Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the honor of interviewing Deb DeArmond, who is sharing about her latest book—which is for writers!
Welcome, Deb! Please tell us about your book, The Write Calling: Encouragement for the Writer’s Heart.
Practical direction and instruction. The work highlights connection, encouragement, tips, and practical insight to equip us to stay the course, which is ultimately priceless. Written by nine authors who have navigated the process well with a total of 20 books published. Our goal for The Write Calling is simple: for readers to discover “encouragement for the writer’s heart” – which is the subtitle!
Wonderful! What inspired you to write this book?
“Writing is hard work. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is.” – William Zinsser.
Our goal for this book is simple: to support Christian writers at all levels to actively pursue the mission they believe God calls them to fulfill. To encourage, educate, and engage aspiring authors in the process of transferring the words they carry in their hearts to the written page.
We wanted to dedicate a work solely focused on helping writers successfully manage the challenges and offer methods to defy the naysayers and publish!
What surprised you the most during the research or writing of your book?
The creative number of ways our team wrote on how to deal with the same writing issue. We didn’t all respond to remedy the problem or challenge in the same way. But each came through with successful methods, tips, hints, and practices to share with readers and allow them to move beyond the barriers.
Sounds like a much-needed book. What do you hope readers will take away from it?
Most writers are challenged at times. Continue to learn; don’t settle for the “lock and load” approach to every book. Subject your work to feedback (vs. critique) which provides insight to improve!
When did you first recognize God’s call to write for Him?
I raised three sons and am blessed with amazing daughters-in-love. Women wanted to know how I got lucky – “not once, twice, but three times.” I shared my stories and discovered the Lord led me on a different path to peace with my DILs than moms who competed for “first place” in their sons’ lives. I felt led to share what God had taught me and invited my son’s wives to help me tell our story. I was blessed with an agent who believed in my work and relentlessly pursued publication. I thought Related by Chance, Family by Choice would be my only book. God had other plans!
I love how God works! What is one thing about writing that you wish non-writers knew?
It’s the most frustrating, wonderful, discouraging, demanding, and incredible life I never saw coming. Regularly, I hear the words, “I want to write a book someday.” When I ask, “What’s it about?” the frequent reply is, “I don’t know, but someday I want to see a book on the bookstore shelf with my name on it.” If they only knew.
It’s all worth it because of our readers—do you have any touching reader moments to share?
My first nonfiction book was about the relationship between moms and the girls who marry their sons: the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law challenge. A woman I’d never met emailed me and said, “Your book saved my family. Thank you. I thought my daughter-in-law was the problem. I was wrong. It was me.”
Do you have a “day job” or a previous career? Does it influence what or how you write?
For nearly 30 years I worked as a corporate training professional, 20 of those years in my own company. From the executive level to the front line, I trained teams all over the world to support their company goals and work together effectively. Met amazing folks and traveled on someone else’s dime. As a nonfiction writer, many of the concepts and skills I used to achieve goals as a corporate trainer I use as a writer. They help me learn what works, adapt when possible, and acknowledge when to throw it out if it’s not working.
Do you have pets and do they inspire your writing or hinder it?
We are dog lovers and owned many who became family. But our current cutie owns us. Lily came to us at six weeks and is now seven years old. She’s a good traveler and we don’t go if she can’t come! We can’t explain the magic this dog brings into our home and it’s rather embarrassing how much we love her. If I’m blocked in the writing process, we walk together.
Walking is the best cure for writer’s block! Tell us about your favorite library memory.
My dad kept his shoe store open until nine every Friday night. Somewhere about 6 pm, Mom and I would have a light snack and head to the library. We’d peruse the shelves, find a quiet corner table, and read until time to meet up with Dad. I learned to love books in that small-town hideaway.
How delightful! What are you working on now? Please tell us about your next project.
Something out of the box for me – a novel. Working title: Taking the Long Way Home. It’s the story of a young bride who marries a man with a difficult mama who announces she will never accept her son’s wife. The two women are far more alike than they realize: both have suffered great personal loss in life. The young bride is desperate for the family she’d never known. Her mother-in-law believes she must control every situation and circumstance to protect her family and avoid additional trauma. Finding their way to peace requires the women to work together – or the family they love will never survive.
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Deb!
Writing for Him,
Sarah Sundin
Sarah’s website: www.sarahsundin.com