Biography of Charles M. Poore

     Charles Poore was born in Marietta, Georgia on December 17, 1959 to Jerry and Nancy Poore. His first interest in writing occurred in the third grade and Norton Park Elementary School in Smyrna, Georgia. It was just before Halloween, and the teacher had given the class the assignment of writing a scary story. Young Chuck Poore wrote a little story about visiting a haunted house, and seeing a rocking chair rocking by itself. He didn’t think much more about the story until his teacher praised him for his imagination, and wrote a special note on the paper to his parents. Chuck’s mother was impressed and encouraged him to write something on his own. Always having been a fan of Science Fiction, he decided to write a story about a trip to Mars and man-eating plants. The story was very reminiscent of the “B” monster movies he grew up watching on television.

     In his teenage years, he worked very hard on developing his talent. He mainly wrote plays during that time. A very important person during that time was his ninth-grade English teacher, Jeanne Koone. She volunteered to read Chuck’s stories and plays in her spare time. Instead of the criticism he doubtless deserved, Mrs. Koone gave him praise and encouragement. She was wise enough to know he would never develop talent if he gave up writing because someone criticized him. It was during this time he wrote the screenplay “The Voyage of the Starlight”, and a novelette “Lunar Base One: Destroyed”.

     In his senior year at F.T. Wills High School, Chuck began work on his first serious professional attempt. It was to be a science fiction novel about an interstellar colonization project. But a full-length novel proved to be too ambitious for a seventeen-year-old kid. After three chapters and several versions, he abandoned the novel.

     At the age of nineteen, Chuck made his first professional submission. “All the Comforts” was a science fiction short story that he first submitted the Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. The editor’s reply was to the point, “Sorry, no on this one.” Chuck submitted the story to four other magazines, with identical results.

     Not wishing to give up, he wrote two more science fiction short stories: “A Babe in the Woods” and “A Mission of Mercy”. Again, he tried Isaac Asimov’s magazine. Again, rejection.

     In 1980, Chuck had a short stint as a Big Brother, and was motivated to write a story about a real camping trip he and his “Little Brother” had taken in the north Georgia mountains. “A Woodsman is Born” was sent to Reader’s Digest. The rejection letter came in a few weeks.

     Chuck still persevered. The next year he began yet another science fiction novel loosely based on his earlier play “The Voyage of the Starlight”. It was now titled “To Touch the Hand of God”. He would only work on the novel sporadically over the next few years.

     In September 1981 he married high-school best friend Debra Reed; who was also his best critic. She read and gave written critiques on everything he wrote. Sometimes, the tough criticism was hard to take. But all of it made him a better writer. That same year, Chuck accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. This changed not only his spiritual life, but his approach to writing as well. Now, he wanted to honor God with his writing. He would no longer use objectionable language or include suggestive scenes.  His writing would grow to have a distinctly Christian perspective, although it didn’t happen all at once.

     In September 1982, Andrew Scott Poore was born, and Chuck and Debra’s life would never be the same.

     It was 1985 before Chuck found the time to finish “To Touch the Hand of God”. He submitted it to Doubleday. They rejected it. Chuck never sent this novel anywhere else. It remains mercifully unpublished to this day.

     In 1986 Chuck felt called of God to the preaching ministry. That year he publicly surrendered to preach the Gospel. He started preaching five-minute mini-sermons on Sunday nights, and later would begin preaching entire services. It was then when he began to think about a new book, and a new character.

     Chuck had always been a science-fiction fan. But Debra had introduced him to mystery novels. He quickly fell in love with Agatha Christie. In 1990 he decided to try his hand at writing a mystery novel. He wasn’t sure how it would turn out. He wanted it to be a Christian Novel, with Christian characters. He decided his detective would be a Baptist Pastor, something he knew very well.

     The novel began with the title, “By Man Came Death”, a portion of the Bible verse, I Corinthians 15:21. Reverend Harvey Ashe, and his wife Sarah, were on their way. He worked on this novel off and on for many years. It wasn’t completed until 1996. Chuck was excited about how the novel turned out, and eagerly sought a publisher.

     Two years, and eight publishers later, the novel was accepted by Avalon Books. Re-named “Death at Briar Ridge” it was released in March 1999, Chuck’s first professional sale.

     A second Harvey Ashe mystery is on its way to Avalon, and several more are in the planning stage. Chuck also participated in the Writer’s Digest School Novel Writer’s workshop, and as a result, is also working on a Christian-oriented supernatural thriller. He hopes to complete work on the novel this year.

     If there is one thing Chuck learned during the long series of rejections from 1979 to 1998, it’s persistence. If you want to be published, you have to keep sending the manuscript; again and again. The rejections hurt, but they’re just words on paper.

     With God’s help, Chuck prays that this year marks the beginning of an exciting writing career, his lifelong dream.