you want to read the next paragraph? This whole scene is here: Imagine You’re a Privateer:

So I wrote the whole chapter pretty quickly. It’s a lot like performing magic: you lead the reader to expect one thing and then you make the opposite happen. I begin with the readers learning about zombie invincibility–and then put them in a seemingly impossible situation to escape.

Sometimes I lead you to expect a big fight and then all the villains escape. Sometimes I lead the reader to expect another adventure just like the last one–and have the heroes rescued by someone else.

Then just as you think you have the pattern of the chapter adventures established, I change all the rules of the game and add completely new and different villains.

Oh, I love writing!

By the way, the book is on sale for 60% off right here! Don’t delay–the sale is only until August 11th. Click now!

More Juicy New Details from Paranormal Privateers

It’s not all lollipops and roses. Aside from the light-hearted chapters about the Somali pirates, I have a worldwide epidemic–affecting zombies only.

Heck, let me give you the table of contents. And the chapter icons.

About Paranormal Privateers
Chapter 2 icon

Acknowledgments. 5

Foreword. 7

About Paranormal Privateers
Chapter 3 icon

Chapter 1 – Somalia. 10 (See above for icon)

Chapter 2 – Haradhere … 25

Chapter 3 – Crimea. 37

Chapter 4 icon
Chapter 4 icon

Chapter 4 – Midley ………… 60

Chapter 5 – London … 73

Chapter 6 icon
Chapter 6 icon

Chapter 6 – Tumen River ………… 100

Chapter 7 icon
Chapter 7 icon

Chapter 7 – Myonggan … 131

Chapter 8 icon
Chapter 8 icon

Chapter 8 – Kimch’aek … 160

Advent Day 19
Chapter 9 icon of Paranormal Privateers

Chapter 9 – Washington DC. 193

Chapter 10 icon
Chapter 10 icon

Chapter 10 – Gary ………… 220

Your Fourth Literary Gift
Chapter 11 icon
Juicy Details
Chapter icon for Chapter 11.

Chapter 11 – Gulf of Mexico … 228


Chapter 12 icon Juicy Details
Chapter 12 icon

Chapter 12 – Earth Orbit   ………… 244

Chapter 13 – Area 52 ………… 264

Chapter 13 icon 
Juicy Details
Chapter 13 icon

Meet My Aliens
Juicy Details
Chapter 14 icon
A foxcat listens to the radio
Chap 14 icon
Chapter 15
Juicy Details
Chapter 15

Chapter 14 – Peoria … 279

Chapter 15 – International Space Station ………… 290

Writing Paranormal Privateers First Draft
Juicy Details
Chapter 16 icon
Chapter 16 icon – London – Click to find out what happens!

Chapter 16 – London ………… 301

Chapter 17 icon
Chapter 17 icon

Chapter 17 – Westminster ………… 319

Juicy Details
Epilogue icon
Epilogue icon

Epilogue     329

I

Why Chapter Icons? Juicy Details

First of all, I like them. I had my artist give hints to each chapter in them. So they’re like an Easter Egg within the book.

Second of all, I paid for them. They were part of my illustration contract. So I might as well share them in this blog post.

Thirdly, I’ve never shared some of them before. So they’re part of my juicy details for you in this post.

More to come!

Cool and Juicy Details

Quizzes, Questions
Try out my audiobook.

Here’s some news about my audiobook version of Paranormal Privateers: Did you know you can get a free sample Paranormal Privateers,  by clicking here?

And you can get a free code from me by clicking here?

Finally, you can get an autographed copy of the book from me, with free shipping, at less than Amazon, by clicking here.

Now some science fiction story fuel in the following article:

Continue reading Juicy Details from Paranormal Privateers – What’s It Like?
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Your Best Summer Science Fiction Fuel

Four Crazy Book Ideas by Author Andy Zach

Your Best Summer Science Fiction Fuel – Let me give you the best articles I’ve found for sparking science fiction story ideas. Let m know your idea and I’ll give you a free book!

Ready? Let’s go!

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST for short) looked further into the past than ever before. And they found galaxies. This was only half a billion years after the Big Bang. How could they form so quickly?

Aside from the mystery, how would I use this for fiction? I’d have a super intelligence forming these galaxies for its purposes. How would you use this new science fact for science fiction? Tell me and get a free book. Click here.

Your Best Summer Science Fiction Fuel – Part 2

Imagine soaring through interstellar space faster than light. That’s what this video makes me think. How about you? Tell me.

If you can’t think of anything to say, just click and join my newsletter and you’ll get free audiobooks.

This’d make a great cover for that book or short story:

What’s Next in Your Best Summer Science Fiction Fuel?

How about this story?

Here we have the world’s most detailed and best preserved skeleton of a trilobite. They’re very common fossils from 300 million years ago. But usually the soft parts don’t get preserved. This time they did.

I can think of several ideas from this article:

  1. Someone found some trilobites and is breeding them on their private property.
  2. A person got a time machine and went back to this time period and picked up so.
  3. The trilobites developed an advanced civilization and traveled ahead in time to our day.

What are your ideas?

More Story Fuel Coming Up!

I already have a zombie turkey apocalypse series. How about a squirrel apocalypse?

This tickles my funny bone: squirrels causing the downfall of civilization. I can think of dozens of scenarios, including leveraging my zombie world that begins below:

Best Science Stories Zombie Turkeys Gift
Science Stories
Your Best Summer Science Fiction Fuel
Get your Zombie Turkeys here. You get a bushel of laughter with each book.

How would you handle this? Get your book now, right here. You can also email me at [email protected] or you can write a comment on this blog.

Why do I give books away? Ideas are the most important resource a writer can have. Who knows if your idea will give me a great novel?