Delia Latham {Writer Wednesday} & Giveaway

Please give a warm welcome to Delia Latham!

A little bit about Delia...
 
Born and raised in Weedpatch, California, Delia Latham moved to Oklahoma in '08, making her a self-proclaimed California Okie. She loves to read and write in her country home, and gets a kick out of watching her husband play Farmer John. She's a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, but especially loves being a princess daughter to the King of Kings. She loves Dr. Pepper and hearing from her readers.

Delia writes inspirational romance and women's fiction, and is currently contracted through White Rose Publishing and Vinspire Publishing.
How to connect with Delia....
 Contact her through her website (www.delialatham.net), blog, or Facebook author page. 

Author Interview | Delia Latham 

 You & Writing 

-->Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing?
...I’m probably the most ordinary person you’d ever care to meet. :) My name isn’t likely to be used in the same sentence with the word “glamor.” Fancy isn’t my thing. I do love beauty, but I find it in simple things. God things.
...At a very young age, I discovered that writing afforded me a means of expression. On paper, it was easy to say the things I found difficult to put into verbal form, whether from shyness, lack of confidence, or…whatever causes a person to find oral communication a challenge. So I wrote poems and songs and (very bad) short stories…and I was fortunate to have a number of people in my life who encouraged me to further develop that skill. With a little detour into newspaper journalism and a long hiatus to raise four children, I finally arrived at my goal of becoming a novelist in 2008, with the publication of my vintage inspirational romance, Goldeneyes.
If published, what was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
...I’m not the most patient of individuals, so waiting has always been hard for me. That space of time between ending a manuscript in to a publishing house and hearing back from them is pure torture for me. Easiest is the actual writing process. I love it, so it’s rarely a chore.
Your Writing

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Tell us a little bit about your book or what you’re working on currently? Why are you/did you write it?
...Lexi’s Heart is part of a collection of books called Heart’s Haven, written by a group of four authors whom I strongly feel God brought together to do this work. My original plan was to come up with something to rival Barbour’s Christmas collections, so Heart’s Haven was born as a Valentine’s Day set. All of the authors love it, and we formed such an amazing bond with each other during the process. The concept just took off, and from that first set at least a couple of follow-ups have come to fruition. Lexi’s Heart is my contribution to the Heart’s Haven Holidays collection, with a focus on Mother’s Day. 

 What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...Lexi had suffered through twenty-three year’s of mental and emotional abuse in a marriage that wasn’t a marriage—not in the sense God intended. She’s healing in this book, and having to learn to trust God. She’s built walls around her heart to protect herself against anyone who might put her back in a similar position, but those walls also prevent her from allowing a better kind of love inside—the healing love of God and the genuine love of a man who would never abuse her in any way. I hope readers will pick up on the underlying message that when we can’t bring ourselves to trust any other human being, GOD can always be trusted. He’s always there, and always ready to shelter us. But He won’t force Himself into an unwilling heart…we have to trust Him enough to invite Him into our lives before He’ll come inside.

Writing
 
When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?
...My goal in writing is always to deliver whatever message God has for some reader of that story. To lay it out there to the best of my ability—that’s me being God’s transcriptionist, if you will—and then trust God to get it into the hands He intended it for. If the words I write encourage, uplift, strengthen and/or renew another of God’s children, then my goal has been accomplished. Writing is a ministry. My only goal is to carry it out to the best of my ability and according to God’s direction. Of course, if a little money started coming in along the way, I wouldn’t be opposed… lol But truly, if I were writing because I want to be rich, I’d be sadly disappointed.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing?
...Write. Write. Write. It’s what writer’s do. You can never be guaranteed a manuscript you pour your heart and soul into will be accepted, but you can certainly guarantee that it will not be accepted if it’s never written and never submitted. So write. Submit. Take the blows, and come back writing stronger…then do it all again…and again…and again. :)

You
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What is a favorite memory you have of your mother? 
...What a perfect question for an author with a Mother’s Day-themed book! :) My mother was the most amazing woman! I miss her so much. She was tiny—not quite five feet tall, and very petite, but what she lacked in stature she definitely made up for in spirit. I have so many memories of her…I’m not sure I can share one and call it my “favorite.” As an all-inclusive memory, however, I just remember that Mama loved her husband and her children fiercely and without apology. We didn’t have a lot of material possessions, but she always made the most of what was available, and even with eight children and an income that didn’t stretch nearly far enough, we never went hungry. Mama was the glue that made our house a wonderful home. I loved her with all my heart, and can only hope to reflect a tiny portion of the powerful effect she had on the lives of those around her.

If you had to choose one type of food, what kind would it be?
...Here’s the thing…this gal likes FOOD. Period. Any food. All food. Was it Gene Autry who said, “I’ve never met a man I didn’t like”? Well, I never met a potato I didn’t like…or a piece of pasta…or a flavor of ice cream…see what I mean?

April showers bring May flowers – or so they say. Do you have a favorite flower? If so, why is it your favorite?
...Have you ever seen a passion flower? It’s very simple, and yet so incredibly perfect. The first time I saw one, I cried. All I could think as I gazed down at those perfectly alternating green and lavender petals was, “How can anyone look at this stunning creation and not believe that there is a God? Things like this do not happen by accident.” The passion flower has to be my favorite, but again, I’m drawn to simple things. I love morning glories and pansies, too.

Borrowed from peoplespharmacy.com

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Thank you so much Delia - what a wonderful interview! I hadn't seen a passion flower until I looked it up so I thought I'd share (photo to the left). What an amazing flower!

I love how you call yourself "God’s transcriptionist". I think if we all are writing with the Lord in mind and through His leading, we are all like that! At least, that would be my prayer! Thanks again!

*** Update! ***

Just heard from Delia and she would like to do a GIVEAWAY of the first book in the Heart's Haven series titled Jewels for the Kingdom! What a treat! SO - make sure you leave a comment below so that you can be entered in to win this e-Book. I'll be announcing the winner on Tuesday so final entries need to be made 12am (Pacific Standard Time) on Monday May 27th.