This interview was first part of a Celebrate Lit Book Tour. You can read my original post and find links to review of the book here.

About the Author

Donna L.H. Smith is a Kansas prairie girl transplanted to Lancaster County, PA. She is a graduate of Christian Writer’s Guild Craftsman program and holds two college degrees, both B.S. and M.A. in Mass Communication. She’s been married to a wonderful man named Kirby for thirty years. Her debut novel, Meghan’s Choice, made the finals of both the Selah and Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Rose’s Redemption, the sequel, also made the Selah Award finals in 2019. She blogs, speaks at workshops and holds inner healing retreats. Although she is at an age where many begin slowing down, she wouldn’t think of it. She served as Managing Editor of www.almostanauthor.com, an award-winning website for writers. She continues to serve as ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Mid-Atlantic Zone Director. She is also a member of AWSA’s Protégé program (Advanced Writers & Speaker’s Association).

More from Donna

Rose’s Redemption is the second book in the Known by Heart series. There were interesting challenges to this book.

First, how to change a rascal of an antagonist from Meghan’s Choice, to the romantic hero of Rose’s Redemption.

Second, I serve a supernatural God, so I wanted to include a little something different. It’s not spec-fic, but I hope people will enjoy Rafe. Answer the question for yourself whether or not he is an angel.

Third, I included in Rose’s history a bombshell from her mother. That was personal to me, only I didn’t discover it until two years ago.

The point of Rose’s Redemption is that our faith or our change cannot just be external, as Rose tried to do by changing her name, her appearance, and her profession—but an internal change of heart, too.

God is in the business of change

My Interview with Donna

Thank you for joining us today – I always enjoy learning more about authors.

When you are not writing, what other hats do you wear? What do you do for fun?
I am currently in program, learning inner healing. I’m on prayer team at church. I wear the wife hat to my husband of nearly 32 years. I get to play big sister to my biological half-sister, whom I just found two years ago. She’s used to being the oldest, but she loves having an older sister she can go to. I love having a sister because I grew up with one brother.
What do I do for fun? I love going to Cape May, NJ, and was recently there for my birthday. A cupcake store gave me a free cupcake! That was cool! I don’t go to the beach to lay out in the sun, but just to relax and enjoy the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the shore, the cawing of seagulls, and laughing at them when they try to eat human food. But I love day trips, traveling trips, etc.

What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre draws you?
I have two favorite genres—westerns, just because I write ‘em. I love westerns because
growing up, I watched Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and many others. I love to read them, too, because they transport me to another time and another place.
But I also like romantic suspense, because it keeps you on the edge of your seat. You know that the two main characters will end up together, but the particular circumstances, and what each has to overcome in order to get together, plus resolve the danger—well, that’s the fun part!

What historical figure do you admire and why?
Oh, there are so many. But I truly admire Abraham Lincoln. He was president at such a
terrible time in our nation. He was a godly man who understood God’s plan for this nation was for all people to be free. One wonders what good he might have done if he’d lived longer. He was a very personable man (except to those who opposed him), likable … a self-made man. I think that’s remarkable.

Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
This is book two in my Known by Heart series. I wanted to show that change is not just
external, meaning our outward appearance. We need to also have internal transformation, to become who God created us to be. I also wanted the challenge of changing a rascal into a hero—something most writing pundits would say can’t be done. But I’ve been told I was pretty successful.

Every year I organize a Young Authors Day for the kids at our school. What advice would you give to a child who wants to be a writer?
Read. Read. Read. Read a lot of different genres. Read biographies of successful people.
Study the craft of writing. Write for the school newspaper. Journal. More than a “Five-Year Diary” type of thing, write a paragraph every day. Or more. When you grow up, never give up. Keep at it. It will take some time to become published, but always keep learning and continue to write.

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