Reading is a dangerous sport, and writers are the most lethal masterminds on earth.
Ever been stabbed through the heart by a book? Or cried as you watched the lies you'd lived with burn, your worldview crumble, and your soul implode?
Facts may be the signposts pointing down the road called Truth, but story is the fiery chariot that carries you, captive and wide-eyed, down that road toward the place of Change. Changing first your emotions, then your thoughts, then, slowly and steadily, changing who you are, beginning in the most secret place of your soul. Unless, of course, they're the wrong stories. For good or bad, stories hold power over us, and so writers, authors, storytellers, screenwriters, and songwriters hold power over us. Don't believe me? Just take a nice close look at Hollywood. And in the words of one famous story character: "With great power comes great responsibility."
I try very hard not to take that responsibility lightly. I know how much and how often I'm influenced by the things I read or watch, and I'm more analytical and aware of it than most. I have three major goals when I write:
- To honor Jesus
- To create quality art
- To be both highly entertaining and highly thoughtful.
I want, simply, to create the kind of stories that have changed me.
Who I am...
I'm a country girl in love with fantasy. Sometimes that seems like an irreconcilable mix, loving to go barefoot and have my hands in the dirt, to cook and clean and make my house a home, but then to also be a starry-eyed dreamer who sees fairy tales in the fog and monsters in the moonlight. But somehow, it also seems like the most natural thing in the world.
I love life, and I love the realness of kneeling in the garden pulling weeds, the nerdiness of cooking up a new recipe, the girliness of crocheting a rag rug. I'm also a Christian. I believe in the supernatural, even if it's not something you can see or touch. There's so much wonder in the world. And writing fantasy is a way to bring all of that together for me. To share the feel of dirt and grit and a hard day's work, to capture an elusive moment of moonlit mist and fireflies and wonderment, to draw out a spiritual reality, maybe a single facet of the Gospel, and make it tangible in that peculiar way that only fantasy can.
Fantasy is able to make invisible truths visible. To bring a beautiful, intangible, elusive idea, and settle it in a way that it can become knowable. It's taking the wind and painting it colors.
So, faith, fantasy, and home-cooked goodness. Add a hubby that I adore, and two dogs that constantly either make me laugh or make me crazy, and a love of music that never seems to find the time to stretch its legs. Then throw in books. Lots and lots of books. And you've got little ol' me.
What I believe...
I try very hard not to preach in my books. If anything, I want the truth of love, sacrifice, and eternity to be all tangled up with the story and inseparable from it. I really, above all else, want my readers to feel the truth in the words-- to strike that resonant note that haunts your heart and makes you think. That gets you thinking, and then, just maybe, gets you hunting for where that truth and that resonance might lead you.
Let me talk about perception for a second. Each generation has its ideas, it's pervasive worldviews that are so widespread that they're accepted as truth. Take the people who were convinced that the world was flat. Or when sneezing was believed to be cause by evil spirits. Or when doctors didn't believe in washing their hands. In some societies, women are dogs, while in others, they're matriarchs. Some places, dogs are unclean, vs others where they eat them, vs others where's they're treated like children. Who is right? Not the flat-earthers, certainly. Our current Western thought has turned to Science and set it up as a god. And while we are learning some amazing things about the world, that doesn't mean that this, our generation in the West, is the end-all, know-all generation. There will be things that are discovered, disproved, and refuted in generations to come, just like there were in generations past. We don't know everything. Which is why theories of evolution, or fads of moral relativity don't really hold much weight with me. Our understanding of the world is imperfect, changing every single day. God's word is written, and won't change. God doesn't change. The truth doesn't change. One minute Pluto's a planet, then next it's not. The debate over evolution vs creation rages. People sell their souls for pleasure and find a world of heartache instead. But God doesn't change. Don't write off the Gospel just because that's what this generation has done. Because what if, like the flat earth folks, they're proved wrong? Believing the earth to be flat or not isn't particularly important in the light of eternity, but do you want to wager your soul on popular opinion, that God doesn't exist, that He didn't create the world, and that you won't be held accountable for every time you've sinned?
But of course, the story doesn't stop with humans messing up. Like every great story, there was a Hero that saved the day through love and sacrifice. And every person who trusts Him with their soul has hope! Which is why I LOVE writing about hope. And don't confuse my faith with my fantasy fiction. I love fantasy because it's a great way to put spiritual, hidden truth into a setting that can be visual, where it can be better grasped and understood for us science-minded modern Americans. But don't for a moment think that faith and fantasy are the same thing for me.
My inspiration comes from the Gospel, and my love of Jesus. I can promise you, even in the dark places, where my characters fall, where they are nothing more and nothing less than messed up humans, I will always write hope. Because that's what I've been given as I travel in and out of the dark places of my own life.
If you ever want to chat, or have more questions about this Gospel thing I've been going on about, I would LOVE to talk about Jesus, even more than stories. Send me a message, or leave a comment.
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