Featured Author:  April Shores Murphy

Grace

Q.  April, thank you for sharing your story with me.  I felt the warmth on each page as the characters came to life.  Are any of these based on "real" people that you know?

A. Thank you!  It was my pleasure!  In answer to your question, yes and no.  The characters are all fictitious, and their experiences are all fictitious, yet I have first hand experience with losing a father and the effects that it has on your entire family.  God has allowed me to have a real sense of feeling for all my characters and just how their hearts soar and ache as they do so that hopefully those feelings come across to my readers.

Q.  Would you tell us the background for the book, how were the ideas created?

A. One day I decided to just sit down at my computer and see if what I had felt since I was a little girl about my calling being that of a writer was correct or not.  I prayed about it before doing so, then the words just started coming, and thus Grace was born.  It was also very therapeutic for me to write Grace.  My mother-in-law encouraged me by telling me that if no one else read it, maybe that would be my way of healing any feelings that remained in me after my own father’s death.

Q.  In your most darkest moments, other than the Lord, was there a particular person in your life who you know prayed for you?

A.  That would be my Mother.  My mother is also my best friend!  She is the first one I call when I am in need of prayer!  She is also the one that I send each new chapter of each book that I write to first!  She reads and edits any mistakes that I have made.  She, as well as my Grandmother, my Mother-in-law, and a few other close people in my life are the ones who hold me up when I feel in any way insecure about my writing.  In this way, I know that God has truly filled my life with “earthly angels”!

Q.  Tell us about the other books in this series.

A.  Searching Hearts is currently in the publishing process right now.  It is the second book in the series.  It takes you to Florida where Grace is spending the first month of her summer break from school.  Her young cousin is missing and they search to find her.  Meanwhile back home in Georgia you continue on in the lives of the other characters that you have met in Grace.  All of the characters search their hearts in one way or another to find out even more about each characters lives.  I am currently working on the third book in the series Love at a Distance.  It will detail just that…the characters will deal with having long distance relationships with their loved ones.

Q.  What can you tell us about April, the author?  What is a day like for you?

A.  I am a wife and mother of two boys.  My whole life and schedule revolves around them.  My days are filled with busy-ness, the boys sporting events, etc.  It is almost hard to work from home, as most people tend to take for granted that when you are home you do nothing.  But, as any writer knows, we have to have a work day as well, as if we left our house and punched a clock like the next guy.  Mornings are my favorite times of each day.  I can find the peace and solitude to write, to reread what I have written, and lately I found time to help others by doing reviews for other authors!  It has been an awesome experience seeing just what kind of quality books that PA accepts!

Q.  Who is the most influential person in your life who contributed to your writing career?

A.  I cannot pick just one.  I have been very blessed!  My Mother and Grandmother have instilled me with my love for God and my faith in Him.  My father’s love and his death have provided the inspiration behind Grace as well.

Q.  Are there any genres that you haven't yet written in, that you would like to in an upcoming project?

A.  I say my genre is Contemporary Christian fiction, yet all of the books that I write contain romance, mystery and intrigue, and well, just everyday life.  I like writing these combinations.  I have always wanted to provide inspiration, drama and a sense of escape to my readers!  The more experienced at writing I am getting, the more that I seem to be able to provide more and more cliffhangers throughout my writing and the ability to keep people turning the pages!

Q.  Tell us a bit about your family and how have they supported you in your writing?

A.  My family is great!  During the writing of Grace, I almost shut down on most everything else in order to write it.  Since then, though I have tried to maintain a balance.  I am still learning though.  My family is a great help and inspiration to me!  My youngest son is so proud that he has to tell everyone he sees just about that his mom is a writer!  It’s cute!

Q.  Any special memories with family members or close friends you would like to share?

A.  My most special memory about my childhood would have to be Christmas Eve as I was growing up.  My Dad’s birthday was on Christmas Eve, so my Mom would try to bake a cake or most often cupcakes to celebrate the first part of that day as my Dad’s birthday.  Then my Dad would take us (my older brother and I) around to his sister’s house and to his brother’s house that lived nearby and we would visit with them while my Mom stayed home.  By the time we got back home ‘Santa’ would have already come to our house and my brother and I would go in and see what ‘he’ brought for us.  That was one of the most special days of the year for me.  Not because of the presents, we would get late that night mind you, but because of the closeness to my Dad and my Dad’s family that came that day!

Q.  If there was one thing you could change or do over again, what would it be?

A.  My dad would still be here.  I doubt Grace would have come to me without his death…but I’d much rather have written other books instead of having to go through the experience of losing him.

interview by: Melody Ravert  www.publishedauthors.net/melodyravert