| |
| One day about ten years ago I was listening to a really sweet Bruce Carroll song about a girl who gives her baby up for adoption. As tears rolled down my face, the thought occurred to me, 'What about all the girls who don't make that decision and don't have a sweet song to sing years later? What about them?' That was an interesting thought for me to have since I'd never been involved with the abortion issue, except to say, 'As a Christian, I think this is wrong.' But there the thought was, stuck in my head and heart and needing an outlet. I immediately picked up a pen and began to write what is now the song 'Her Name is Katie.' The words came in a rush, and the story unfolded inside my head almost too fast for me to write it down. God's like that with me; when He comes to me, He comes quickly! I honestly didn't think I would do anything with the lyrics I had written. In fact, I didn't think they were singable. But, not being a musician, I went ahead and tentatively showed them to my husband when he came home from work. Much to my surprise he picked up the guitar and in about half an hour he had written the song. For several years it stayed just a song. In the meantime I gave birth to quadruplets and was happily thrown headlong into motherhood. In the midst of my busy days, the one leisure activity I found the time to do was reading. I could easily put the book down when one of the babies would cry and then come back and pick up right where I left off. I also read a lot while rocking them or while standing at the stove stirring a big pot of soup. Often I would discuss the book I was reading with my husband, making suggestions as to how I would have written it were I the author. One day, Jon (my husband) said, 'You're thinking of writing a book, aren't you?' I can honestly say I wasn't; I had more than enough to do with four youngsters on my hands! But his comment planted a seed inside my head; the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I thought it would be a fun diversion from my motherhood duties. The only problem was what to write about. I couldn't come up with anything that sounded interesting. I contemplated writing a story about a woman who has quadruplets (and I still might someday!), but since I lived that out in real life everyday, I wanted something different. Then one morning at the breakfast table, it hit me like a ton of bricks. (Remember, that's how God usually operates with me!) The idea came to turn the song 'Her Name is Katie' into a full-blown story. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I knew I was excited! I went out that weekend and bought a thesaurus because in my mind that made it official. Also, I figured that since I had spent $6.95 on a thesaurus, I was kind of obligated to make good use of it. So that was my incentive. I never intended to do anything with the story. For a long time I didn't even tell anyone I was writing it except for my husband. After I got pretty far into it, I began to think, 'Maybe I could get this thing published. Wouldn't that be a kick!' And, thanks to Cladach taking a chance on an unpublished stay-at-home mom, I now have an award-winning novel! Our God is an interesting God, isn't He? |
| ------------------ |
| What type of research did you do before sitting down to write KATIE'S CHOICE? |
| ---------------- |
| I was really nervous about tackling such a sensitive topic. Obviously, I needed to do a lot of research. Knowing I wanted to focus on the emotional aspect of abortion as opposed to the political or legal aspect, I read books primarily written by women who had chosen to have abortions -- their reasons for their choice and how they felt about it afterward. To try and understand the topic fully, I read both anti- and pro-abortion literature. While the pro-abortion research was difficult for me to read, it really helped me solidify my own views. It also gave me a much more sympathetic and compassionate outlook on those who choose abortion, for whatever reason. As valuable as all the reading was for me, I think what helped even more was visiting our local crisis pregnancy center. Not only did they suggest helpful books, videos, and brochures, but the director of the center also helped me get a truly hands-on look at the life of a scared, lonely, pregnant teenager. She did this by role-playing with me. I came into the center pretending to be Katie, the main character in my book, and she walked me through the entire process from filling out the initial forms to taking a pregnancy test to the one-on-one counseling session. From the moment I printed the name Katie Montgomery on the background form, I practically became Katie Montgomery, an eighteen-year-old senior in high school dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. It was intense. My husband came along to take notes for me so I wouldn't have to 'break character' to record all the details. I appreciated so much that opportunity. Being that I have never experienced an unwanted pregnancy myself, I think that was probably as close as I could ever come to knowing what it feels like. |
| -------------- |
| How did you develop Katie, the main character? |
| ----------- |
| Without meaning to, I put a great deal of myself into the character of Katie. Her thoughts and reactions are what I think I would have felt in her situation. Many of the questions she struggled with were questions I had in my own mind -- not only about abortion but also about hopes, dreams, and fears and where God fits into all of it. To be honest, I wanted answers and, without even knowing I was doing it, I used the book to find them. As a result Katie was, and still is, a very real character for me. That was one of my goals. I didn't want to write a book where the characters had everything figured out. I wanted it to be real; I wanted to show vulnerability and frailty. I'm guessing most people can identify with that better than they can identify with perfection. I even chose the name Katie for my main character because at the time I wrote it, that was the most popular girl name in the country. And the chorus of the song says, Her name is Katie, maybe you know her, too. / She's just like anybody, just like me and you. Hopefully, when people read the book, they'll believe Katie is real because she's so much like them. |
| ---------- |
| Being a mother of quadruplets, how did you find time to write? |
| ---------------- |
| Well, that's a great question because it gives me a chance to brag on my kids! Seriously though, I never would have been able to write the book if they weren't really great kids. They (Marty, Stephen, Hannah, and Abby) were only toddlers when I started writing. And while most people consider that to be one of the hardest stages, for me it was the easiest. They were very content and kept one another company while they were playing and I was writing. Since they weren't particularly aggressive, I didn't have to break up a lot of fights or go chasing them down very often. Even so, it took me close to two years to complete the book. But I can't blame that on my kids. Remember, I wasn't writing with any goals in mind so I was pretty undisciplined. I only wrote when the mood or the Spirit struck me. I also have to brag on my parents at this point. They've always been faithful to baby-sit my kids one day a week so I can get out of the house and do my weekly errands unencumbered. On many of those days I'd haul my laptop to their house where I could work uninterrupted in blessed peace and quiet! |
| ------ ------ |
| If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? |
| ----------------- |
| Wow, tough one! But I'd have to say I would love to be Laura Bush for a day. I can't imagine a woman being in such a stressful situation and handling it with the grace she seems to possess. And her steadiness. She is always cool, calm, and collected. I need that in my life! But it would be extremely interesting to see what goes on behind closed doors. I mean, how in the world do you leave your job at the office when your job is first lady to the American president? I would guess Laura Bush is the queen of 'finding balance in life,' something we all seem to be struggling with in these days. She is wife, mother, education advocate, and first lady of the United States. I'm thinking I might not even last one day trading places with her. But it would surely be an interesting and enlightening twenty-four hours! |
| ------------- |
| Are you currently working on any more stories? |
| --------------- |
| I am, but I'll tell you what, I'm finding it much harder to write now than when I was writing KATIE'S CHOICE. Since I started homeschooling (the kids are in the second grade now), I really struggle trying to do everything that needs to be done, much less the things I want to do. And first and foremost I am a wife and mother; writing comes second. I do find time to write occasional articles for our church newsletter or skits for our church's drama team. But I truly do hope I can finish the novel I'm now working on. It's another difficult subject. (Maybe someday God will lay it on my heart to write a fluffy, feel-good novel!) This time around I'm tackling the subject of emotional healing. KATIE'S CHOICE showed the journey of our need to find healing, and it showed Jesus as the only answer to that need. But it didn't delve into the 'living out' of that healing. This time, through the topic of rape, I'm hoping to illustrate the process of Christian healing. I hate reading a book that makes a difficult, heart-wrenching process look easy. I want to show the reality of the healing -- including the ugliness that sometimes accompanies it. How can God turn ashes into something beautiful if we never admit we're sitting in a pile of ashes to begin with? I want to show the ashes. I also want to examine the issue of how the body of Christ reacts to trauma. I'm not sure I'm going to like the answers I find, but I think it will be worth the study. What does the whole 'bearing one another's burdens' really look like? I think it's probably much more difficult than any of us would care to admit. Cliches and Bible verses, no matter how true they may be, can't by themselves solve anything. Love is more involved than that. Jesus had to stoop down on his hands and knees to wash the disciples' feet. I'd say He was pretty involved at that point. No cliches, no Bible verses. Just one man kneeling down for another. That's a beautiful, beautiful image. I hope my second book, which I'm presently calling JANIE'S SILENCE, will teach me what I need to know about serving and loving my neighbor as myself. |
| ---------------- |
| |
|
