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From Steeple Hill Publishing

What do you love most about being a writer?
Bringing characters from my imagination to life.

What do you like least about being a writer?
Writing that first draft!

Do you have a favorite locale or setting for your novels? What is it and why is it your favorite?
No. Settings depend purely on the current inspiration for a story and its characters. It's where they happen to live in that time and space.

Which of the books you have written is your favorite?
Not one in particular. Each one consumes me at the time I'm writing it.

What is your favorite recent inspirational title by another author?
Shiloh Autumn by Bodie and Brock Thoene.

What are your five all-time favorite books?
The Lord of the Rings series (which I recently reread with and to my children) by J. R. R. Tolkien
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (Book One) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Star of Peace by Jan De Hartog

What one piece of advice would you give a would-be writer trying to kick-start a career?
Dream and write.

Briefly summarize how you began writing.
After putting aside my childhood dream of being a writer, I took it up again in my early 20s after college, when a college friend and I decided to jointly write an historical romance (one that we would like to read). She eventually got busy with other things, but I continued with the story and rediscovered my childhood ambition. I went on to write seven manuscripts before selling the seventh.

As a writer of inspirational fiction, what are your greatest goals?
To tell a story which not only depicts the love between a man and a woman, but also that greatest love story between the hero/heroine and Jesus Christ.

What gives you the most satisfaction in your job or family life?
As a stay-at-home, those days when I can actually feel "I've done something right!"

All about Me

Besides writing, what other talent would you most like to have?
To be a "people person."

Who is someone you admire and why?
Watchman Nee, one of those "heroes of the faith." He gave me much insight through his writings into the blood of Jesus and its atoning power.

Share one of your favorite indulgences with us.
Reading a good romance or watching one on TV.

What is the one thing you've always wanted to do but never had the courage to try?
Horseback riding… I'll get around to it eventually as part of researching a new story.

What quality do you most admire in a man?
Honesty.

If you weren't a writer, what would you be?
I can't imagine.

What quote or personal saying do you live by? Who said it?
"It's not about trying, but dying." — Watchman Nee

What is your favorite passage from Scripture?
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Do you have a favorite prayer?
Praying the Word; that is, basing my prayers on Scriptures, so I can know they're in the will of God.

What is your all-time favorite movie?
Casablanca, followed by Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as a close second.

What is your all-time favorite song?
There are many! "I Boast No More" by Caedmon's Call is definitely among them.

What is the loveliest gesture or gift you have received?
That day in December 1983, on the Sunday before Christmas, when the Lord made Himself real to me.

How do you like to spend your spare time?
Reading for fun (instead of for research purposes). Walking to the ocean, and drawing inspiration from it.