Published: February 07, 2008 04:22 pm            

Young author’s book published

By JANICE ARNSDORFF

Editor



PAYNE SPRINGS — He’s finished his first book, and he’s working on a second.

Chad Owens, now 20-something, was walking across the Hwy. 198 bridge between Payne Springs and Gun Barrel City a little over two years ago when his life was changed. He was hit by a car.

So was a dog that was on the bridge. The dog didn’t make it.

Owens spent four months in a wheelchair, and while recuperating, he wrote Working for Death, which has since been published.

“It has a lot of religion in it, but it’s not a religious book,” he said.

The description on the back cover states, “Three assassins are hired by a crime lord to take control of a new and powerful drug that has been released onto the streets of Los Angeles. In their pursuit for control, they find themselves in the midst of a war. This war will carry them into realms far greater than humanity knows — the realm of the gods.”

“I had the outline in my head for a while,” Owens said. “After I was hurt — I’m independent and hard-headed — I got it out as soon as possible. “

But he wasn’t happy with it.

“After I wrote the manuscript, I didn’t like it and I threw it away. My mom retrieved it and sent it to a publisher. Later I got a contract in the mail for a book I had thrown away.”

He’s now working on a sequel, The Legacy of the Brotherhood.

Owens was born in Terrell, and was raised by his mother Teresa Allen and his grandparents, Norma and Kenny White. He lived in the Cedar Creek Lake area from when he was a baby until he was about 10, when he and his mother moved to Dallas. After high school the young man served for a while in the U.S. Navy.

“In high school, I preached under the conservative Church of Christ,” Owens said. “But I didn’t know the person in the mirror. So I walked for a month — Dallas, Mississippi, Tennessee, San Antonio, Austin. Then I did a series of articles against the church on online boards and posts under an assumed name, Adrian Gray. I have pagan beliefs now. There are many different beliefs out there, but the point is, we all have beliefs and argue about them, but we’re all here on Earth in the same boat, living and trying to find our place.”

Working for Death is the first in a series. He developed his imagination, like most, at an early age, however at the age of six, he was already reading on a fourth grade level and obsessed with the film-making industry’s special effects in horror movies. At the age of 10, he had read everything written by Stephen King and had added other authors to his collection, such as Anne Rice and Dean Koontz. By the age of 13, he already had the outline set out for a series of books dealing with alternative religions and the ongoing battle of Good versus Evil. He already has ideas for his next series while still working on his first.

“I have so many ideas for new books,” he said. “I want my readers to read what I have written and walk away from my books thinking about things in a way they would never have before. I want them to think outside of the box for just a moment.”

        

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