By: Staci Stallings
Welcome, blog hoppers! Last week I got tagged by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer *…stringing 26 letters into stories* So this week I get to answer the questions and then send you to five of my writing friends!
Enjoy….
Introducing my soon-to-be-out ebook
“True Power & Real Peace”
Where did the idea come from?
True Power & Real Peace was written backward. Some of you have read “A Light in the Darkness.” In that book, the hero, Gabriel reads a book about God. When I wrote “A Light” I realized that I couldn’t have him read something that’s already been published. There were two problems with that. First, I couldn’t just copy whole tracks of someone else’s work. Second, there wasn’t one book I could find that would speak to each issue he was having throughout the book.
So the only thing TO do was write the book he was reading in the story as if it was a real book. To do that, I had to write whole sections of a “real book” that wasn’t real. After “A Light” was finished, I went back and read it and it struck me how easily “True Power & Real Peace” COULD be a real book. I did a little work on putting the pieces together and filling in the in-between places, and that’s how this book was written.
After “A Light in the Darkness” came out, I had several readers write to say they had been looking for the book “True Power & Real Peace” and hadn’t had any luck finding it and could I tell them who it was by or how they could get a copy of it. Well, it was by me, and the only copy in existence was on my computer. That’s when I decided to publish it.
Genre: Spirituality, Inspirational, Christian Living
What actors would play your character in a movie version?
The actors for “A Light in the Darkness” are Meaghan Jette Martin and Adrien Grenier.
Short Synopsis
I’ll do the synopsis of “A Light in the Darkness”
Holly Jacobs can run from her mother’s past no longer. She is unceremoniously summoned to her mother’s new fiancé’s home in Napa Valley. The place is wonderful, but Holly can’t enjoy it because she knows that just like all the others, it can’t last. When her mother begins pushing Holly to make permanent plans with a young man Holly has no interest in, Holly takes off, never expecting to find a light in all of her darkness.
The final chapter of the Faith Series begins…
Publisher: Spirit Light Publishing
How long did it take to write the first draft of “True Power”?
Well, the first-first draft was written inside “A Light in the Darkness,” and that book took about four months to write. The actual first draft of “True Power & Real Peace” was a lot harder because I had to take the pieces that were already written and put them into logical order (Gabriel reads them out of order in the book). Then I had to write the pieces around it. Also, I was in no hurry for that one because I didn’t think it would ever really be published. So I’m honestly not sure how long it took to write.
What other books in the genre compare?
Two of the books referenced in “True Power” are John Ortberg’s “Love Beyond Reason” and Marianne Williamson’s “A Return to Love.” So those two definitely would compare although Ortberg’s book is more mainstream Christian and Williamson’s has more New Age overtones to it.
Any other in this genre?
I’ve never written in this genre before. In fact, I’m in the process of asking what genre it would even fit into because I’m really not sure.
Anything to add?
“True Power & Real Peace” is BY FAR the most personal book I’ve ever written. It gets to a depth of how I live that I don’t think I would have even attempted to write but for the crazy way it came about. My life has been rocked by some pretty intense storms during and since writing this book including–the suicides of two very close people in my life and my son’s dyslexia, not to mention the countless storms that come up each day while being married and raising three kids.
This is honestly a book about “how I do it,” how I have and maintain a deep relationship with God through the storms and in the quiet times. It’s also the key that kept me sane when I had everything I ever wanted and I was still miserable.
Still, how do you put all that into words? How do you dig way beneath the surface and fashion those feelings and experiences in a way that is understandable to others? I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t, but this would have to be considered my attempt at doing so.
The ebook will be out very soon, and you can judge for yourself how well or poorly I did.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it as we move into the New Year!
Be sure to visit my friends’ blogs to continue the “What I’m Writing” blog hop…
Suzanne D. Williams
Laura Marshall
Sorry I seemed to disappear in December. The move was supposed to be quick and painless. It was not.
Posted by Staci Stallings 
Helping other authors since 2009, Heather Hart is the author of “Book Marketing 101” among other titles. She lives in Texas with her husband, Paul, where she fills her days caring for their four young children, typing away on her computer, and brainstorming new marketing ideas. Heather works as a self-publishing-coach.com liaison, author, and authors assistant whose desire is to glorify Christ through her work and to help other authors do the same. You can learn more about Heather by visiting her website: 
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