Special Guest, Angela Strong

Welcome Angela Strong to my special 'love of story' feature. It's great to have you here today. Let's start with our usual first question. How did you develop a 'love of story'?  

My mom was a writer and would write stories about me for magazines like Women’s World. And my dad was a pastor who would tell stories about me in his sermons. Those stories made me feel special. And whether it was nature or nurture, I have always loved making up stories.

Even in elementary school, the kids in my carpool wanted to read my creative writing assignments on the way home. Then in high school when I wrote an article about a cheerleading accident, I sent it into American Cheerleader Magazine because that’s just what you do, right? They bought it, and I was hooked. I studied journalism at the University of Oregon and have always loved doing what I do.

What a great story. Thank you for sharing that. Could you tell your readers about a typical day in your life.

Monday through Thursday I get my kids to school then either go to the gym to teach Holy Yoga and take bootcamp or kickboxing, or I skip the gym and start writing/marketing. I usually forget about lunch unless there are yummy leftovers I really want to eat. I drink coffee when it’s cold out. I dance around the house when my writing is good, and I “network” on facebook when my writing is bad. Sometimes I get together with my writing group to write, though I usually end up talking about writing more than actually writing when I’m with them. They are better at this than I am, and they say things like, “Let’s do a writing challenge for the next 30 minutes,” to get me to shut up.

Then my kids come home and I clean the house and feed them and drive them around to their nine million extracurricular activities. After they go to bed, I spend time with my hubby. Tuesday nights my kids are with their dad, so Jim and I might go out on those nights. Fridays I do birthday party lunches with my writing group or go to lunch with Jim and go grocery shopping or get my nails done or meet a friend for coffee. I like Fridays, but I’m always ready for Mondays to come back around.

Whew! Sounds like a busy schedule. What is your favorite Bible verse and why?

My word for 2016 is “satisfied” and I have a verse that goes with it that I can’t stop thinking about. “Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.” --Psalm 131:2b

Sounds like a great verse for the year. What writing project do you plan to work on next?

After I found out my debut novel was being considered for a production by a film company (http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/faithmediaandculture/2012/07/mpi-to-bring-popular-love-finds-you-book-series-to-television.html), I got my rights back and am re-releasing Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho as the first book in a series titled Resort to Love.

I’m currently working on the romance novels for Tracen’s little brothers in Finding Love in Big Sky, Montana and Finding Love in Park City, Utah. Next week I’m traveling to the Sundance Film Festival for part of my research.

I have lots of other plans, including the release of my first book with Love Inspired Suspense in 2017, but I’ll stop here and let you keep updated at www.angelaruthstrong.com if you want to know more.

How exciting. What is one thing you hope readers will take away from your story?

Love changes lives. I quit writing romance when my first husband left me in 2009. Romance seemed like an illusion. But then I met Mr. Strong. When he first told me that he loved me, I said, “I don’t know what that means.” He responded, “I will show you with everything that I am.” And wow. What a beautiful design God created for relationship between man and woman. And what a beautiful symbol it is of Christ’s love for us. There’s nothing else I’d rather write about.

Aww, that' sweet. Thank you for sharing that. What advice would you give to new authors?

I was lucky in the way my mom was my very first editor and she took me to writer’s conferences with her when I was young. I knew the basics before I even started. But I couldn’t have done this on my own.

I made some great relationships through conferences and chatrooms and local critique groups. I got to grow along with my writer friends and share my passion and cheer for them as they cheered for me. It reminds me of the quote about how we can go faster alone, but we will go farther together. My advice is to build relationships so you can go farther. Then even if you don’t, you will have learned and laughed a lot along the way.

Great advice, Angela. Thank you so much for stopping by today. Next week Rebecca Jepson will be joining us. Also don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to participate in the mystery February drawing. :)