The Rev. Bob Konopa says he never considered himself a writer, but a couple of years ago he had some ideas he wanted to put on paper.
The Franciscan priest had been thinking about how God sees man and whether it was possible for man to see himself the same way.
He concluded that people can change from the inside out if they learn to see themselves as God sees them.
The idea of exploring this theme through stories intrigued him.
“I couldn’t let go of it, and it wouldn’t let go of me,” he said.
The result is “God, You Must Have Me Confused with Someone Else: Seeing What I Was Missing,” which was published Nov. 1. Konopa will sign copies at Turnrow Book Co. on Dec. 9 from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Konopa, 60, has served at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Greenwood in the past and occasionally returns as a guest celebrant. He now lives in Louisiana.
He started work on the book in July 2009, recounting stories from his life and others’ lives and writing about what he’d learned from them. The stories became chapters, and eventually he had a manuscript, which he completed in December 2010.
A fellow Franciscan who had experience in writing books asked to read what he had written. When he finished, he said it deserved to be published and even suggested a publisher.
Konopa submitted the manuscript to Phoenix-based Tau Publishing Inc. in mid-May, and they said yes in June — a quick response for an unknown writer.
“It was really quite remarkable how this whole process just kind of really unfolded,” Konopa said.
At one time, he worried about how it would feel to read the finished product — whether he would just be second-guessing himself on things he should have said. As it turned out, he said, “I have no feelings like that. It is exactly what i wanted to say.”
The first weekend the book was made available at his church, there were only 200 copies — and he thought even that would be too many. By the end of that weekend’s second Mass, all of those books had been sold, and they were taking orders for 200 more during the third and fourth Masses.
He has signed copies in churches and stores, and the turnouts have been good, he said.
“It’s really taken off,” he said.
Konopa said a variety of people have been reading the book, from high school students to people over 80. He has even heard some plan to give it as a Christmas gift.
The book is intended to appeal to believers of all faiths as well as nonbelievers, and the stories can have multiple meanings, depending on the readers, he said.
“It’s for everybody, because God is for everybody,” he said.
It’s important to realize that God is not just some distant being but a very personal one, and “God knows us better than we know ourselves,” he said.
The writing process wasn’t easy. Sometimes he would have to put the project aside when the ideas weren’t flowing; other times, he might wake up in the middle of the night and think of something that pushed it forward.
“At times it was a labor of love, and at times it was labor,” he said with a laugh.
Konopa said he probably doesn’t have another book in him, but he’s pleased with how this one turned out.
“I’m just really at peace with everything that’s in there, which to me is God’s blessing,” he said.
