Interview with Judy Christie

» Posted on Mar 1, 2011 in Blog | Comments Off on Interview with Judy Christie

This week I’m hosting Judy Christie with The Glory of Green, Gail Martin with A Dad of His Own, and Maureen Lang with Springtime of the Spirit. If you want to enter the drawings, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (March 6th) evening.

Interview of Judy Christie:

1. What made you start writing?

When I turned fifty, I promised myself I’d write the novel I’d wanted to write for years. “Gone to Green,” the first in the Green Series, was that book, written in 2007 and released in 2009.

2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

I’ve kept a journal since I was nine (I still have all of them), was the editor of my elementary school newspaper and have written one thing or another since. “Gone to Green” sold in 2008 with the launch of the inspirational fiction line for Abingdon Press. The first of my nonfiction “Hurry Less Worry Less” series was published in 2005.

3. How do you handle rejections?

By whining and crying on a friends’s shoulder! Rejections almost always make me wonder if I’m on the right path, but I’m an optimist at heart and believe things work out well in the end.

4. Why do you write?

I love putting words together and have all of these characters walking around in my brain! Most of all, I like to encourage readers to enjoy each day and hope my novels give people an idea or two about how to look at life more positively.

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

My “fun” list is mighty long and includes going to flea markets in search of primitive antiques, reading what other people have written and sitting in the porch swing. Almost every fun thing I do includes family and friends.

6. What are you working on right now? I can scarcely believe it, but I’m writing the fifth Green novel. In addition, “Rally Round Green,” book 4 in The Green Series, will be out this summer, and “Wreath,” my first Young Adult novel will be published by Barbour this fall.

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

My observations shape my stories, and some readers think Lois Barker, the main character in the Green Series, is a lot like me. The great thing about writing novels is you get to make stuff up and twist the details of life in all sorts of ways!

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

“The Glory of Green,” book 3 in the series set in the fictional town of Green, La., follows small-town newspaper owner Lois Barker as unexpected drama hits Green on her wedding day. Lois and her friends have lots of adventures ahead.

9. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Sit down and write. Decide what your No. 1 writing project is and make a timeline for finishing it. Remember that your voice and your perspective are unique. No one in the entire world can tell a story the same way you can.

10. How important is faith in your books?

Faith is vital in my daily life and in my writing. My life is shaped by my belief that God can do more than we can ask or imagine, and I try to express that in my books.

11. What themes do you like to write about?

I love to write about how characters change the world around them and how they are, in the process, changed themselves.

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

I get caught up in each story, and “The Glory of Green,” my new novel, makes me laugh and cry. I can’t wait to hear from readers about what happens in Green!

13. What is your writing schedule like?

Neurotic. ☺ I’ve used all the tried-and-true approaches to writing, but in the end, it usually comes down to blocking off a few days here and there and immersing myself in whatever book I’m writing.