WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION DRIVING THE STORY IN BABY BLESSINGS?
Sabrina, the main character in Baby Blessings, was the very unkind antagonist in my book, Shoebox Surprise. However, Sabrina had a reason for being so nasty. She didn’t know the Lord as her Savior, and she had a secret that caused her a lot of pain. I wanted to show Sabrina’s redemption in Baby Blessings, and I wanted to show that when we give ourselves, past, present, and future, to the Lord, that He blesses us by far more than we ever imagined.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE STORY WHERE YOU DREW ELEMENTS FROM REAL LIFE?
Well, Sabrina’s sister has a one-night stand in college and becomes pregnant. As much as it pains me, our society has become very desensitized to the seriousness of sex outside of marriage. As a result, many of our young people are making choices that will have life-altering consequences. Sabrina’s sister’s life is forever changed in the story.
Additionally, Sabrina’s parents want their daughter to have an abortion. They are an elite family in their community and do not want their daughter to have a child before she has finished college and married. The situation becomes a real struggle because Sabrina’s sister, who is a new Christian, refuses to abort the baby. Her parents refuse to financially help her, and Sabrina becomes her sister’s means of support.
IN BABY BLESSINGS, WHO IS THE CHARACTER IN THIS STORY WHO SURPRISED YOU MOST?
Probably the father of Sabrina’s sister’s baby. I don’t want to say more than that. Read the book! 🙂
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
I just finished a story entitled, A Family Reunited. The hero and heroine are married, but have been separated for years because of the hero’s alcoholism. When he becomes a Christian and changes his life, he determines to reunite his family. I really enjoyed writing the book. It deals a lot with redemption and grace, and my heart was pulled for both the hero and heroine. I don’t want to be the person who walks away from my family because of addiction, and I don’t want to be the one who is asked to welcome back a changed addictive spouse. A lot of emotion went into the story, but I’m glad each character was able to tell his and her story. In the next few months, I will be writing the heroine’s brother’s story. Very excited about it. 🙂
WHAT DO YOU HOPE READERS GET OUT OF YOUR WORK?
For each of my stories, my hope is that my readers will grow closer to the Lord. Each of us struggles with day-to-day life. My characters also struggle with real life things. Wrong choices. When others hurt us. When the unexpected happens. All of those things happen in our lives. As a Christian, we can turn to One who knows every temptation we’ll ever have, Who has hurt in every way we can imagine. We can turn to Him for comfort, grace, and relief. My goal in every single book is for my fellow Christians (and me) to learn to lean on and love God more.