Bob Hostetler on bedtime stories
Bob Hostetler is an author, speaker, and literary agent whose fifty books include Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (coauthored with Josh McDowell) and The Bard and the Bible (A Shakespeare Devotional). He lives in southwest Ohio.
Tell us about your newest book.
Don’t Close Your Eyes is a silly rhyming bedtime book. I have long been a lover and reader of children’s books and have read hundreds to my children and grandchildren. So I thought it would be fun to try using reverse psychology and the power of suggestion to coax children to sleep win the most entertaining way. And the illustrations, by Mark Chambers, enhance that purpose beautifully.
What genre do you focus on and why?
Focus? What’s that? I write fiction and nonfiction, devotionals, and ministry helps, from How to Survive the End of the World to the historical novels, Northkill and The Return (based on events in my Amish family’s history).
Why do you write? What drives you?
I can’t NOT write. Sometimes I’m not even sure what I think until it flows from my mind through my fingers and onto a screen or page. Writing is a big part of how I think and process and express myself.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Don’t Close Your Eyes is a series of quatrains an adult reads to a child, so I guess the main character is the child—though the delightful illustrations feature animal families (owls, squirrels, rabbits, etc.), so they play a part too.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
I ease into my writing days, praying and reading and doing busywork (email, paying bills, writing short pieces, etc.) before getting into the day’s writing tasks. Usually by mid-afternoon I’m in the zone and, if it’s going well, at the keyboard until 5 or 6. Those are the good days. The not-so-good days….well, let’s not talk about them.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
The money. Seriously, it’s not the easiest way to make a living.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
I get to do what I love. I get to play with words. I get to dig into the Word. I get to rub shoulders with writers and readers. I get to talk about words and books and God and His Word and writers and readers.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
I was once in a pitch meeting with a major publisher, passionately describing a novel idea that was going to be a bestseller, for sure. But the editor’s countenance kept falling, lower and lower, until he finally stopped me and said, “I hate to tell you this, but that story is already half written. By [a well-known author].” Who had pitched virtually the same storyline about six months earlier.
What are you most proud of?
My humility.
What is your favorite pastime?
Reading. Duh. I usually read 100 or so books a year. But I also like hiking, seeing the Cincinnati Reds play, and enjoying weekly dates with my lovely wife.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Thanks for asking. Most are listed on the “books” section of my website, from The Red Letter Life and The Red Letter Prayer Life to The Bone Box and Life Stinks…And Then You Die.
What are you working on now?
Lots. I hope to finish a new proposal on ancient values and practices that can draw us closer to God today…if we’ll take even just a few steps in those directions.
Website: www.bobhostetler.com
Link to book: https://www.thomasnelson.com/9781400209651/dont-close-your-eyes/
Brandy Bruce on disappointment
Brandy Bruce is a writer, a book editor, a mom, a wife, and someone who really loves dessert! She’s the author of the award-winning novel The Last Summer, Looks Like Love, After the Rain, and The Romano Family Collection. Brandy, her husband, and their children make their home in Virginia.
Tell us about your newest book.
My newest novel is titled After the Rain and releases February 4th! I’m so excited about it. This novel is a follow-up novel to my last release, The Last Summer, but it can stand alone. It’s a picture of what it looks like when someone faces a devastating life disappointment and maybe can’t move on without help. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered, What do I do now?
What genre do you focus on and why?
I write inspirational women’s fiction with a heavy dose of romance. And really, I guess I write in that genre because those are the kinds of stories that have come to me so far. I enjoy stories that are female-character-driven, and who doesn’t like a good love story? I’m open to writing in other genres if I get an idea for a story I can’t let go of.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I’ve been writing since I was about twelve years old. It stemmed from my love of reading. I’d read stories and want to create my own. The love for it is just who I am. I’ve been a book lover ever since I can remember, even when my mother would read picture books or children’s stories to me.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
My main character is a woman named Debra Hart. The name came to me years and years ago, when I first got the idea for The Last Summer. That novel is centered around seven friends. All seven of those characters came to me almost at once. Each was important to the story from the very beginning. Only two of the names of that group changed over time, as I wrote and rewrote the story. Debra wasn’t one of them. This character has always been Debra.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
I have three kids so life can be busy! And I work as a freelance editor, so when I have a project, my own writing has to wait. But when there’s time and I have a good idea, I like to write whenever I can. After the kids go to bed. Mid-morning when my youngest is watching cartoons. Whenever!
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
Finding inspiration to write and battling insecurity over whether what you’re writing is any good.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
Seeing your words in print. There’s nothing like it.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
I was checking reviews online once for The Last Summer and saw a review from another author I’ve never met, but I love her books. That was crazy awesome.
What is your favorite pastime?
Binge-watching TV shows with my husband!
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes! I’ve mentioned The Last Summer. I also have a three-book series repackaged into The Romano Family Collection. Those are foodie novels, with a side of romance. And my first novel is available as well on Amazon, it’s titled Looks Like Love and remains my favorite!
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m just working on promoting After the Rain. I have an idea for a novel but I’m waiting for real inspiration to hit!
Https://authorbrandybruce.com
https://brandybruce.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/BrandyBruce
Instagram: @ALittleBitofBrandy
https://www.facebook.com/authorBrandyBruce/
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James Watkins on the psalms
Jim is an award-winning author of over twenty books and 2,000 articles, who has spoken across the United States and overseas. He has served as an editor and editorial director at Wesleyan Publishing House, an editor with the American Bible Society, taught writing at Taylor University for 15 years, and has guest-lectured at Liberty, Regent and other universities. He is currently writing and speaking full-time as well as editing for ACW Press and other clients. His most important roles, however, are being a child of God, husband, dad and “papaw.”
Tell us about your newest book.
The title is almost as along as the book. The Psalms of Asaph: Struggling with Unanswered Prayer, Unfulfilled Promises, and Unpunished Evil. The writer of Psalms 50 and 73-83 watched the glorious rise Israel and the building of the magnificent Temple as well as the moral collapse and complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. His writing is filled with raw, honest anguish as he struggled with unanswered prayer, unfulfilled promises, and unpunished evil. Not unlike we do today.
What genre do you focus on and why?
From high school journalism class to grad school courses, “Write tight” was pounded into my little brain. So, I have written a few short stories, but when I attempted a novel, I was done in ninety pages—and that was after I threw in a car chase. So, 99 percent of my writing has been nonfiction with lots of humor.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I’m not sure of the deep, dark subconscious drives that make me a writer, but I simply cannot not write. I feel like the prophet Jeremiah who wrote, “If I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” I believe it’s God’s Spirit that motivates me to share, as my tag line describes, “hope and humor.”
What does a day in your writing world look like?
Generally, I try to spend an hour or so with Scripture, devotional reading and journaling, then devote the rest of the morning to serious writing. After three or four hours, my mind turns to Silly Putty, so I get an afternoon nap, then use the rest of the day on writing that doesn’t require intensity or creativity like email, social networking, website maintenance.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
Writing.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
Having written. That and the joy of receiving feedback of how my writing has effected readers. An email from a young woman made writing on suicide so very worth it: “Thank you for saving my life.”
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
Probably writing two books on death. The research included watching an embalming, watching people die, and going to a goth teen’s funeral. That was a long ten months!
What are you most proud of?
That my adult children know Christ and are in full-time ministry. As far as writing, I have several book and editing awards, but the absolute best affirmation was a note I found on the podium where I was speaking. “Jim, we can see Jesus in you.” No better compliment!
What is your favorite pastime?
Probably being a news junky.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
I actually have had twenty-plus books published. Your readers can go to www.jameswatkins.comand click on the BOOKS tab for free excerpts from them.
What are you working on now?
I’m between books right now. Letting my brain cool off. My agent is pitching a sequel to my modernization of Thomas a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ which will be called Intimacy with Christ.
Website: jameswatkins.com
Link to book: jameswatkins.com/asaph/
Social media links: facebook.com/ipastor52
Instagram @jameswatkinsauthor
Sandra Glahn on coffee cup devotions
Dr. Sandra Glahn is interim chair and associate professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author or coauthor of more than twenty-five books, including eleven titles in the Coffee Cup Bible Study series and the Christy Award finalist Lethal Harvest.
Tell us about your newest book.
Earl Grey with Ephesians is the newest title in the Coffee Cup Bible Study series. Each book in the series includes the text of the biblical book or section to be studied; interesting background info; art, history, and music connections; and a focus on the women in the book’s original audience who would have heard it read. Coffee Cup studies can be used alone for personal devotions or as part of group discussion—which is why some, including Earl Grey with Ephesians,come with a leaders’ guide.
What genre do you focus on and why?
I love writing both fiction and non-fiction, but for the past few years I have focused on non-fiction, with a special emphasis in biblical studies. Women increasingly want studies that take into account a variety of learning styles (not everyone does well with a lecture format), and they’re also interested in women of the Bible and Bible times.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I love to write. And I’ve found when it comes to biblical content that writing helps me clarify what I believe. Someone once asked Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) if her faith influences her writing, and she said it’s the other way around—her writing influences her faith. The same is true for me. If my prose lacks clarity, it’s usually because I myself have some fuzziness in my thinking, so I have to go back to the text and ask the Spirit to guide me as I dig more deeply.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
I try to start the day with Bible study—rather than only a devotional. I work to get a steady diet of the straight-up text, not a commentary about the text.
I’m a professor in a theological seminary, so part of my job is training the next generation of writers (I may be one of the few people on earth who will admit to loving Millennials). Often I teach class in the afternoon or evening. And since I’m filling in for my boss, who is on sabbatical this year, I attend a lot of morning meetings. Mornings are my best writing hours, so this year I’m having to get out of my comfort zone and write in the evenings. I also guard my one day off from doing any work—Saturday evening to Sunday evening, usually. That space for down time in my life is key to both my sanity and my creativity. Evenings I can be found binge-watching Madam Secretary.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
It’s easy to let the writing get pushed to the margins as email takes over my in-box. And I need to run a family member to a doctor appointment. Or visit an aging parent. Or get to the gym. Or answer “will you read this for me and give me feedback, please?” from a stranger. (Even if I say no, I have to reply.) I work best with large segments of time, but I rarely have the luxury of large blocks.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
I love the flexible hours and spaces of writing. If I wake up at 3 am with an idea, I can write. If I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Italy, I can do my work. I can write in my jammies. I can work from a hospital bed. I can do work I love virtually anywhere in the world that has electricity and internet access—once in a boat in the Galapagos Islands, where my father-in-law wanted to take a bucket-list trip. I could write when I stayed home with a young child, and God willing, I can still write when I’m old and frail.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
My craziest experience as an author was spending the night in a Bedouin tent in Jordan as part of a press junket for the Jordan Ministry of Tourism. That experience helped me understand how Laban could pass off Leah as her sister and how Jael could wield a peg without being caught. Even the next day in the middle of sun-baked desert daylight, I could not see my hand in front of my face standing in that black-wool woven tent. I also realized a snake could have spent the night in that tent with me, and I’d never know.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the writers I’ve mentored. They write about God’s heart for immigrants, sex-abuse recovery, and spiritual-abuse recovery, book reviews, faith-filled parenting, and women of the Bible we’ve wrongly vilified like Bathsheba and Vashti and Rahab. The list goes on. I love to write my own stuff, but watching former students help shape the lives of those I could never reach brings such joy!
What is your favorite pastime?
I love reading classic works, from Dostoevsky to Dickens, Cowper to Cather. So many stories, so little time. I also love some newer authors such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Marilynne Robinson who masterfully weave in faith themes without using religion gratuitously.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes! I mentioned Lethal Harvest (Kregel).I also wrote a couple of books on infertility and pregnancy loss (When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden [Kregel]; The Infertility Companion[Zondervan]) and one for married couples—Sexual Intimacy in Marriage (Kregel), due out soon in its fourth edition. My most recent novel was Informed Consent (Cook). And I especially love my non-fiction compilation, Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible (Kregel Academic). Profits on the latter benefit the International Justice Mission. The book was released last year in the height of #MeToo and #ChurchToo, even though we’ve been working on it for ten years. It was thrilling to see God use the work of sixteen scholars to help readers revisit the stories of a select group of women whose old, old stories we needed to see through fresh eyes.
What are you working on now?
I co-teach a seminary course on sexual ethics that looks at gender issues (e.g., male/female norms and stereotypes, LGBT issues, trans-sexuality), porn, and all sorts of other challenges related to life in the body that ministry leaders need to better understand. I’m working as a general editor on that compilation, with each chapter written by someone whose expertise lies in the subject of the chapter. So I’m more curator than writer—though some writers do need more help with prose than others.
Website: www.aspire2.com
Social media links:
Twitter: @SandraGlahn
FB: https://www.facebook.com/aspire2/
Julie Cosgrove on family trees
Besides being an award-winning novelist of twelve books, Julie is also a digital missionary with CRU’s The Life Project as an editor and writer. Her own blog, Where Did You Find God Today has readership in over 50 countries.
Tell us about your newest book.
One Leaf Too Many is the first book in the Relatively Seeking Mysteries series. Bailey Edwards becomes interested in genealogy after studying the “begats” in Matthew’s gospel. She discovers hidden photos of a girl who resembles her in her grandmother’s photo albums. Determined to find out who she is, Bailey and her friends begin to reveal a family secret that has been buried for over fifty years. Did Bailey turn over one leaf too many on her family tree?
What genre do you focus on and why?
I write suspense and mystery because I personally love that genre myself. People cock an eyebrow when I mention mystery and Christian fiction in the same breath. But mysteries are about discovering justice and truth, good over evil, confession, and involve forgiveness and redemption.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I honestly believe He has given me this talent and wants me to use it for His glory. Whether it provides clean entertainment alternatives, actually helps readers along the path to accept Christ as their Savior, or deepens a believer’s faith, is up to Him. I just know I get an itch to write, and I totally enjoy it. He has established this passion in me.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Bailey Edwards is the main character and I honestly do not know why. In my head she seemed like a Bailey because she is modern but from a blue-blood family.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
I carve out time to write fiction because most of my day is spent in editing for twenty six other writers of devotionals or calling out in the Christian community for writers of articles as well as writing devotionals for not only CRU but several other publications and my own blog. But I always meet my deadlines for both nonfiction and fiction.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
The hardest part is marketing. It is so hard to sell copies, whether ebook or paperback, because the market is flooded with so many books—some traditionally published, some self-pubbed by established authors, and then a whole lot by people who have not taken the time to study and learn the craft. Their poor writing and slashed prices hurt all of us.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
Creating my characters and plot twists is the best part, but I have to admit when I see five-star reviews, or someone tells me they read one of my books and loved it, it does warm my heart.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?
I haven’t experienced too many crazy things, actually. I guess being in a lockdown for several hours while a gunman was on the loose, which of course I ended up incorporating into a plot for another cozy series, would be an example. We authors are always looking for unique plot twists for our novels.
What are you most proud of?
Winning Best Texas Inspirational author and Best Cozy set in Texas by the Texas Association of Authors. Also being and INSPY and GRACE award finalist. It’s nice it get recognition. But I gleam from the inside out when someone tells me what I write has brought them deeper in their faith. All praise and glory to Him who put the words in my head. It is such a humble honor.
What is your favorite pastime?
Reading and watching clean mysteries, especially British ones. Also playing word games.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes, twelve novels and six non fiction, all faith-based. You can peruse them on my website www.juliebcosgrove.com.
What are you working on now? Book Two – Fallen Leaf is now at the editors. It comes out May 7, 2019. I am beginning Book Three – Leaf Me Alone over the holidays.
Website: http://www.juliebcosgrove.com
Link to book: https://amzn.to/2OFXfRU
Social media links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliebcosgrove.tx
Twitter: @JulieBCosgrove
Amazon Authors: https://www.amazon.com/Julie-B-Cosgrove/
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2E6ebfi
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebcosgrove/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosgrove_julie_b/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/juliebcosgrove/
Michelle S. Lazurek on “This is Us” TV show
Michelle S. Lazurek is an award-winning author, speaker, pastor’s wife and mother. Winner of the Golden Scroll Children’s Book of the Year, the Enduring Light Silver Medal and the Maxwell Award, she is a member of the Christian Author’s Network and the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She is also an associate literary agent with Wordwise Media Services.
Tell us about your newest book.
My newest book called, This is Us: what the hit TV Show Teaches us about Faith Hope and Life is based upon the hit TV show This is Us. In the book, I compare the biblical themes/characters in the show to the themes/people in the Bible. My hope is to help Christians view the Bible through the lens of their TV screens and learn how to interact with culture in a biblical way.
What genre do you focus on and why?
I write non-fiction and children’s fiction. I specialize in giving a fresh spin on biblical topics.
Why do you write? What drives you?
I felt a calling and self-published my first book in 2011. Hearing from others that I have helped them to see the Bible and perhaps their lives in a new way is what wakes me up in the morning.
What does a day in your writing world look like?
I keep regular hours, treating it like a full -time job. After my kids get on the bus and I get ready for the day, I begin writing. I write articles for crosswalk.com and ibeleive.com, write movie reviews for Movieguide, and work as a literary agent for Wordwise Media services. I try to stop when my kids get off the school bus, but not all the time.
What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?
Writing is hard work! I make little money for what I do. I have a hard time sometimes justifying not getting paid (or getting paid little) for what I do.
What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?
Getting an email from someone who read my work and felt heard or changed their thinking, or better yet, their actions, based on what I wrote is so fulfilling.
What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author? One of my articles about the Fifty Shades of Gray movie went viral. To see it being shared by friends and friends of friends was something I never thought would happen to me.
What are you most proud of?
I write with integrity and authenticity. I think people can relate and my work is something unique I bring to the writing world.
What is your favorite pastime?
Reading, taking a walk, watching TV or movies,
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes! I have nine other books. Becoming the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from Rocky Balboa, The Ripple Effect, Daddy, Am I Beautiful, Mommy, Am I Strong?, An Invitation to the Table: Embracing the Gift of Hospitality, Righteous and Lost: Finding Hope for the Pharisee Within, Uniquely You, andDancing with Nana. I also co-wrote one novel: Between Combat and the Cross
What are you working on now?
I have two children’s books that are being shopped around with my agent.
Website:www.michellelazurek.com
Social media links:https://www.facebook.com/mslazurek?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @mslazurek
Instagram: Michelle S. Lazurek