About the Author

While Randall Bush and a number of his friends were attending seminary in the mid-to-late 1970s, they fell under the inspiration of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. In the 1930s and 40s, Lewis and Tolkien had met regularly with their fellow "Inklings" to discuss their writings. So, taking a cue from the Inklings Fellowship, Bush's good friend, David Parnell, decided to start a writers' group that would dedicate its efforts to the writing of fantasy literature. All who were invited became excited at this prospect, and they began meeting regularly to share their ideas

and writing samples.

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Sadly, the group disbanded due to other demands on its members' time and energies. However, Bush retained an interest and continued his fantasy-writing efforts. A book manuscript was eventually produced that would later become his fantasy novel, The Quest for Asdin. The book is dedicated to the friend who years earlier had started the fantasy writing group, David Parnell. The resulting manuscript still needed work, for to be publishable, it would have to be rewritten, revised, and edited numerous times. This process, which spanned a twenty-five year period, culminated in the publication of The Quest for Asdin.

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In 1986, roughly ten years after the writers group had disbanded, Bush and his family moved to Oxford, England where he began pursuing his second Ph. D. His Oxford college, Regent's Park, just happened to adjoin the famous Eagle and the Child pub where Lewis, Tolkien, and others of the Inklings met to discuss their writing.​ While basking in the ambience of this Oxford setting, Bush continued to work on creative writing projects in addition to producing his doctoral thesis in Modern Theology. The Caterbury Tails, which was inspired by a true story shared with him by the late Canon F. W. Dillistone, Emeritus Dean of the Anglican cathedral in Liverpool, began taking shape during this time. It would not be published, however, for another twenty years.

After returning to the United States with his wife and two children, ideas for other creative works began to take shape in Bush's mind. Gabriel's Magic Ornament came out of stories he would tell his children. At first, Gabriel's Magic Ornament was the only Christmas novel he had planned. When Gabriel's Magic Ornament was published, the opportunity to publish The Quest for Asdin opened up.

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The ideas in Gabriel's Magic Ornament later expanded gave rise to other Christmas novels: Widgmus World, The Mailbox Tree, and A Christmas Comedy. All these novels, which were first published by BorderStone Press, sought to promote a Christian world view and to help children learn about the true meaning of Christmas.

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Randall Bush currently serves as University Professor of Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where he has taught from 1991 to the present. He holds two earned doctorates, one in theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and the other in Modern Theology from the University of Oxford, England.