High Moral Standards
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High Moral Standards
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Lamesa Press-Reporter, Lamesa, TX Page 6A, Sunday January 20, 2002 Former Lamesan Signs Contract To Publish Book
With A Little Help From His Friend Former Lamesa teacher Richard Regnier (left) signs his first publishing contract as friend Jarvis Brown, serving as official witness, watches with pleasure. Brown played an instrumental role in helping Regnier connect with the agent who now represents his work. Former Lamesa teacher and probation officer Richard Regnier has just signed a contract for publications of his novel Up From The Dust, a Christian story for young readers and adults. Regnier, who has been writing for years, expressed both pleasure and satisfaction at obtaining his first publishing contract. After many previous rejections, Regnier says, he thought he might never see his work published. "My stories don't have profanity or sex or violence in them," Regnier explains. "That's not what the publishers seem to be looking for." His success in obtaining his first publishing contract came with a little help from good friend Jarvis Brown, a retired teacher who resides in Lamesa. "Jarvis would send me newspaper clippings and information about publishers when he came across something," explains Regnier. "He sent me a clipping of the story about Anne Bell publishing a book. After reading the Press-Reporter article about Bell's publishing success, Brown contacted her to get more information for his friend. Bell not only agreed to talk with Regnier, she offered to speak with her agent on his behalf. One thing led to another, and Regnier soon found himself with both an agent and a publishing contract. In addition to his novel Up From The Dust, Regnier submitted manuscripts of several other works, including a three part science fiction work, two western novels, and two books about a native American boy. His agent assures him, he says, that they will be successful in finding a publisher for those books as well. Regnier, who has both bachelor's and masters degrees in education, was an industrial arts teacher at Lamesa High School from 1983-1990. He had previously taught at Odessa College and Texas State Technical Institute in Waco. Regnier never had any interest in writing, he says, until he was laid up with a serious illness. "I had a ruptured appendix," he explains, "and nearly died of blood poisoning." It was during that ordeal, he says, that "the Lord laid it on my heart to write poems." To date, Regnier has written over 800 poems and songs. It was on the advice of another teacher at Lamesa High, he says, who told him there was "no money in poetry," that he began writing stories. His first effort was a science fiction work, he recalls, followed by a biography of a friend. Regnier says he was also guided by the Lord to take up drawing, and is known locally for his sketches of area buildings and windmills, as well as his calendar illustrations. His work, many will recall, was once featured in a show at the Dal Paso Museum. Regnier's contract with Publish America specifies that his book will be published within the next year. He plans to do much of the marketing work himself, he says, and will be making return trips to Lamesa to promote his book when it becomes available. Up From The Dust is available for purchase. Use the following link to learn more.
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