(1) What moment in your life, whether in your faith journey or writing career, inspired you to write the story featured in this anthology? How did God guide you during that process?
 

Interestingly enough, I wrote down the rough, brief outline for this story idea in 2017. Then I completely forgot about it and thought nothing of it again until I stumbled across it in my Google Docs earlier this year. It was a perfect starting point for me to try out for this anthology. I believe that the reason I didn’t write it back then was that I needed to write it now.

You see, Emilee is feeling burned out and has a serious case of writer’s block. Both of those things are things that I have experienced in a way that I don’t think that I could have brought the same feeling to if I had written it back then. 

Through the process of writing Emilee’s story and her healing, I experienced that myself. While I was writing her story, I was also shaping my own as well, but more about that later in another question.

 

(2) Writing can be a ministry in itself. How does your faith influence the way you craft your characters, including those who face deep struggles or life-changing moments?
 

Oh, I love this question! My faith has a big impact on the way my characters are crafted. I want my characters to feel like real people that the readers can relate to, even if they may not have been in the same scenario as the character. For me, I know that God makes a major difference in the lives of people, because I have seen what He can do. I want to bring that to life in the fictional world as well.

Do you mind if I seem to veer off track for a second? A teen fiction book by Melody Carlson is actually what led to my conversion when I was a Sophomore in high school. I picked up the book because the character was going through a similar situation to what I was in at the moment, but when the main character found salvation, I found myself wanting it to. That book led me to crave wanting to know more about Jesus. It made me chase after Him in a way that my heart hadn’t really known where to start before that.

So I want to do that. I want to write books that find people where they are in the moment and that shows that faith in God is something that can get us through! Because I know on a very personal level how fiction can impact a person’s life.

 

(3) Many Christian authors experience times of doubt or spiritual dryness. How does your faith sustain you through these difficult times, both personally and professionally, and how does this translate into stories you tell?
 

Moments of doubt or spiritual dryness can be a real threat to any Christian, and the Christian author is no different. It is certainly not an easy time, but we have to remember that He is with us, even if we can’t see it at the moment.

 

I feel that there are different things that I use to sustain myself through the difficult times. ​

• Of course, Scripture and spending time in His Word. 

• I also find God’s wisdom in the words of my family and friends, and how He uses their words to speak to me.

• Another is the reminder to myself that I can’t pour from an empty vessel. I tend to be the kind of person that in whatever I am doing I give it my all. While that is not a bad thing, sometimes I drain myself so dry and I don’t always “refill” like I should. That’s something that I feel is good to remember on a personal or professional basis. 

    I try to translate this onto the written page in character’s lives that end up facing very real situations where they discover how God is ultimately what sustains us and can get us through anything.

 

(4) If you could describe the impact you hope your readers walk away with after reading your story, what would it be? How does this reflect your own walk with Jesus?
 

I want to leave readers with a sense of God’s grace, His goodness, and what a difference He can make in our lives. I want them to walk away with the heart-knowledge that God is with them and that He is on their side. He wants to see them achieve the dreams that He has put on their hearts. I suppose these are things that I have learned through the years and try to remind myself of often, and I want to share that with others as well.

 

(5) What biblical lesson or Scripture has been a constant source of encouragement for you as an author, perhaps, especially when navigating the ups and downs of a writing career?
 

I have always found comfort and encouragement in Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
 

When I read this question and thought of this verse, I realized for the first time that it really does apply to being an author too. While putting my mind onto this verse of Scripture I can find encouragement that whether I’m going through an up or down moment, that things will still work out for good. I may not understand it at the moment, but I just have to trust in Him.

 

(6) Has there been a particular moment in your writing journey when you felt God's presence in a powerful or unexpected way? How did that shape your perspective as a believer and a writer?

 

I would have to say that I had several moments where God really showed during the writing and edits of Pages of Grace that readers can find in the Novelists in November anthology. I had moments, especially during certain scenes, where I was weeping as I listened to the worship playlist that I put together for the story and it was powerful! I guess that you could say that God put Emilee’s story on my heart to write, to help in the writing of my own.

 

(7) Do you have any specific prayer requests you would like readers to take to the Throne Room?

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Aww how kind of you. I would appreciate prayers about the current projects that I’m working on. At this point I have several in different parts of the process of coming into the lives of readers.