AUTHOR Q & A

What was the hardest part about writing your book? 

There were several challenges in writing God’s Whispers: Your Anchor Through Life’s Storms. The first issue was in figuring out how to organize so many different stories and ideas that were around the theme of of waiting on God and listening to His voice. The second challenge was being honest and vulnerable in my writing. I shared stories that not many people knew about and wrote about some of them in a raw way so that readers could relate to what it’s like to go through loss and trauma. The goal was to help others. I wrote the book I wish existed when I went through trying times. The third challenge, of course, was in getting the words right. I rewrote some sections ten to twenty times. I’m still not certain if I got it right.

What was the hardest part about publishing your book? 

The hardest part in publishing my book was finding a publisher who would take a risk to publish someone who had no track record of success with writing. I’m not famous, and there was no guarantee that my book would sell and make the publisher money. The publisher, Higher Ground Books and Media, said she felt my book would be helpful to many others. 

How long did it take for your book to be published? 

In 2001, I was in church at Willow Creek (a large church in the suburb of Chicago), and the pastor preached on the topic of how God talks–not literally but spiritually. I heard God say to me that I must journal all the ways God talks to me through the challenges I was to go through and then write a book. I went through approximately ten different journals of documentation from 2001-2019 and then wrote most of if in 2018-2020.  It took two years of several rejections to find the publisher I did. 

How did you come up with the name for your book?
For years, I thought the title was going to be “God’s Whispers: Your Gateway to Hope”, but then in 2021, I woke up in the middle of the night and and God said I had the title wrong. I dreamt that it should be “God’s Whispers: Your Anchor Through Life’s Storms”. It made sense. I wrote about many storms in life that people go through such as loss of loved ones, health crises, friendship betrayals, etc. The anchor has become a symbol and trademark of the book and website.

What was your favorite part about publishing your book? 

My favorite part was when all the editing and cover design was done. Receiving my first copy of it and holding the book in my hands sort of felt like holding my own kids for the first time when they were born. Of course, my kids meant more, but this felt like something new being born. It was surreal that the book finally came to fruition and that my words had the possibility of helping others. The most rewarding part of the whole process is people sharing how my book inspired or helped them to have more faith and to listen to God’s Whispers more often.

What have you learned from the whole process?

I’ve learned that my writing never feels done and that I may suffer from imposter syndrome. I’m not sure if I feel like a real writer. I can always go back and try to make my writing better. Right when I think it’s done, I return to it and see a better way of saying something. I almost didn’t publish this book because I kept finding something I wanted to change. In the end, though, I could have done that forever. The publisher gave me a deadline, and I finally had to live what was my best work up until that point.  I also learned that publishing is harder to do than I expected. Writers have to develop thick skin. Not everyone will like what you write and that’s okay. The book is not for everyone.