Making his own destiny

In his new book, local author Ernest Johnson touches on a subject he said most people would rather not see in print.

The story of his novel, “Destiny of the Divas,” centers around a young girl named Destiny and her mission of rescuing kidnapped children. In preparation to write this book, his seventh so far, Johnson did a great deal of research with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“I had to do a lot of proving that I was a writer,” Johnson, a Billerica resident for 10 years, said. “They don’t just give out that information.”

Destiny’s mission starts with her brother, kidnapped as a young child and later found murdered. Years later, she is flying home with her family after her high school graduation when the plane is struck by a bolt of lighting. Destiny is killed, but is sent back to earth with supernatural powers and a mission: to help find children stolen from their homes. Destiny assembles a group of young women to help her, and endows them with her powers. Under the guise of a rock band, they travel the country helping children. The one rule of Destiny’s abilities is she cannot use them to find the people who murdered her brother, but she hopes that in finding other child abductors, she may learn what happened.

“I did this for a reason,” Johnson said. “To educate these parents, educate these babysitters, educate these teachers.”

The story started with the character of Destiny, which was conceived by a friend of Johnson’s, Jim Floyd, who asked him to create a story for Destiny.

“I took it from there,” Johnson said. “The ending will blow you away.”

Johnson began writing in 2002, and spent 1,200 hours writing and editing the book from 133,000 words to 86,000. He said adding the paranormal aspect to the story was his way of making it more powerful and unique.

“I wanted something different,” Johnson said. “Something not too many people had out there.”

Though writing is nothing new for Johnson, this will be his first traditionally-published book, done through Light Sword Publishing. The biggest challenge for Johnson is handling marketing, and he has developed his own methods to entice new readers. Along with arranging books signings at the Yankee Doodle Homecoming, Johnson includes an offer in each book he sells: if the reader can get 10 others to buy a copy, they will have their purchase reimbursed. Getting 20 new customers earns the referrer a free copy of the book and 50 gets them a free 18 inch by 18 inch throw pillow.

“The publisher will only do so much,” Johnson said. “You have to market your own work.”

Johnson also has a decal of the book’s cover affixed to the side of his SUV, and it’s not uncommon to see him wearing a T-shirt with the words “Ask me about my book,” written on the front.

President and CEO Linda Daly said she was most touched by Johnson’s subject, that most would expect a book like this to be written by a woman.

“Not only did he write about this subject matter, but he embraced it,” Daly said. “He’s trying to reach that teenage audience so they will try to protect themselves.”

The book is currently available through the Ingram Book Group, one of the largest distributors in the United States.

The author has been writing since 1980, when he was asked to type and edit a work written by a friend. Three years later he had finished transcribing and editing the 1,500-page story, but his friend was nowhere to be found.

“I never heard back from him,” Johnson said. “After 8 years I trashed the book. I refused to steal it.”

 The experience inspired Johnson to try his hand at his own tales, and today he has published six books through a Print on Demand service www.lulu.com. These services print copies as they are ordered, and the books are not sold in stores. His books, which include Let Freedom Ring, Overturn and Mountain of Love, span a variety of genres, and Johnson said he rarely stays with one unless he really likes it.

Though Destiny of the Divas has only been out for a short time, Johnson already has a sequel written. His days are filed with writing, and he is usually at the computer from 4 a.m. until he goes to bed. He also maintains two online writing groups at Gather.com.

“I didn’t want to be part of the norm,” Johnson said. “This is a genre all its own.”

 For more information on Destiny of the Divas or Johnson’s other works, visit www.ernierjohnson.net.