Local author's book hits stands across nation

PLAINS – A Plains resident recently entered the world of book tycoons as his self-published book hit the racks of both Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. 

Author Douglas Smith published his book under his pen name Lazarus. The book is a compilation of poems, life lessons and reflections. 

Throughout the years, Smith has collected such a vast number of clips, he had a hard time finding all of them. Even with the large collection, he said he had no trouble deciding what to include in his latest work.

“I knew what I wanted in there,” Smith said. “I had a whole stack of papers and I finally sat down and typed it all up.”

Smith began writing recreationally at the age of 16, although he did not discover his deep-rooted love for the hobby until he was in his thirties.

“It’s a good outlet and good therapy,” Smith said. 

Much of his inspiration comes from daily experience. Whenever he feels a pang of inspiration, Smith sits down to funnel his thoughts onto paper.

“Words just come so easy to me,” Smith explained. 

After being granted a second chance in life, Smith is taking it to his full advantage. 

Looking far into his past, he told a story of a car accident he was involved in at the age of 5. He was pronounced dead on scene but was somehow revived.

Since then Smith has decided to give everything his all, one of the reasons he decided to publish his work. 

As Smith reminisced about some of his experiences, the storyteller came out once again. He dove into a handful of stories depicting the town of Plains as he was growing up and jumped into the careers he possessed throughout his life. 

Now retired, Smith said he continues to stay busy – writing, fishing, hunting and panning rocks. 

Although writing is not an everyday occurrence, he enjoys the time when his words flow freely.

Smith is already on his next book – a book that aims to tell the story of his life.

“A lot of people told me my life is very interesting and they’d like to read about it,” Smith said. 

There is no timeline on when the book will be released but Smith is hard at work planning for the book. 

His favorite part of the writing process is brainstorming – something he takes pride in. 

Although he has yet to sell any copies of his book, For Our Eyes Only, is on the stands and available for purchase.