One of the coolest things about having this podcast is the opportunity to talk with authors, see what inspires them, discover how they fell in love with writing. Some people decided to write as a child. Others had a teacher who inspired them. But I’ve noticed one common thread despite the differences in original inspiration.
Every author has something to say. Some writers have a unique perspective, while others forge paths in directions no one has explored. There may be “nothing new under the sun;” however, authors often see the old in new ways.
What Does Christian Romance Offer That Readers Need?
In this week’s episode, I chat with author Sara Beth Williams about her books, how she started writing, what inspired her first Christian romance book, and more.
One of the greatest things we talked about was how so much secular fiction gets stuff backward. And in Christian fiction, we might deal with the gritty side of life, but even in all that, we see the emphasis on what is good and right even when people don’t get it right.
But first, Sara’s writing process.
This woman is amazing. Her books have approximately a DOZEN drafts. She tells us how she writes the emotionally charged scenes first, and then she writes in the rest of it. While she tries to keep those in order, she just writes them all and then creates an outline to help her fill in everything. Wow!
This reminded me a bit of Hallee Bridgeman’s “layer” system of writing.
Sarah Beth also writes a ton of backstory before she really gets going. I hope I convinced her to take all that backstory and write another story for newsletter subscribers, so you might want to head over to her WEBSITE and sign up in case she really does.
Oh, she’s going to be offering spots on her launch team (can you say FREE BOOK as I mentioned in THIS episode).
While she didn’t plan to write a Christian romance series, research showed it was a good idea, and what she’d already done set it up for one, so she created a Second Chance Novel series. All three books have titles with double meanings, and I LOVE that I caught it as I was reading.
Sara Beth’s books:
Her first book, When Hearts Collide, is not a Romeo and Juliet retelling, however, there are hints of undertones from that play in the book.
Guys, I’m in the middle of this book and I’m loving it.
Additionally, I saw parallels between this book and Tammy L. Gray’s, Mercy’s Embrace. So, if you enjoyed that book, you’ll probably love this!
Not only that, but her publisher, Anaiah Press has a bunch of their books on SALE right now, so you might want to dash over and get your copies. I’m going to get this book as a series. You can shop HERE.
Meanwhile, the second book in this Christian romance series, A Worthy Heart, is a Selah Award finalist. We’ll learn tomorrow if she wins. Praying for all the finalists today!!
The third book comes out in March of 2021, and it deals with mental health, grief, and of course, romance! 😀 She’s writing a lot of depth into this series without making it heavy, and I’m impressed.
Oh, and for a fun light read, she recommends Candee Fick!
When Hearts Collide is similar enough to Nicholas Sparks’ book, A Bend in the Road, that if you enjoyed that book, youll probably love Sara’s! 😀
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