After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).
Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.
He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.
Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), and uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.
He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.
Dr Dockens is still not done. He has other creative ideas he is bringing forward as he is currently working on two new futuristic series. So, stay turned!
Website ➜ https://www.randydockens.com/
X ➜ https://x.com/RandyCDockens
Facebook ➜ www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/randydockens
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16453941
Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself to write it?
When I first started this series, I was working on my doctorate in biblical prophecy. Therefore, understanding the biblical teaching about a future earthly reign of a Messiah on Earth as presented in many prophetic biblical books was part of my studies in preparing for my doctorate. I also have a doctorate in pharmaceutics and, at the time, worked for a pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist. That is a fancy word for a way to mathematically describe how the body handles a drug once it is ingested. One can mathematically describe the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs.
Having both a scientific hat and a biblical prophecy hat allowed me to present a unique perspective for writing the Stele Prophecy Pentalogy series. This allowed me to present fictional stories which can provide entertainment for readers but can also provide biblical education at the same time.Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?
My publisher is a hybrid of both and is what is called custom publishing. The publisher provides many of the services of large publishing houses, but the author maintains all rights and control of their work and bears much of the cost as well.
If self-published, did you hire someone to format the ebook version for you or did you do it yourself? Can you tell us what that was like?
For almost all my books, my publisher took responsibility for getting the book formatted for ebook versioning. Therefore, I had very little to do with that process.
However, I did write two backstories for my book T-H-B, the first book of my Coded Message Trilogy. To produce these as an ebook, I used the online company Draft to Digital. That was a very simple process. I simply uploaded a word version, and it converted it to the ebook versioning that Amazon and other online stores utilize.If self-published, how did you determine the price?
For the most part, I relied upon the advice of my publisher. The other thing we took into account was the price of other books that were similar to mine in both genre and book size (i.e, number of words or pages). There are other things one must keep in mind as well. The cost of printing will depend upon the batch size that one wishes. So, it is important to look at total costs and then be sure you are not setting a price where you have zero profit. Yet, it is a balancing act because you don’t want to price it out of range for other books in your genre and size. Think through such things as whether you want to go wide with your book (i.e., going to many distributors) or not. Do you want to have a print run or go with print on demand? The latter could be more expensive, but it may prevent you from having an excess inventory which itself is an expense to consider. It is important to think through your strategy of how you plan to present and market your book. Every part of putting your book together comes at an expense. Therefore, planning is key no matter which direction you decide to go.
Did you purposefully choose a distinct month to release your book? Why?
For this series I did because I had an aggressive timeline I tried to keep. I wanted a book to come out every four months. Therefore, I created a timeline for my editor, publisher, and interior designer so we could all be on the same page. Several people who read my books told me that they buy each book of a series but will not start reading until they have all the books so they can then binge read. They didn’t want to wait a year to continue with the storyline. Therefore, I tried to get these out as quickly as possible. It seemed every four months was the quickest I could do that with all the activities involved in getting a book published. I wanted to prevent any overlap for work for my editor and interior designer so they could focus and work on only one book at a time.
Now, to keep the books on a release schedule of every four months, there was some overlap that had to occur on my part, but I made sure my editor and interior designer did not have overlap and could work on only one book at a time but with the next book coming quickly behind the previous one.How did you choose your cover?
I designed the covers myself and then had a cover designer professionally produce the cover. There were, of course, some back and forth discussions between me and the cover designer, and she would give me additional ideas for me to consider, but I had the final say. I like that the covers are somewhat abstract but have elements of realism that tie in with the theme of the book.
Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?
I wrote the first draft and then edited my work. The only reason for going back over something before I finished the draft was just to remind myself where I was in the story. I was taught that revising before the first rough draft is finished is procrastination. I guess that statement is up for debate, but it does make sense. No matter how many revisions and rewrites are done before the first rough draft is completed, there will still be a lot of self-editing that will be needed before it goes to your editor. Therefore, it is best, I think, to get the rough draft completed, even with all its flaws, and then go back through the entire document and do all the editing that is necessary to get it to be the quality product you desire it to be.
What you write later could alter some aspect of a section that you’ve already spent a lot of time editing and rewriting, so go ahead and get through your rough draft and then do your self-editing.Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book?
The only portable thing I created for this series was a bookmark that I could hand out to individuals. This was a way to advertise even when I may be promoting a different series.
I also created a banner on a stand where it can be rolled up into the stand. This makes it convenient to carry and can also be used as an advertisement for this series. It can also be used when you are promoting another series or other books. This allows customers to see that you have other books for them to also check out, and it can be a conversation starter with them as well.What are some of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?
Once you know when the book will be released, advertise it on whichever platforms you are a part of and encourage friends who receive the notice to repost so it will reach additional viewers that your platform will not reach. Also, if you have a newsletter or blog, mention its release there as well.
What are some of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?
If you have a newsletter, again mention it there and request that they post reviews and do so in multiple places. Again, post on any platform you are a part of as well and again encourage friends to repost so others outside your reach would also be notified of your book’s release.
Do you have a long term plan with your book?
One way I plan to generate more interest in this series is to link it to another series that I am writing. I am currently working on a series that is tied to a more modern prophecy that is touted by many Christian prophets alive today. Many are saying that Scripture implies that the Spirit of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea, and its fulfillment is just around the corner. I wanted to show what this could potentially look like for our future. This is the genesis of The Cities of Light Series, with the first book of three coming out very soon. The first book of this series is entitled Beacon of Truth. The third book of this series will then tie back into the Stele Prophecy Pentalogy which we are discussing today. I hope you check it out.
What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?
This five-book series is a presentation of five stories during a future earthly kingdom as outlined in biblical prophecy. This book series also calls this period the Refreshing because things are made new: those who were righteous have been resurrected, all pollution generating machinery and factories are eliminated, and all disease and death have been abolished. This is a one-thousand-year reign of the Messiah where he will reign as King of kings over the earth with his base of operation in Jerusalem, Israel. All my novels in this series are connected to each other but can also be read separately. Because death has been rescinded during this time, except for those who rebel against the King, characters within the story of one book can still be part of the storyline of the next book even if the storyline of each book is separated by several hundred years. The main characters in one book become the supporting characters in the other books.
The setting of my books in this series is at many places around the world, but the main location is in Jerusalem, Israel, because that is the base of operation for the King, also known as the Messiah. Kalem and his friends must travel to many places around the globe because the stelae are hidden in various strategic places on each continent.
Many Jewish and Christian denominations have a belief that one called the Messiah will one day come to earth and set up an earthly kingdom and this will be a time of great peace and prosperity where sickness will be a thing of the past, and maybe even death itself will be abolished. The controversy lies in who is this Messiah and how will this kingdom come about. This book series is about this kingdom.
Not only is there confusion and controversy about who the leader of this kingdom will actually be, there is much confusion about what will occur during this magnificent time of our future history. I want my readers to get a good flavor of what life during this time may be like and be able to understand and experience it for themselves.
For example, in my first book, Mercy of the Iron Scepter, I wanted people to experience the wonderment of this time with all the peacefulness, beauty, and unity that will exist during this time. In Scripture it talks about this Messiah, this King, to reign with an iron scepter. That means he will deal harshly with the sin of rebellion. So, I show what that looks like, but also show that there is a merciful side to this harshness as well. While the King deals immediately and decisively with rebellion, he is also loving and wants the best for his citizens of the world. I show that side of him in this novel as well.
In contrast to this utopian time is its precursor which Scripture calls the Tribulation Period, a time of chaos and all sorts of calamities—an apocalypse of sorts. Promised Kingdom takes the reader through this time and what it might be like to live through such an ordeal.
Another thing many are confused about is that sacrifices will be made again during this time of our future history. As most Christians believe, Jesus Christ came as the promised Messiah the first time he came to earth fulfilling the Law of Moses and became the sacrifice that the Mosaic Law required for the redemption of mankind. Therefore, today, we no longer have sacrifices. So, what would make them be needed in our future? My novel, Hope Renewed, helps the reader to understand the purpose of these sacrifices as they travel with Ya’akov as he goes through his adventure and the decisions he makes about his destiny.
Another aspect to this future time is that someone named the Prince is introduced in the book of Ezekiel in Scripture. There are various beliefs as to who this person is. Through my book, Darkness in the Light, as one goes through the struggles which Me’ira endures, one will see that this Prince is not the Messiah and is not King David as some purport. This novel gives a reason for him being a separate individual from these and what his duties will be for the citizens of the world during this future time.
Then there is the aspect of dealing with human depravity. While this is a time of peace, harmony, and wonderment, there will be those who are still not satisfied with the status quo. I want people to understand that while we have dark spiritual forces today that make many do bad and evil things, even when those forces are held at bay (which will be true during this future time), the heart of mankind can still be evil and against God. People born during this time still need a Savior and their decisions, just like ours today, can have eternal consequences. As readers go through the storyline of Janet in Iron in the Scepter, we cheer her on to make the right decisions even though deep down we know she likely will not. It is similar to when we knew Anakin Skywalker would turn into Darth Vader, yet we kept hoping that he would not make those fateful decisions that we knew he was going to make.
I wanted to write about something that would prove to be exciting to read but at the same time be something the reader can learn about and contemplate.
I think one aspect that I like about this series is that it shows that no matter the circumstances or the time in which one lives, it does not alter what humans have to go through and the decisions they must make. People are people no matter in what historical timeframe in which they live. Just like Kalem, we struggle with knowing what is really true and don’t realize that truth is what determines our ultimate destiny. And like Edvin, we struggle to find significance in this life and sometimes we must go against what seems like the best solution for our career just because it is the right thing to do. Me’ira, just like us today, struggled with finding true love, and our decisions can have consequences that ripple through time for many generations. Then, just like Janet, we sometimes let pride get the better of us and cause us to make decisions that are unwise and actually hurt the ones we love even though we think we are doing something for their good when it is really not good at all.
This series is sort of done in layers. One can get a great story with action, adventure, mystery, and even romance set in a science fiction or futuristic type of backdrop. If that is all a reader wants, it’s there! But if one wants to better understand the background of the story and its significance, not only to the story but to their own lives as well, that is also there. One can enjoy, contemplate, or even do both.Inside the Series
A series of five stories run the gamut of emotional themes: struggling with anger, the desire to belong, one seeking destiny, complicated love, and being blinded by pride. Each cleverly crafted story demonstrates unbelievable technology where the earthly and divine merge into an amazing and unforgettable future.
Kalem lives through the death of his brother by the hand of the King which occurred when he was very young. Now that he is older and can act, he is emotionally torn between his anger over his brother’s death and the love he is finding in someone who supports the King. Two prophecies stand before him. The one he wholeheartedly believes in places his life in danger just as it had for his brother. The other is safer but requires him to live a lie. How can he choose which direction to take? Yet he must choose before his fate is sealed.
Edvin experiences heartbreak during troubled times as his sister-in-law loses her unborn baby and his girlfriend dies from plane crash injuries. Yet he is not the only one. Thousands around the globe experience the same events happening in their lives and to their loved ones. How can he make sense of the apocalyptic world in which he now lives? Yet an unexpected destiny awaits him.
Ya’akov gets approved for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, but he gets caught in a nightmare of manipulation and deceit, which ultimately leaves him abandoned at sea not remembering who he is or how he got there. Despite such a start, he finds a destiny greater than anything he had ever dreamed possible.
Princess Me’ira breaks protocol and falls in love with someone not vetted by prescribed law. Her decision will yield unpreventable heartache to either herself or to those closest to her. While unknown to her, the decision she makes sets a future in motion she could never have anticipated.
Janet discovers how to increase teleporter efficiency to an all-time high, but her work is rejected by the King. Her selfish pride sets in motion a plan of revenge that has devastating consequences far greater than she ever imagined.
Each story is stand-alone, yet they all intertwine into a unique whole that paints a picture of a future time in which we may all find ourselves one day.
The Stele Prophecy Pentalogy Series is available at Amazon.
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