To escape (or perhaps in defiance of) her uncle’s wrath, Kristin accepts a job as the Sundbergs’ house girl, finding solace at the family’s spinning wheel and in Sam’s company.
As they grow closer and closer, Sam prays about a match between them. But opposition threatens to derail those prayers. Will they have the courage to stand up for themselves, their love and the truth – even against their own families?
WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE THREADS OF HOPE?
Years ago, I was in charge of our family reunion and my uncle sent me a family tree to put in with the stories people were telling about our great grandparents. Both came from Norway in the late 1890s. They were married in 1900 and I have the wedding ring Grandma Louisa wore. I began wondering what her life was like, coming to a new and strange country. Soon, I had the idea for Threads of Hope. While I didn’t use my grandparents’ names, I dedicated the story to their memory.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
I read authors like Sally Laity and all the Heartsong Presents authors, as I wrote for that line. I also enjoyed books by Robin Lee Hatcher and Francine Rivers, Louise Gouge and a name you don’t hear too often anymore, Elaine L. Schulte. Now I enjoy authors like Sally Laity, Loree Lough, Sandie Bricker, Debby Mayne, Miralee Ferrell, Susie Warren, Tracie Peterson, Mary Connealy and newcomer Liz Tolzma.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
My love for Jesus Christ actually influences every part of my writing. I try to think of my readers’ needs and address certain aspects in my books that I’ve learned in my own spiritual walk. Just as any believer, I have those times when I struggle. I question things. And there are areas in my life that still need the Master’s hand. I’m a work-in-progress. All this, combined with testimonies I’ve heard at church or online come together to weave my characters’ faith in my stories. If characters are not believers, I pull from the knowledge of having been there too, living a life filled with wrong thinking and selfish desires. I’m so glad I was rescued from it! Now, because of Christ, I have hope. And that’s really the theme in my book, Threads of Hope.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
I loved to write since I was a young girl. I wrote my first book in fourth grade, called Little Miss Mouse. As I matured, I enjoyed writing and literature in school. When I was a young mother in the early 1980s, I started reading secular romances. I read 3 to 4 books a week. It was then I decided I wanted to write for publication. I got my first rejection letter from Avon Books in 1986. Little did I know that God planned to turn me around and have me write for the Inspirational market. I was born again in 1991. My first book was published in 1994. I feel so blessed to still be writing books for the CBA! Not only do my stories affirm and encourage other Christians, but they get passed to unbelievers too who see faith in action in my stories. It’s very rewarding.
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
My heartfelt prayer is that those Christians who are struggling to make sense of things, like the death of a loved one or a divorce, will be encouraged and, perhaps, even gain a new perspective by reading my books. At the same time, my prayer for those readers who are unbelievers, but who are searching for The Truth, The Light, and The Way will find some seed, some morsel or crumb in my stories that will continue to lead them to the Lover of their Souls (and ours), Jesus Christ.