Thursday, November 5, 2015

Chatting with Author Christine Johnson

Chatting with Author Christine Johnson

Chatting with Author Christine Johnson

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 06:49 PM PST

Christine Johnson

We are so excited to be reading Love’s Rescue by WBC ministry leader and Christian fiction author, Christine Johnson, in the Womens Bible Cafe Book Club in November!

Christine Johnson

Christine Johnson, photo courtesy of E.A. Creative Photography

Love’s  Rescue is the first book in Christine’s Keys of Promise series and takes place in the Florida Keys prior to the Civil War.

As we kick off our November reading, we had a chance to chat with Christine and find out a little bit more about her!

  1. What's your least favorite household chore?

All of them? Okay, to be serious, it has to be dusting. Moving all that stuff to dust under and around it takes so long. Time gets more and more precious each year, and dusting is not high on the list. Rest assured, visitors are not subjected to layers of dust. The public rooms do get attention. My office on the other hand… It's best not to go there.

  1. If we sat down for a long chat, would you sip on a cup of tea, coffee, or something else?

Definitely tea. I love it. Set out a pot of Earl Grey, and I'm a happy camper. Oh, that reminds me that I have a teapot collection! I don't know how it got started, but over the years the relatives caught on that I liked tea, and I began receiving teapots for Christmas. They're so pretty that I don't use them, but I do have a couple plain ones that I will make tea in.

teapot collection

Christine’s teapot collection

  1. You used to be a librarian. Share with us how you journeyed from shelving, cataloguing, and recommending other people's books to writing books of your own.

I've been writing for ages. I even studied it in college, but I soon realized that novel-writing was not the sort of occupation a person can making a living from. After countless different jobs (museum docent, bookkeeper, gift shop employee, factory receptionist), I landed a job as a reference librarian and fell in love with the profession. Getting paid to do research? It was the best thing ever, like being a detective without the danger. The world was changing though, with the advent of the internet, and soon the fun part of the job disappeared. All this time I'd been puttering away with writing and wrote several full-length novels. None of them were published, thank goodness. They were a great way to learn the craft of writing. When I finally stopped butting my head against the Lord's direction and wrote a book for the Christian market, He opened the doors. I praise Him every day for His faithfulness.

  1. Why did you choose Key West as the setting for Love's Rescue? Do you have a connection to the area?loves-rescue

My husband and I have been blessed to visit the Florida Keys for almost 30 years. During those visits I soaked in the rich history of the Keys, especially its roots in wrecking. I knew I had to one day write a novel with a wrecker as a hero, but I couldn't settle on a storyline until Elizabeth entered the scene in the midst of a devastating hurricane. At that time (1846), Key West was the only key with more than a scattering of settlers. The federal admiralty court that handled wrecking cases was located there, so it was the natural choice for the book's setting.

  1. What's your favorite historical era to read about? What about to write about?  Are they the same or different?

I love to read about many different times from ancient to 20th century, because I learn so much from each book. You might say my writing reflects the same since my published books range from 1850 to the 1920s, and my unpublished books stretch back into medieval times. My only "rule" is that I don't read a particular era while I'm writing about that era.

  1. What books are you reading right now?

I just finished Max Lucado's Miracle at the Higher Grounds Café. That was a really fun story and filled with Max's wisdom. I'm currently reading a WW2 historical manuscript for possible endorsement and soaking in Susie Larson's Your Sacred Yes. I have a terrible time saying no. Lysa TerKeurst's The Best Yes was a great book on the subject, but I still find myself blurting out a yes before consulting God. By continuing to revisit the topic, I hope to change this. Next up on the fiction side is The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert.

  1. Describe your writing space to us: Where do you work?  What do you see while you are working?  Do you like noise or quiet?

I am so blessed to have an office in our house. It has a bay window that looks out on a little wooded area. I face the window when working on my computer, and often I'll see little finches, robins, chickadees and other birds hopping around in the tree branches. I draw such joy from God's creation and definitely like quiet when writing.

  1. It sounds like you have lots of upcoming projects in the works! Will you share with us what you're working on now and what's coming up in the Keys of Promise series?

The next book in the Keys of Promise series is entitled Honor Redeemed and is scheduled for publication next July. I'm currently working with the editors on it as well as writing the third book in the series. I also have a new mail-order brides series coming out with Love Inspired Historical. The first book in that series, Mail Order Mix-Up, is scheduled for publication next April and the second book in that series is slated for publication next November. It's going to be a busy year!

You can visit with Christine some more by checking out her website: http://www.christineelizabethjohnson.com/ or finding her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor.

To join us in the WBC Book Club as we read Christian nonfiction and fiction books each month, please join our Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/WBCbooks/
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