Today I am sharing an interview with Sara Davison. This interview was originally posted as part of a blog tour for the book Lost Down Deep.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR – SARA DAVISON
Sara Davison is the author of the romantic suspense series, The Seven Trilogy and The Night Guardians. She has been a finalist for eight national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol Award, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children, all of whom she (literally) looks up to.
CONNECT WITH SARA: Website | Facebook | Twitter
When did you first know you wanted to be an author?
I’ve always loved reading and writing. In all our family photos everyone else is front and centre while you’d have to do a Where’s Waldo to find me in a corner somewhere in the background reading a book. In fourth grade, two things happened that solidified for me that I wanted to write books. The first was that my write-up of a class trip was chosen to go into the school newsletter. I can still remember the feeling of seeing my words in print and knowing others were reading them and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Shortly after that, I have a vivid memory of walking up and down the aisles of our local library, running my fingers along the spines of the books and thinking: All these people wrote a book. It can be done. I can do this. From then on my path was pretty much set.
When you are not writing, what other hats do you wear? What do you do for fun?
I have my own editing business and spend the majority of my working time on other people’s projects. My specialty is working with new writers. I love mentoring them and passing along everything I have learned through trial and error over the years. I’m also a wife to Michael (24 years) and mother to three not-so-little kids anymore (21, 20, and 16). I love being involved in women’s ministry at church and belonging to a great women’s study that really digs into the Word. For fun, I’m part of two writer’s groups and two book clubs. I love games and movie nights with my family and going for coffee or out for Greek food with friends. I love road trips, especially to Disneyworld, my favourite place on the planet. I’m a homebody at heart, though, so I am most contented reading, watching a movie, or just hanging out chatting with my husband or kids.
What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre draws you?
Romantic suspense has always been my favourite genre to read. I don’t remember ever making the conscious decision to write that genre, but when I did sit down and start seriously writing stories, that’s what came out. I particularly love suspense that keeps me on the edge of my seat, adrenaline flowing, as I flip from one page to the next. I enjoy the romance too, as much for the fact that it tends to up the ante in the story as the hero or heroine has so much more to lose when the one they love is threatened, as for the romance itself. The perfect blend of the two makes for the most interesting and intense genre, in my opinion.
What is your favorite holiday? And why?
Easter is my favourite holiday. It is such a meaningful time for me as a believer, and I love that it has not become as over-commercialized as Christmas (although I also love the Christmas season). What I particularly love about Easter is the idea of the Church around the world coming together on Good Friday—experiencing all the solemnity and gravity the day demands—and then again on Easter Sunday to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and triumph over death and sin and all that means for us and our relationship with God.
In a library or a bookstore – what section do you head to first?
Usually fiction, most of the time Christian fiction, then I look for the suspense and romantic suspense section. So many authors are producing amazing romantic suspense these days that my TBR pile, like that of most avid readers, is seriously out of control.
Where did the inspiration for Lost Down Deep come from?
I always find this question so hard and so easy to answer. I have author friends who see inspiration everywhere in the world around them for their stories, but my mind doesn’t work that way. For me, the stories come from within, and it’s almost impossible for me to pinpoint when or how the seeds for a particular story were planted. What I do know, though, is that they come from God. Writing is an intensely spiritual experience for me, because when I write, I feel the words and the creativity flowing from God through me and out my fingers and it is extremely powerful. So the simple answer is, the inspiration and ideas come from God. My part is to make the writing and story as excellent as possible in order to give him back the glory. My writing mantra, which I include in the dedication of almost all my books, is: It’s all from you and for you.
Who did you have in mind as you wrote the Lost Down Deep?
The dedication at the front of the book says, To Keith ~ for having the courage to come back home. While this isn’t his story—it’s completely fictional—I did have him and all other prodigals I know in mind as I wrote it. I have so much admiration for a person who swallows his pride and returns home after severing ties with family or other loved ones. It takes a lot of courage and humility to do that, as you can hopefully see in this story when Jude returns to his family to ask for their forgiveness. And it takes a lot of courage and humility to accept that forgiveness as well, which is a major theme in Lost Down Deep.
Which character of Lost Down Deep did you enjoy writing most?
Jude, definitely. For some reason, I always find it easier to write male characters. Jude is probably my favourite of all the ones I’ve written, because he is the most broken and he is well aware of that fact. I love that he can completely humble himself and return to his family, freely acknowledging the mistakes he has made, but at the same time he is strong and selfless when it comes to protecting Summer. He also has a great sense of humour and a strong faith, all attributes I love to see in a hero.
Which character gave you the most grief?
The secondary character, Peter Diaz, was probably the most challenging to write, as I have no frame of reference to use to write what he has gone through in life. I don’t want to include any spoilers here so I won’t say what those experiences were, exactly, but it’s tough to write a character whose background, ethnicity, and family situation is very different from your own. It’s a great exercise too, though, really trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand who they are and what they have gone through. I hope and pray it opened my mind and heart even more to those whose background or current situation is radically different than mine.
Because I am a K-12 school librarian I have to ask – what is your favorite children’s book?
My favourite young children’s books are Are You My Mother? and Horton Hatches the Egg. I absolutely love the message of unconditional love between a mother or mother-figure and a child that is prevalent in both stories. When I was growing up and constantly had my nose in a book, it was likely either one of The Great Brain series, a Bobbsey Twin mystery, or an Encyclopedia Brown book.
When I was a school librarian, I organized a Young Authors Day for the kids at our school. What advice would you give to a child who wants to be a writer?
The first pieces of advice that I give to every aspiring writer, whether a child, teen, or adult, is that if you believe in yourself and you believe in your story, then never, ever give up on it. The publishing business is incredibly tough and can be discouraging (soul-crushing, even) but very often it’s a matter of getting your story into the hands of the right person at the right time. I believe God gives me the stories and that he has a purpose for them, so every time I receive a rejection I remind myself that it wasn’t the right time or the right person and that I need to keep trying. The second bit of advice is to always be teachable. Yes, God gives the stories, but it is up to authors to study the craft of writing and to always be learning and taking constructive criticism from others so that our work can be as excellent as possible. That’s what honours God and that’s what he can use to fulfill his purposes. Which brings me to the final piece of advice I offer, which is to define success differently than the world does. If my books serve the purpose God has for them—whether that is for five people or fifty-thousand to read them—then I have to consider that the book has been a success. All I can do is write and edit the stories to the best of my ability, market them as effectively as time and money will allow, and leave the rest in God’s hands.
Sara, I want to thank you for joining us today. I love getting to know authors, and I know my readers do as well.
Want to learn more about the authors behind the books? Read more of my Author Interviews.
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