I just received my copy of guitarist Doyle Dykes' new book entitled, "The Lights of Marfa."
I pre-ordered it on Amazon.com and was amazed it came in already! The book was released just yesterday (April 1, 2011) and here it is April 2 and it's in my hands.
I can't wait to read it! Doyle and I have been friends for many years now and I've had the privilege to get to know his entire family when he hired me to photograph his daughter Holli's wedding. In the years to follow, we've only grown closer and when I heard he had written a book, I knew I would be one of the first to pre-order it on Amazon.com.
Our mutual friend Pastor Steve Lyon from Moody Publishers asked him to write a book which took Doyle by surprise. When he first told me about it, I immediately thought, "What a great idea" but apparently, that's not what Doyle thought. It took him by surprise, like many other things have in his life. But looking back, these things were obviously in God's plan for him.
The 'real' Lights of Marfa is just as mysterious and unexplainable. This is why Doyle chose this title for his book. Life's adventures are sometimes hard to figure out and explain. But Doyle is such a good storyteller that I already know before reading this book that this is going to be one interesting book to read.
If you are a guitar player like me, it's an obvious book to buy and read. But for those wanting a spiritual uplift, I'm sure you will find that here in the book as well. Doyle is the real deal as many have pointed out already on the book's first few pages. The likes of Phil Keaggy, Tommy Emmanuel, Pastor Rick Warren, Roy Clark, Eric Johnson, Mason Williams, Steve King & Johnnie Putman from WGN Radio and many others have said the same thing.
Go out now and get a copy of the book. It promises to be an inspirational read!
Oh, one more thing, the book comes with a free DVD. In it, you'll see and hear Doyle talk about the book and also get a bunch of great videos of him playing a number of songs too! For guitar players, the DVD has a lot of closeups of Doyle playing, so maybe you'll pick up some playing tips too by watching! Just one more thing to make this book a great buy!
