Therese Stenzel’s interview

» Posted on Sep 11, 2008 in Blog | Comments Off on Therese Stenzel’s interview

If you want to enter the drawing for a copy of Therese’s story, An English Bride Goes West in the book A Bride by Christmas (4 stories in one book!), please leave a comment with your email addy or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawing ends Sunday evening.

1.What made you start writing?

I was offered a teaching position at Oral Roberts University and I said no because I was going to be a writer. There had been this story buzzing around my head for months so that rejected offer made me sit down and write the story-all 100,000 words of it and I had no idea how to write!

2.How long have you been writing?

Seven years non-fiction, five years fiction which produced four full length historicals and two novellas

When did you sell your first book?

Signed contract Sept 07 the book came out Sept 08

3.How do you handle rejections?

I get discouraged at first but I find if I don’t write I get depressed—God is serious about this calling He’s placed on me! Over time, I noticed the rejection letters were getting more specific and offering feedback so that encouraged me

4.Why do you write?

Because I feel God has called me to be a writer

5.What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?

Shopping! I’m seriously addicted to the TV show, What Not To Wear and I love fashion and finding clothes that work for me—and I just found my dress for the ACFW awards banquet—wahoo!

6. What are you working on right now?

Rewriting a Scottish historical that I love.

7.Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

I don’t intend to but I’m sure the character’s reactions—fear, anxiety, folding into the fetal position come from my inability to handle stress—why use logic when you can go straight to panic?

8.Tell us about the book you have out right now.

It is an anthology, titled, A Bride By Christmas. My novella is An English Bride Goes West four individuals must become a bride or find a bride by Christmas to avoid dire, and I mean DIRE circumstances

9.Do you have any advice for other writers?

Get connected to other writers, and sit down and write. (John Grisham has a sign over his desk Butt To Chair)

10.How important is faith in your books?

Very important. It is one of the areas I try to show how the characters grow and it tends to be a theme that God is working on me as well

11. What themes do you like to write about?

I love marriage of convenience stories. I love the challenge of making them plausible.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?

I loved writing my turn-of-the-century British East Africa book titled, Blue Africa because the heroine was very comical—especially since she spent half the book trying to pass herself off as her brother.

13. What is your writing schedule like?

I write during the day while my three kids are in school. On the weekends it’s impossible.