I’m starting this post with a great big thank you. Thank you to my friend Marcy Dyer. She invited me to be part of the World Book Blog Tour, something I think is pretty cool. I love the idea of connecting writers around the world via their blogs and websites. It makes this big ol’ world feel smaller and more connected. Now, before you read on, click on that Marcy’s name and go check out her site. She’s wonderful Christian fiction writer. You should read her stuff.

Now…on with the tour! Our first stop is an about me from…well…me. (Look, there I am!)

What am I working on? Well, currently I’m hard at work on my first novel as well as finishing my Master’s degree. My novel is actually my thesis project. The novel follows Mallory Andrews as she returns to her hometown after her mother’s death and begins working to repair the rift with her family. As she renews her relationship with her family, she also slowly finds her faith restored.

How does my work differ from others of its genre? I try to hold true to the norms of Christian fiction by having faith, or the journey to faith, be central to my stories. I differ from others by trying to make my characters flawed in a deeply real way. I don’t want to shy away from ugly parts of life because Christians face those struggles just like other people do.

Why do I write? When asked why I wanted to write, I used to answer simply – I want to tell a story. Yet over the years I have learned that writing has so much more to it than simply telling a story. In my own writing, I have one primary purpose – to honor the Lord. We are all given gifts with which to share His word and I believe that mine gift is fiction. So I strive to not only tell an engaging story but to plant a seed of faith into each of my readers.

How does my writing process work? My stories often come to me via the creative works of others. Sometimes it will be a song or a poem that inspires me. Other times it will be a story or a speech. Sometimes I’ll start a story based upon something that someone said to me or based upon a dream I’ve had.

The next stops on the tour is my friend Loren. Her post about the tour will go live on Monday, July 28th. Make sure you bookmark her sites!

Loren Weaver: Loren is an engineer for an oil company as her day job. She loves crazy sports and has her black belt in Tae Kwon Do, master SCUBA diver certificate, and motorcycle license. Although engineering pays the rent, she writes because she loves to hear and to tell a good story. You can find out more about Loren and her writing at www.lorenweaver.com.