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Mike Nappa
Mike Nappa, author
Born (1963-12-10) December 10, 1963 (age 60)
Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
OccupationAuthor, editor, literary agent
Genrenon-fiction, theology, writing resources, church resources, children's literature, Christian fiction
Notable worksVeggieTales Super Comics, God in Slow Motion, Johnny Grav & The Visioneer, 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected
Website
nappaland.com

Mike Nappa (born December 10, 1963) is an Arab-American author of more than 60 books and an entertainment journalist for the e-magazine, PopFam.com "Pop Culture for Families." Although he's published books for all ages with many different companies, he's best known for his work in children's religious publishing where he created the award-winning comic book characters, Johnny Grav & The Visioneer, and co-created the VeggieTales comic book characters, the Quitter Critter Quad Squad, and also notable for his grief-support books about losing his wife, Amy, to cancer.

Biography

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Nappa was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He started his career as a youth pastor,[1] and then transitioned to writing church resources at Group Publishing in Colorado. He eventually joined Group as a book acquisitions editor and remained active as an author.[2] In 1995, Nappa left Group Publishing to start his own company, Nappaland Communications Inc., which became the parent company for Nappaland Literary Agency and the long-running e-magazine, PopFam.com "Pop Culture for Families."[2] Since then he has published over 60 books[3] which have collectively sold more than a million copies worldwide.[4] He has also served as a fiction acquisitions editor for Barbour Publishing, as a general acquisitions editor (fiction and non-fiction) for David C. Cook publishers, as Editor in Chief of the short-lived Destination Magazine (published by the now-defunct Private Escapes Luxury Destination Clubs),[5] and as Publications Director for Blue Margin Inc.[6]

In 2000, Nappa created the award-winning serialized comic book characters, Johnny Grav & The Visioneer,[7][8] for Clubhouse kids magazine. That comic ran for three consecutive years in the magazine, from January 2000 through December 2002. The Johnny Grav characters returned in 2010 for another three-year run in Clubhouse (2010–2012), which included a serialized prose novel called Nightmare City that ran both in print and online.

In 2015, Nappa joined the VeggieTales universe as a writer for the VeggieTales Super Comics line of graphic novels and comic books created under license from DreamWorks / Big Idea Entertainment (B&H Kids). In this capacity he adapted classic VeggieTales videos into comic book format, and also co-created new Veggie characters for the original comic book story, LarryBoy and the Quitter Critter Squad.[9] In 2017, he was featured in the Bibleman universe (B&H Kids)[9] and also began publishing the independent fantasy comic, Chihuahuas Are Lucky (Walking Carnival Comics) with acclaimed illustrator Dennis Edwards.[10]

Although he published several suspense novels under the pen name "Sharon Carter Rogers", it was not until 2016 that Nappa began publishing adult fiction under his own name: the Coffey & Hill trilogy of suspense novels. Each of these novels features an Atlanta-based private detective team investigating an Edgar Allan Poe-themed mystery. The first book in Coffey & Hill was Annabel Lee, and the second was The Raven, both published by Revell (Baker Publishing Group).[11] The third book in the series, A Dream Within a Dream, was co-authored with Melissa Kosci and released from Revell in 2020. A Dream Within a Dream was delayed several years due to the death of Nappa's wife, Amy, in late 2016.[12]

Hard Way Home, a memoir of the passing of his wife (and frequent co-author), Amy Nappa, was released in 2019.[13][14]

In 2020, Nappa joined the gaming industry, working as a narrative designer/scriptwriter for Talofa Games[15][16] on the AR app Run Legends initially funded by Niantic (Pokémon Go; Harry Potter: Wizards Unite).

In 2023 Nappa began publishing the Bible-Smart™ blog in association with the publication of his commentary book, Bible-Smart™: Matthew (Rose Publishing/Tyndale House). The blog and book focus on answering questions people have sent him about specific passages from the Bible.

Current bibliography

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  • Reflections for the Grieving Soul (Zondervan) 2023
  • Bible-Smart: Matthew (Tyndale House/Rose Publishing) 2023
  • Drift: Anniversary Edition (Walking Carnival Books) 2023
  • Unpretty: Anniversary Edition (Walking Carnival Books) 2023
  • Sinner: Anniversary Edition (Walking Carnival Books) 2023
  • Jesus-Centered Bible, NLT (Group Publishing) (contributor) 2022
  • Welcome to Bible World (The Good Book Company) 2022
  • 29 Days to Different: Love (Hendrickson-Rose Publishing) 2021
  • The Promises of Jesus (Our Daily Bread Publishing) 2020
  • A Dream Within a Dream (Revell) 2020
  • Hard Way Home (Harvest House Publishers) 2019
  • Bibleman and the Wish-a-Prayer Machine (B&H Kids) 2018
  • Hercules: Whisper of the Gods (Walking Carnival Comics) 2017
  • Bibleman Bible Storybook (B&H Kids) 2017
  • Chihuahuas Are Lucky #1 (Walking Carnival Comics) 2017
  • The Raven (Revell) 2016
  • VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Quitter Critter Quad Squad (B&H Kids / Big Idea Entertainment) 2016
  • VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush (B&H Kids / Big Idea Entertainment) 2016
  • VeggieTales: Where's God When I'm S-Scared? (B&H Kids / Big Idea Entertainment) 2016
  • Annabel Lee (Revell) 2016
  • VeggieTales Super Comics Volume 4 (B&H Kids / Big Idea Entertainment) 2015
  • Johnny Grav & The Visioneer in Twilight Rising (Walking Carnival Books) 2013
  • Nightmare City: Starring Johnny Grav & The Visioneer (Walking Carnival Books) 2013
  • God in Slow Motion (Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2013
  • Instant Family Devotions (Baker Books) 2012
  • When Pigs Fly (Group Publishing) 2012
  • The Jesus Survey (Baker Books) 2012
  • Sky iOpeners (Group VBS) 2012
  • 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected (Sourcebooks) 2011
  • Instant Small Group (Baker Books) 2011
  • Pogo’s Prank-a-Palooza Day (Group Publishing) 2011
  • PandaMania iOpeners (Group VBS) 2011
  • Hometown Nazareth iGrow Chart (Group VBS) 2011
  • Interactive Illustrations (Standard Publishing) 2010
  • Creative Family Prayer Times (NavPress) 2007
  • Make it Stick (Group Publishing) (contributor) 2007
  • Heartwarming Christmas Stories (David C. Cook) (contributor) 2006
  • The New Men’s Devotional Bible (Zondervan) (contributor) 2006
  • Tuesdays with Matthew (David C. Cook) 2003
  • Growing Up Fatherless (Baker Books) 2003
  • Faith 4 Life: Getting Along with Others (Group Publishing) 2003
  • Who Moved My Church (RiverOak Publishing) (foreword by John Maxwell) 2001
  • The Prayer of Jesus (Barbour Publishing) 2001
  • Zachary’s Zoo (Zonderkidz) 2000, 2007
  • A Mind Like His (Barbour Publishing) 2000
  • Lunch Box Promises (Standard Publishing) 2000
  • Lunch Box Trivia (Standard Publishing) 2000
  • Lunch Box Laughs (Standard Publishing) 2000
  • True Stories of Transformed Lives (Tyndale House Publishers) 1999
  • True Stories of Answered Prayers (Tyndale House Publishers) 1999
  • What I Wish My Youth Leader Knew about Youth Ministry (Standard Publishing) 1999
  • A Heart Like His (Barbour Publishing) 1999
  • Legacy of Joy (Barbour Publishing) 1998
  • The Heart of a Father (Barbour Publishing) 1998
  • Imagine That (Augsburg Books) 1998
  • Family Nights Tool Chest: Wisdom Life Skills (David C. Cook) 1998
  • Family Nights Tool Chest: Christian Character Qualities (David C. Cook) 1998
  • It’s a Sheep’s Life (Standard Publishing) 1997
  • Faith Happens (Standard Publishing) 1997
  • Family Nights Tool Chest: Basic Christian Beliefs (Group Publishing) 1997
  • An Introduction to Family Nights (David C. Cook) 1997
  • Get Real (Group Publishing) 1996
  • 52 Fun Family Prayer Adventures (Augsburg Books) 1996
  • Noah, Noah, What’ll We Do? (Group Publishing) 1996
  • Do You See the Star? (Group Publishing) 1996
  • Jesus What’s for Lunch? (Group Publishing) 1996
  • Little Lamb, Where Did You Go? (Group Publishing) 1996
  • Bible Hero Adventures: Old Testament (Group Publishing) (contributor) 1996
  • Bible Hero Adventures: New Testament (Group Publishing) (contributor) 1996
  • Bore No More! (Group Publishing) 1995
  • 1996 Just-Plan It Daily Organizer (Group Publishing) 1995
  • 1995–1996 Student Plan-It Calendar (Group Publishing) 1995
  • 52 Fun Family Devotions (Augsburg Books) 1994
  • The Youth Worker’s Encyclopedia of Bible-Teaching Ideas: Old Testament (Group Publishing) (series editor; contributor) 1994
  • The Youth Worker’s Encyclopedia of Bible-Teaching Ideas: New Testament (Group Publishing) (series editor; contributor) 1994
  • The Church: What am I Doing Here? (Group Publishing) 1993
  • 1993–1994 Student Plan-It Calendar (Group Publishing) 1993
  • Reaching Out to a Hurting World (Group Publishing) 1992
  • Accepting Others (Group Publishing) 1992
  • The Youth Bible (Word Publishing) 1991 (contributor)

References

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  1. ^ "For Bible Study Nerds". Beliefnet.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Nappa, Mike | Encyclopedia.com". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Books by Mike Nappa (Author of Annabel Lee)". Goodreads.com.
  4. ^ "Authors | Baker Publishing Group". Bakerpublishinggroup.com.
  5. ^ "Destination" (PDF). Nappaland.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  6. ^ "thrivethroughdata | Mike Nappa". Bluemargin.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "2001 Awards | Evangelical Press Association". Evangelicalpress.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "'Johnny Grav' wins TV pilot award". Christianretailing.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "You searched for Mike Nappa". B&H Publishing. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Chihuahuas Are Lucky #1". Indyplanet.com.
  11. ^ "Search results | Baker Publishing Group". Bakerpublishinggroup.com.
  12. ^ "Mike Nappa answers your questions — Ask the Author". Goodreads.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Mike Nappa (Author of Hard Way Home: A Woman's Inspiring Battle with Cancer and the Lives She Touched)". Listennotes.com.
  14. ^ "AmyNappa.com". Nappaland.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  15. ^ "Mike Nappa". Linkedin.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "Run Legends". Talofagames.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
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