Last week Ginny was supposed to be on my blog, but because of unforeseen circumstances, she couldn’t get her interview to me in time. I’m privilege to offer the interview this week and I will continue the drawing of Ginny’s Words started last week. This drawing will end when the others this week end–February 13th. Remember I need your email address to enter you in the drawing.
Blurb for Words by Ginny Yttrup:
“I collect words. I keep them in a box in my mind. I’d like to keep them in a real box, something pretty, maybe a shoe box covered with flowered wrapping paper. Whenever I wanted, I’d open the box and pick up the papers, reading and feeling the words all at once. Then I could hide the box. But the words are safer in my mind. There, he can’t take them.”/ Ten-year old Kaylee Wren doesn’t speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods-in the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only memento her mother left behind: a dictionary. Sierra Dawn is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her past to silence her present hopes and chooses to bury her pain by trying to control her circumstances. But on the twelfth anniversary of her daughter’s death, Sierra’s control begins to crumble as the God of her childhood woos her back to Himself. Brought together by Divine design, Kaylee and Sierra will discover together the healing mercy of the Word-Jesus Christ.
Interview with Ginny Yttrup:
*1.What made you start writing?*
I’ve been an avid reader all my life and love putting words together. As a mom of toddlers many years ago, I told God that someday I’d love to be a writer. Soon after that conversation with God, I attended my first writers conference and was hooked.
*2.How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?*
I’ve been writing for about fifteen years. I began writing devotionals and magazine articles and then thought I’d write non-fiction, although my passion was always fiction. But writing fiction intimidated me, so I didn’t try it for a long time. When I did finally sell my first book, a year ago January, it was a novel.
*3.How do you handle rejections?*
I believe God is sovereign and everything happens in His timing and within His will. That helps me deal with rejection. If my writing is rejected, then I believe whatever route I was pursuing wasn’t part of God’s plan for me. I still feel disappointment, but there’s a peace that comes along with it.
*4.Why do you write?*
Writing is a way of expressing the emotions that swirl within and a way of sharing lessons I’ve learned about God. By sharing those emotions and lessons through the medium of story, I believe others can enter the story and then relate to or apply the lessons to their own lives.
*5.What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?*
Reading, reading, and reading!
*6.What are you working on right now?*
I’ve just finished my second novel and am beginning to develop ideas for my third novel and beyond. I’m following trails of ideas and seeing if they lead anywhere. I love this stage where everything is a possibility.
*7.Do you put yourself into your books/characters?*
I tend to write character driven stories that focus on the character’s feelings and lessons. And most of those experiences come from my own life. The circumstances are different, but the basic emotional response is often straight from my life.
*8.Tell us about the book you have out right now.*
My debut novel, Words, released February 1. Words is the story of ten year old Kaylee who, because of the trauma she suffers at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, has stopped speaking. It’s also the story of thirty four year old Sierra who has allowed the shame of her past to silence her future hopes. Brought together by Divine design, Kaylee and Sierra begin to experience the freedom found in the truth, Jesus Christ.
*9.Do you have any advice for other writers?*
My only advice comes from my own journey. After years of pursuing publication, I finally fully surrendered my writing to God and told Him I’d write simply as an act of worship. Once, I surrendered, writing became a joy and there was no longer the pressure to pursue publication. I became more attentive to what I felt God was calling me to write, and less concerned with what was marketable. I think it’s important that as writers we understand that publication doesn’t add value to who we are. It doesn’t define us in any way. Our significance is found in our relationship with God.
*10. How important is faith in your books?*
My faith in God and my relationship with Jesus Christ is the foundation of my life and the foundation of my books.
*11. What themes do you like to write about?*
I write about the freedom found in the truth, Jesus Christ.
*12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?*
Well, I’ve only written two so far so it’s an easy choice! I think that first book, Words, will always hold a special place in my heart. It speaks to the topic of childhood sexual abuse, a tough topic, but it comes out of my own history. My prayer is that it will be a vessel God uses to touch many lives with His healing. For that reason, I think Words will remain my favorite.
*13. What is your writing schedule like?*
It’s all or nothing! I’m either fully immersed in writing, or I’m focused on something else. I’m attempting to achieve a little more balance as I embark on my third book. When I’m nearing a writing deadline, I set a daily word count goal for myself and then typically adjust that goal daily. It’s very fluid. If I only write 1,000 words one day, then I know I need to write 3,000 words the next day. If I write 5,000 words one day, I still have to meet my goal the following day…or at least try to. It all becomes a mind game and the reward on a good writing day is chocolate, of course!