Fay Lamb’s emotionally charged stories remind the reader that God is always in the details. Fay has contracted with Write Integrity Press for three series. Stalking Willow and Better than Revenge, Books 1 and 2 in the Amazing Grace romantic suspense series are currently available for purchase. Charisse the first release in her The Ties That Bind contemporary romance series has been released. Fay has also collaborated on three romance novellas: The Christmas Three Treasure Hunt, A Ruby Christmas, and the newest A Dozen Apologies. Her adventurous spirit has taken her into the realm of non-fiction with The Art of Characterization: How to Use the Elements of Storytelling to Connect Readers to an Unforgettable Cast.
Future Write Integrity Press releases from Fay are: Everybody’s Broken and Frozen Notes, Books 3 and 4 of Amazing Grace and Libby, Hope and Delilah, Books 2 through 4 from The Ties that Bind. Also, look for Book 1 in Fay’s Serenity Key series entitled Storms in Serenity.
How to connect with Fay...
Blogs: On the Ledge, Inner Source, and the Tactical Editor
Connect with her on Goodreads
Facebook: personal Facebook page | Facebook Author page | The Tactical Editor (Facebook page)
Follow her:Twitter
Purchase her books here
Author Interview | Fay Lamb
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Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing?
...I started writing stories as soon as I realized letters made words and words made sentences. Of course, I had to learn to write those letters, but before then I told myself stories. I put the kids in the neighborhood in plays. In high school, I was known as the girl who writes.
...I believe the Lord keeps me writing. He did take it away from me for a while several years back, but when He allowed me to pick it up again, I had a new understanding of my Boss and just Who I worked for, and it wasn’t me, and it isn’t the readers. I just get the pleasure of working for Him, and I hope that my readers feel they are reaping the benefits as well.
Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...Yes, without a doubt, that novel would be Storms in Serenity, which has a tentative release date for next month.
...Storms, as my editor and I call it, is actually my life’s work. Thirty-five years and some 115,000 words went into the modern-day retelling of the aftermath of David’s sin with Bathsheba. The characters that fill the pages grew up with me. I used Storms to hone my writing skills, to learn the elements of storytelling. I didn’t think it would get published, but my editor thought differently, and I’m praising the Lord for it.
...Libby, my newest release, is another favorite. Libby entered the first book in the series, Charisse, and she took me by surprise. I’d written her as a tentative mouse, but Libby turned out to be able to hold her own.
What was the hardest thing about publishing?
...Finding someone to believe in me the way I believed in myself. Most authors, published or unpublished, know that believing in ourselves is a personal rollercoaster ride. One day you feel as if you have it altogether. The next day, you doubt your abilities. Learning that the truth about our abilities lies somewhere in between the two extremes was very hard for me.
The easiest?
...The answer to this surprises even me. I’m an introvert by choice, but I love working with authors. I love teaching. I love sharing my journey. I love making new friends, and writing has opened those doors for me.
Tell us a little bit about your book or what you’re working on currently? Why are you/did you write it? Libby is my current release.
...Libby Overstreet can’t see herself as anything but shy and socially awkward. She’s nearing thirty, and she’s never even been on a date. Then she meets the man of her dreams, but Libby knows he would never be interested in a wallflower like her. All she wants to do is to buy that garden nursery on the outskirts of town and settle down with the life she has always dreamed about.
...Evan Carter has been watching the sweet woman in the coffee shop for weeks when his friend tells him that the object of his affection plans to buy a garden nursery and needs Evan’s expertise as an architect/contractor.
...When they meet, Libby is more enamored of Evan and even more convinced that he would never look at her as anything but a friend. However, that’s far from the truth. Evan would love to get to know the innocent beauty God has placed in this path. Trouble is, he fears that a lovely flower like Libby will wilt under the sins of his past, and he’ll do everything in his power to keep that from happening.
Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why?
...Libby is my favorite character in the story. I tell everyone that she, more than any of my other characters, is me. Of course, I’m not as kind, sweet, and evangelistic and Libby, who can’t see that in herself.
What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...God tells us that we are wondrously made. This is a take-away that I’m still learning, and I want my readers to realize that they are not a good judge of themselves. How often do people give us compliments, and we wave them off? I’ve found that people don’t throw compliments around. Something about you must resound for them to toss one at you. Accepting a sincere compliment isn’t pride. I’m beginning to realize that when someone says something nice about me, whether it concerns what I’m wearing or what I’m doing, this is God’s way of impressing us with the truth of Psalm 139:14. The proper response to a compliment should be, “Thank you” to the person and “praise You” to the Lord because as that verse says, God doesn’t make junk.
Writing
Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...I get inspiration from locations and also from watching an actor/actress in a role. With Storms, the characters had long lived in my imagination. I can still tell you which actresses and actors I used to build each character. Of course, I wouldn’t do that because, well, the actors have aged, and so have I, but the characters are all eternally younger than me. The characters were with me a long time with no real place to call home. Then I visited a small Florida fishing town, and Serenity Key, Florida was born—and populated.
...With my Amazing Grace series, the location came first. I love the mountains of Western North Carolina, and I decided to create a few fictional towns like Amazing Grace, Ascension, and Abundance. The characters already lived or they were heading there. I just had to give them a story to show.
When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories?
...I write first to share a message. That message comes out in many different ways, but all of my stories share with the reader the truth of Romans 8:28, which at its basic meaning tells us that God is in the details—all of the details—of our lives. We wonder how even the worst of events can work together for good, and sometimes we scream to know why God would do what He does. I’ve done that in the past. Sometimes I still do, but then I realized that God, Himself, lived out this verse. John 3:16 says it all. God gave His only begotten son. Jesus, the son of God—very God—died on a cross. A hideous death He didn’t deserve, but in Jesus death on the cross I am blessed. All things do work for good.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing and/or publishing?
...Study the craft of writing. Success comes overnight to very few people. There’s a reason God has you waiting. Don’t second guess Him. Write, submit, study, and write some more. Wherever or however you publish, realize that in the Christian writing/publishing industry, more than any other such industry, what we produce affects others. Make sure it does so for the better.
Have you ever attended a writer’s conference? If so, which one(s) and what were most helpful about it?
...I’ve attended the American Christian Fiction Writers’ (ACFW) national conference a few times. I’ve also attended the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference as both attendee and faculty, and the Christian Author’s Guild, Catch the Wave Conference in Atlanta as faculty. Conferences are great for encouragement and learning, and they are a great way for writers to learn that the person hiding behind their computer might not be so strange after all.
..I’m praying about attending the Blue Ridge Christian Writers’ Conference this year. I’ve heard only great things about it.
You
What’s your favorite green food? (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day of course!)
...You know that little green strip in the middle of an Andes chocolate mint? That would be my favorite.
If you could travel to any location and stay there for one month (probably spending most of the time writing) where would you go?
...I do this on a regular basis. I’m lucky enough to have a place in the mountains where I can go and hang out to write and to take daily walks around the lake. I’m trying to convince my husband, though, that we also need a place on my real life Serenity Key. I have long dreamed of living there and looking out at the Gulf of Mexico for my every day inspiration.
Thank you so much for sharing with us today Fay! I love that you are pursuing the publishing of a novel you never thought would be published! I think it just goes to show how important it is for us writers to write what's on our hearts! And your inspiration is wonderful - I'd say you need a place on Serenity Key... ;)
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