You know her as a best-selling author. I'm fortunate to call her my dear, dear friend, Kimberley Woodhouse. Kim and I met in Colorado Springs back in the fall of 2010. My husband had just deployed, and she adopted me into her family after our first meeting. Kim has done more to shape me as a writer than anyone else. I know I wouldn't be published today without her help and introductions to people within the Christian publishing world. It's my joy to feature her as a guest here so you can get to know her just a little better.
Fast Five:
Coffee or tea? Neither – I had kidney surgery and now have to stay away from both! Sad day.
Morning person or night owl? Both. I know. That’s weird. But I can do either one.
Cashews or mixed nuts? Cashews
Planner or go-with-the-flow? Planner
Curling iron or flat iron? Flat iron.
But seriously…
How did you get into writing? I started writing when one of my babies was sick and I didn’t know what to do with all the stories and creative energy in my head. A few years later, no one knew I was writing and a friend found some manuscripts. She threatened my life and told me I better do something with my writing. So I wrote my favorite author and asked for advice. Twenty years and umpteen books later, I’m so thankful that someone loved me enough to challenge me to do something out of my “box.”
When you’re ready to throw in the towel, what motivates you to keep writing? That this is God’s story. Not mine. They’re ALL His. I need to do my very best for the glory of the Lord. That’s what keeps me motivated.
What deadline has been the hardest for you to keep? Why? I had a horrendous health experience in 2017 and over six weeks, I had three major surgeries. I had a deadline a few weeks after that. I was weak and still felt like I had “anesthesia brain” – how on earth was I going to write an inspirational story during that time? The publisher was very gracious about it, but I still got it done. It’s the first story that I actually “worried” about – wondering if it was good enough.
Where has this writing journey taken you that you never expected? That’s a fun question. I’d have to say that the majority of my journey has been unexpected. But the biggest thing was being asked to write a non-fiction book on our story. I had focused on learning the craft of fiction and I’d never thought about writing non-fiction. It’s been a huge blessing and I’m very thankful for that surprise. Here's a link to Kim's story, Welcome Home, about her daughter's illness and their experience with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I was a guest in that home many times and can report that the best room in the house was the kitchen...or maybe I just liked it best because Kim is a phenomenal cook!
My tagline is “Love. History.” In light of that, if you could go back into your own history and give yourself one piece of advice about love, what would it be?
(For Kim's answer, subscribe to my newsletter before January 12, 2018 by visiting either my Home page or Contact Me page.)
What's next for you? This month, Tracie Peterson and I released the second book in our Heart of Alaska series. It's called Out of the Ashes. We're doing a book tour later this month, so if you live in the Southeast, check out our tour schedule. (To save space here, I'm including the tour schedule in my Subscriber Newsletter.)
Next month, The Mayflower Bride releases. It kicks off a series called The Daughters of the Mayflower. I'll have several more stories in the series, as will many other wonderful authors. The next one from me is called The Patriot Bride and is set to release maybe in August.
One of the great things about being in the same critiquing group with Kim is that I get to read these stories before they are published. In fact, the first pre-published story I ever read was No Safe Haven, a story Kim and her daughter, Kayla, wrote together.
A big thank you to Kim for taking the time to be interviewed. All of the links provided go directly to her blog. If you haven't already subscribed to her website, you can do so by going here.