I am not sure if anyone has ever shared the archived version of chads website. I will and also copy the "about me" section.
This grab is from April 5, 2001.
Wayback Machine
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting my website. I must first give proper credit to my wife, Tammy, the “Webmaster” who designed these pages. Without her, I’d still be trying to get the computer working, much less write a novel on it. We hope to make this a fun journey for you to discover behind-the-scenes information about The Emma Trilogy. We are eager to hear from you, and we’ll post your reviews and questions on the site.
I thought I’d let you know a bit about me. I was born in 1968, in Provo, Utah to Jack and Sheila Chesnut Daybell. My father was serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and we lived in San Diego for nearly two years. Since then I’ve always felt a bond to San Diego, including cheering for the San Diego Padres, despite their mediocrity.
I am the oldest of five children, and Paul, Matt, Brad and Becky have been wonderful siblings. Our neighborhood had many vacant fields, and we had a great time exploring them as we grew up. We also had plenty of friends around if we wanted to play baseball, basketball or football.
I had aspirations to be a professional athlete, but my youthful growth spurts seemed humorously timed. I’m now 6’3”, but I didn’t really grow at all during seventh or eighth grades and soon found myself as one of the shortest kids in school. Then the following summer I sprouted six inches, which left me rather uncoordinated. l played on Springville High's junior varsity baseball team, but I certainly didn't dazzle anyone.When it comes to my books, I guess I identify more with the clumsy teenage Emma, rather than with the athletic Doug. My younger brothers all excelled in sports, so there is some real-life basis for "An Errand for Emma."
However, my mission to New Jersey is the foundation for Doug’s experiences in "Doug's Dilemma." Every missionary event in that novel is based on an actual occurrence. It was a crazy two years, but extremely fulfilling. The Spanish-speaking people are fun-loving and upbeat, no matter what obstacles they face. I made many dear friends there that I’m still close to and admire. I came home a more compassionate person after my experiences there.
My post-mission plans included staying single for a long time so I could get through school. So naturally, within 15 days of arriving home I attended a singles ward volleyball game and met my future wife, Tammy Douglas, who is the daughter of Ron and Phyllis Douglas.
Tammy was working as the Springville Parks Department secretary at the time of our first date. I would be starting school at BYU in less than a month and needed a job. Tammy knew of an opening for a part-time cemetery worker, and while it wasn’t a job I’d ever considered, it offered a flexible schedule and a chance to see Tammy several times a day. Little did we know the role that job would eventually play in our lives. Tammy and I were married seven months later.
I worked at the cemetery for two years, then accepted the position of Assistant City Editor for BYU’s newspaper, The Daily Universe. The following semester I served as City Editor, and then graduated in April 1992.
Following graduation I took a job as a copy editor and headline writer with the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah, and it was a good experience. We lived in the suburb of Washington Terrace and made some good friends, and I grew close to some of the best and brightest co-workers I'd ever had. But Tammy and I both felt a yearning to have our children grow up near their grandparents.
One night my brothers told me that Springville’s cemetery sexton was going to retire. It felt like the timing was right to make a move, so I applied for the position and was hired. So I went from writing headlines to digging graves. It paid better, and allowed us to move back to Springville.
In late 1997, two years after I became the sexton, I was shoveling snow at the cemetery when I felt the prompting, “It’s time to write your books.” This came as a complete surprise to me. I’d written some family histories, but I’d never been able to come up with a plot for a book. But almost immediately after receiving the prompting, the entire plot of “An Errand for Emma” poured into my head. I wrote it within a few months, and it was published about a year after that initial prompting.
When it came time to write another book, I was undecided about the topic, but my prayers were answered one day as the plot to “Doug’s Dilemma” filled my head, as well as the plot for “Escape to Zion.” I’m very grateful for the hand of the Lord in this project, and I hope I’ve done an adequate job with the material I’ve been given.
I recently took the opportunity to become the manager of Access Computer Products’ Provo office. I was reluctant to leave the cemetery, but the change allows me to spend more time with my family. So that is my current occupation, along with my continued writing efforts.
Tammy and I now have five children -- Garth, Emma, Seth, Leah and Mark. We still live in Springville, and it will be interesting to see if our daughter Emma turns out anything like the character she inspired. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy your journey here!
