The Florida Christian Writers Conference was a major factor in helping to establish my writing career. It involved taking classes, meeting with editors and fellow writers, as well as getting manuscripts critiqued—ouch!
One day I hurried home to "show off" my first contract, displaying it on the kitchen table for everyone to see. I only needed to sign and return it to an editor at the conference.
Something distracted me as my children sat down to eat. A while later, I made a horrifying discovery. Among the dirty dishes, crumpled napkins and spills, was my first writing contract, smeared in spaghetti. Tears burned in my eyes as I imagined what a poor impression I would make, returning the contract in that condition. I handed it to the editor with an apology, fully expecting her to tear it up. Instead, she looked at me with a big smile. Turns out the mom of six understood completely and my writing career was on its way—fueled by spaghetti sauce.
What are your musical tastes? Do you write to music?
Although "soaking" worship music such as that of John Michael Talbot and Kimberly and Alberto Rivera, inspires me to write, I work best in undistracted silence. When this was hard to find in my busy home, I escaped to the blessed solitude of my bathroom and locked myself in to write for an hour or so each day. Hearing of this, a friend presented me with a 14-karat gold toilet brush charm, which she actually paid a jeweler to craft. To this day many years later, that bathroom still serves as my "writing retreat." Thankfully, our family has another down the hall.
I would board the "time machine" for my childhood and Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents' beautiful Victorian home on Staten Island, New York. Our extended family would gather in this spacious house with its four floors, grand stairway and five fireplaces. Seated around the dining room table, we'd feast on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, turnips, cranberries, pumpkin pie and more. These delights were accompanied by laughter and political banter, with one uncle arguing the liberal viewpoint and another uncle, the conservative. Best of all, I would not have to cook the meal, then clean up afterwards, as I do now.
Does your faith influence your writing and if so, in what way?
Absolutely. I think of the reader as a friend, sipping coffee or tea with me in a warm, welcoming kitchen, where I share my faith through the medium of story.
Name your top 5 favorite movies.
1. The Staircase with William Petersen and Barbara Hershey. (1998)
I love this movie about a miraculously built spiral staircase at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2. City of Angels with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. (1998)
Nicolas Cage did an outstanding job capturing the guilelessness of an angel, even though he did eventually "fall."
3. Spellbound: This 1945 classic with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, comes complete with a haunting musical theme.
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (2005)
Based on the enduring tale by C.S. Lewis, this movie expresses the potential "Narnia" inside every one of us.
5. Any of the Jurassic Park movies: Just because I'm fascinated by dinosaurs.
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