Joseph Willis

04/30/2026

https://youtu.be/V8rAJQacYQA

This is an interview about me with Dr. Marvin Olasky, Professor in the Journalism Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1992, Marvin Olasky contacted me. He was working on a book entitled "Compassionate Conservatism."

The book eventually helped to define "compassionate conservatism" in relation to welfare and social policy.

In 1994, Olasky became an occasional advisor to Texas gubernatorial candidate George W. Bush. Bush made faith-based programs a major component of his 2000 presidential campaign, and Olasky's academic work helped form the basis for President Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

Olasky had read about me and Operation Warm Heart (in the Austin American-Statesman), which I founded in 1991.

Dr. Olasky asked if he could go with me to the streets of Austin. While we fed the needy and handed out Bibles, he asked me many questions and would later quote me in his book. President George W. Bush wrote the foreword.

Olasky also asked me to guest lecture in his journalism classes at the University of Texas, which I did.

During those talks, he asked if any of the students would like to go to the streets of Austin and into the jails with me.

Those who said yes were required to write a paper about that adventure for the class.

One Christian graduate student at UT discovered, in a survey, that the number one reason people in Austin did not attend church was the fear of condemnation. And that group was not the homeless. Her survey changed the way I shared the gospel.

The saying that the Christian army is the only army that shoots its wounded" has never left my mind.

I had been invited by Senior Chaplain Tommy McIntosh to speak twice a month at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle. The invitation was soon extended to the other jails.

Randy Willis Books

Dr. Marvin Olasky, Professor of Journalism, The University of Texas discusses Randy Willis.

04/19/2026

https://randywillisbooks.com/twice-a-slave

How to become a best-selling author.

1) You are born the descendant of a legendary man.

2) After decades of research, write his biography that only generates interest from other descendants and a few researchers.

3) But, said research draws the attention of one of Louisiana's most noted college professors and historians. Her advice in a footnote of a letter is to take my research and tell it as a story, a novel. A genre known as Historical Fiction will be my new platform.

4) After writing the first few chapters, pitch it to a Christian publisher and one of the best-selling Christian authors in history. Realize your chances are slim since he has sold 73 million copies, including 21 New York Times bestsellers. Ignorance of this is a plus.

5) Then suggest the novel to a playwright for consideration as an adaptation for the theater.

Oh, I almost forgot to consider your first half-million-words practice. You will get better.

nd study classic novels. My favorite novels are F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, the father of them all, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ernest Hemingway's short story Hills Like White Elephants is a favorite, too.

These are the first two chapters I wrote that led to 19 novels, three biographies, a play, my own memoir, and countless articles.

These two chapters still remain among the most popular narratives I've ever written. And yes, they are based on a true story.

Randy Willis Books

Explore the transformative journey of Agerton Willis as he navigates love, dreams, and the harsh realities of 1756 slavery in South Carolina.

04/14/2026

https://randywillisbooks.com/fire-and-brimstone-in-louisiana/

One of the most tragic events in Louisiana’s illustrious history was unfolding. It was within walking distance of our family home, The Ole Willis Home Place.

The events shocked the nation, according to The New York Times.

It was the middle of prohibition, which banned the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

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The mayor of Atlanta asked Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long about his plans for enforcing the 18th Amendment. “Not a damn thing,” Long said.

But in Rapides Parish, where my family had lived since 1828, there was no New Orleans, dubbed the “liquor capital of America.”

It could be dangerous if you were a bootlegger or owned a Moonshine Still in Rapides Parish.

Only one thing was more hazardous than operating one. That was operating one and not being "lily-white."

The "Lily-White" movement within the Louisiana Republican Party attempted to make the party all-white.

Louisiana Law in the early 1900s established that "one drop" of Black ancestry defined a person as "Negro." The law was repealed in 1983.

The Great Depression was a few months away. There was plenty of money for an illegal visit to the "corner liquor store."

They were hidden in the tall pines along narrow red-dirt hog and cattle trails.

Known as Moonshine Stills, they were not overlooked in Rapides Parish, as they were in the Crescent City of New Orleans to the South.

Rapides Parish’s tall, thick Longleaf Pines were "rumored" to have several Moonshine Stills, although no one was able to remember where.

Our homestead, the Ole Willis Home Place, was high up on a hill overlooking Barber Creek. The Still was in the valley below, and the sounds of commerce would filter upwards through the fragrant piney woods.

My namesake and Grandpa Randall Lee “Rand” Willis had no issue with moonshine being bottled down below. It was at the end of a well-beaten path he often trod.

But my Grandma Lillie Hanks Willis did have a problem. She thought Grandpa had created that “broad is the way that leads to destruction” red dirt trail.

Grandpa was rumored to have forged the red dirt trail more than once.

The evidence surfaced when Grandma found him on the banks of Barber Creek. He was higher than a Louisiana Pine with an empty mason jar by his side.

It would all end when Fire and brimstone rained down on my grandpa's neighbor at the bottom of the hill.

Randy Willis Books

Fire and brimstone rained down on my grandpa's neighbor at the bottom of the hill. His neighbor lived on Willis-Gunter Road near our beloved Ole Willis Home Place. The family "below" deserved what they got, some said; they had committed the unpardonable sin of being born Black. That was the cry hear...

04/03/2026

https://randywillisbooks.com/thank-god-its-friday/

Thank God it's Friday.

Although the party began the night before...

And why not? After all, he was the ultimate master of positive thinking, proclaiming five times, "I will."

A third of his platform was sold on his teaching. Even unto death.

Randy Willis Books

by Randy Willis The party began the night before. This is written for and dedicated to nine people: my three sons and six grandchildren. They are the joy of my life. Anyone else who would care to l…

03/12/2026

https://youtu.be/Cyi03RBMQHo?si=uT5iyC1ogCkK0-xi

At 13:58 on this taped interview by me, Rev. Elmer Perkins said his grandmother, Anna Canady Willis (the wife of Polk Willis), said Joseph Willis said he saw a vision of Jesus.

My 1980 interview with Pentecostal Preacher Rev. Elmer Perkins.

Elmer Perkins often asked his Aunt Olive Willis and Uncle Polk Willis about Joseph Willis (1758 - 1854). What they told him amazed me, and it will amaze you, too, if you descend from Joseph Willis.

Rev. Perkins had an incredible memory and spoke of all of Polk and Anna's children and grandchildren on this recording.

Why I wanted to interview him:

Billie Arthur wrote me about Elmer Perkins. After speaking to her on the phone, I decided this was a man I had to interview. I interviewed Rev. Elmer Perkins from De Ridder, Louisiana, on December 28, 1980. He died the following year at age 77.

Billie Arthur wrote, "As a boy, Elmer heard of an Apostolic Camp Meeting. So he and his friends decided to see what all the fuss was about, just for sport."

However, during the camp meeting, Elmer Perkins was converted to that faith. He became a mighty man of God.

Randy Willis

The three-year-old asking when are we were going to leave is my son, Aaron Joseph Willis. He was hungry. The cover photo is of him at the grave of his 5th Great-Grandfather, Joseph Willis, taken the same week. It was my attempt to show the importance of our heritage.

Randy Willis Books

My 1980 interview with Pentecostal Preacher Rev. Elmer Perkins. Elmer Perkins often asked his Aunt Olive Willis and Uncle Polk Willis about Joseph Willis (17...

02/27/2026

02/27/2026

So, you want to be a writer. A noble ambition.

How to write a best-selling historical novel. Here is a simple formula.

First, you choose your ancestors wisely, beginning with your parents.

Second, you start your research on a horse at age 12. Knowledge that you're doing that is not a prerequisite.

Third, you aligned yourself with a Christian writer who has sold over 73 million books. His publishing company publishes your first book, for good measure.

Fourth, you hire one of the most successful editors on earth, who has written 37 books. Not to mention a professor of English.

Followed by a textual editor that explains, "Mr. Willis, words like okay and fine were not used in the 1700s."

Then sprinkle in a real-life protagonist surrounded by an array of antagonists. For you western lovers, that's the cowboy with the white hat versus the "hombres" with black hats.

And finally, have a college president who offers carte blanche to your request to seek students, the theater department, and the staff's help.

If you haven't figured it out yet, none of the above was my ingenuity or popularity.

It all began with a "PS," a postscript in a letter from a friend and colleague.

What am I talking about? You didn't ask, but I will tell you anyway.

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As a teenager, I worked with my family on the open range owned by lumber companies in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, near Forest Hill.

Many generations of my family have lived there since 1828, beginning with my 4th great-grandfather, Joseph Willis.

I would often ride my horse through my family's neighboring property. This land was once William Prince Ford's Wallfield Plantation.

I did not realize the significance of my ancestor's connection to Solomon Northup and William Prince Ford.

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I got the idea for my novel Twice a Slave from my friend Dr. Sue Eakin.

The play Twice a Slave also came from my friend and fellow historian, Dr. Sue Eakin. I should add that it is a misnomer to list me as a historian in the same sentence with Dr. Eakin.

Dr. Eakins contacted me after reading an article in the Alexandria Town Talk. The article reported that I had obtained the minutes of Spring Hill Baptist Church. The minutes had much information on two of its founders: Joseph Willis and William Prince Ford.

And more importantly, to Dr. Eakin, the slave Solomon Northup, for she was his foremost historian.

Ford bought the slave Solomon Northup on June 23, 1841, in New Orleans. He immediately brought him to his Wallfield Plantation.

Just 46 days later, Joseph Willis and William Prince Ford founded Spring Hill Baptist Church on August 8, 1841. Ford's slaves attended the church as well, as was customary practice in pre-Civil War Louisiana.

Ford gave his slaves an illegal Bible.

The plantation was located on Hurricane Creek, a 1/4 mile east of present-day Forest Hill, Louisiana. It was also located on the crest of a hill, on the Texas Road that ran alongside a ridge.

In his book Twelve Years a Slave, Northup called this area "The Great Piney Woods."

Ford was also the headmaster of Spring Creek Academy, located near his plantation and Spring Hill Baptist Church. My grandfather and namesake attended that school.

In 1841, Joseph Willis lived and entrusted his diary to his protégé, William Prince Ford, according to historian W.E. Paxton. Much of what I write comes from this diary.

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Ford was not a Baptist preacher when he purchased Solomon Northup and the slave Eliza (a.k.a. Dradey in my book) in 1841, as many books, articles, blogs, and the movie 12 Years a Slave have portrayed.

The first part of the Spring Hill Baptist Church minutes is written in Ford's own handwriting. He was the first church secretary and also the first church clerk. The minutes reveal that on July 7, 1842, Ford was elected deacon.

On December 11, 1842, Ford also became the church treasurer. In the winter of 1842, Ford sold a 60% share in Northup to John M. Tibeats. Ford's remaining 40% was later conveyed to Edwin Epps, on April 9, 1843.

It was not until February 10, 1844, that Ford was ordained as a Baptist preacher.

A year later, on April 12, 1845, Ford was excommunicated for "communing with the Campbellite Church at Cheneyville." But Ford's later writings reveal that he remained close friends with his neighbor and mentor Joseph Willis.

Campbellite refers to churches that were based on Alexander Campbell's beliefs, according to some historians. Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, and others came from this movement. Although Campbell rejected these titles. Campbellite was a derogatory term to him.

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Dr. Eakin asked me to help with her research on William Prince Ford and Solomon Northup. I was also a guest lecturer in her history classes at Louisiana State University at Alexandria on the subject.

As mentioned above, Dr. Eakin's letters inspired me to write Twice a Slave. Twice a Slave was adapted into a dramatic play at Louisiana College (Louisiana Christian University today) by Dr. D. "Pete" Richardson (Associate Professor of Theater).

Dr. Eakin wrote me on March 7, 1984, "We had a wonderful experience dramatizing Northup. I think there could be a musical play on Joseph Willis. It seems to me it gets the message across far more quickly than routinely written material."

She added, "A fictional novel based upon Joseph Willis's life would be more interesting to the general public than a biography and would reach a greater audience."

Those two sentences changed my direction and ultimately my life as an author.

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A special thank you to three people:

Twice a Slave has been chosen as a Jerry B. Jenkins Select Book, along with four best-selling authors. Jerry Jenkins is the author of more than 200 books. His works have sold over 73 million copies. This includes the best-selling Left Behind series.

Twice a Slave was adapted into a dramatic play at Louisiana College (Louisiana Christian University today) by Dr. D. "Pete" Richardson (Associate Professor of Theater).

And Dr. Joe Aguillard, the eighth president of the Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College. Without his help, there would not have been a Twice a Slave play nor the Joseph Willis Institute for Great Awakening Studies at Louisiana College (Louisiana Christian University since 2021).

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Read all the great authors. I recommend Mark Twain's 19th-century "Huckleberry Finn. It will teach you how to have fun with your writing.

Sorry, Ernest Hemingway, your contemporary F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is my favorite 20th-century novel.

Consider the first half million words you write practice.

Randy Willis Books

02/27/2026

For all you researchers, historians, and genealogist please tell me where Peter W. Robert is buried near Forest Hill, Louisiana. Is he buried in Moore Cemetery, aka Brewer Cemetery?

I have been trying since 1981. See attached letter to Verda Ruff.

Randy Willis Books

02/26/2026

https://randywillisbooks.com/isms/

Have you ever come face-to-face with an "Ism"? What kind of critter is that?

The first evangelical preacher west of the mighty Mississippi River, my 4th great-grandfather, Joseph Willis faced numerous challenges, including an array of "isms." One tried to kill him. Although that wasn't the most dangerous one.

This is that story.

Randy Willis Books

by Randy Willis Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. —Luke 14:23 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins. He is not for ours only bu…

02/19/2026

On May 18, 1981, I received my first letter from Dovie Dyer Strother. She had a wealth of information about Romelzy Willis, the Cloud, Odom, and Coker families, too. She was a granddaughter of Romelzy Willis.

Dovie was an incredible family historian. Like all the sainted women who descend from Joseph Willis (1758-1854), she loved Jesus. We became friends.

Randy Willis Books