Atlanta reporter Toni Shields will do whatever it takes to get a good story and Adam Bayne knows it after watching her take on the cops when she gets caught where she doesn’t belong. That’s why he’s not letting her anywhere near his boys at Jacob House, a rehab center for young men. But Toni does NOT take “no” for an answer and, after watching her genuine and helpful interactions with a troubled teen, Adam’s not feeling quite so bad for letting her get her way. But Toni and Adam each have their own troubled pasts and those pasts are threatening to derail their possible future together.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR ONE WAY OR ANOTHER?
A couple years ago I was attending a youth event where a young man gave a testimony about how he walked away from God as a teenager, got involved in a lot of criminal activity, but eventually came back to Christ in his adolescent years. The story he told of the consequences to his actions not only while he was involved in illegal activity, but even after he came back to God inspired me to write One Way or Another.
WHO ARE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRE YOU?
I absolutely love the classics and am a huge fan Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, so their work inspires me to some extent. But I also like a lot of contemporary authors like Marilynn Griffith, and Michele Andrea Bowen. And because I read it daily, the Bible is a major source of inspiration for me – particularly the Old Testament. I love how stories are told there.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
My faith is of central importance to my life and it holds me accountable in all areas, including my writing. I always want to write a story that is intriguing for readers, but it must also have a message that will open their minds to Christ. If some element or aspect of my writing is not serving God’s purpose, then it cannot serve my purpose either and it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
I don’t think I really ever thought if it as wanting to be an author. I knew since I was about ten years old that I wanted to write. I remember reading a book (the name of which I can’t remember now) and thinking, “I could write this.” But where I grew up, being a published author wasn’t even a consideration and so I think I was just content to write stories because I enjoyed doing it. It was only in my early twenties, after moving to another country, that it occurred to me that I could be a published author. That’s when I set to work on my first book length project, Man Enough For Me, which was eventually published in March 2011.
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
I want my readers to realize that God wants to be a part of their everyday lives – that He is not just interested in the directly spiritual aspects of our lives, but in every aspect of our lives. I want them to see that God is not just about us going to church, but about us having a relationship with Him; the kind of relationship that can bring healing, happiness and success to all areas of our lives.