Amy Wallace Interview

Q:   If your readers could take away only one message from Ransomed Dreams, what would that be? An answer for their heart to the question: What does forgiveness look like? Q:  How did you, as a parent, get through writing the first scene in Ransomed Dreams? Great question! In a nutshell, I cried. A lot. I pictured my own kids and my blue van tumbling down a road I’ve actually traveled because that’s one of my biggest fears. It helped to write and pray through it. And even though it was difficult, God met me there. Q:  Tell us how the Ransomed Dreams’ plot came about. My wild ride of writing life started with a dream about a mom in trouble and an FBI agent battling his own dark issues. Because of my husband’s constant persuading that I get busy and write the story, I agreed to read a lot of FBI books and consider maybe someday writing. But that was all. God, with His grand sense of humor, tipped the scales in my husband’s favor by putting him in contact with a Christian federal agent. There was no way I could fight God and my husband, so I agreed to let David set up a meeting. The Secret Service agent I met with was awesome, and during the course of the interview he explained the ins and outs of federal investigations, giving me tons of inside information I wouldn’t have found elsewhere. In that meeting, the plot for Ransomed Dreams took shape and I had a blast writing the first draft. The remains of which will stay hidden in my house somewhere. J Q:  Can you tell us a little bit about the sequel to Ransomed Dreams? Book 2, tentatively titled Healing Promises, explores how an FBI agent and his oncologist wife handle both the diagnosis of cancer and a serial killer who eludes capture. Everything is reduced to one all-important question: Can God be trusted even when our prayers aren’t answered the way we’d hoped? Q:  Your website talks about missing children. How did you become interested in missing children? Since becoming a mom, I’ve prayed over the mailers with missing kids faces on them and grieved for the families represented. Now as an author writing about Crimes Against Children FBI agents, it seemed only natural for me to use my website to highlight ways we can pray and teach our kids about staying safe. Q: I love your chocolate themed personal website, love chocolate too by the way, how did you decide on this theme? My web designer husband was working on an ocean themed site since the beach is my favorite place to relax and hear God, but it wasn’t coming together. When we talked about maybe using a different theme, I remembered a blog reply one of my good friends posted to me saying, “This is heart chocolate to me, my friend!” As soon as I related that to my husband, he jumped up and practically shouted “Eureka! We have a winner!” Combining my desire to reach people’s hearts and my love for chocolate, the Heart Chocolate site was born. David did an amazing job even if he does say I’m his most difficult client. Q:  What’s God been doing in your life lately? He’s been working hard on my heart to remind me that if I focus anywhere but Him, I’ll be an easy target for discouragement, envy, and the desire to quit. Q:  If I got a peek at your bookshelf, what would I find? Lots of Dee Henderson books, plenty of dust, and a huge section of non-fiction titles with everything from counseling books and Bible study references to my favorite non-fiction author, Max Lucado. You’d also find many of my fiction books are ones that make me laugh. Trish Perry, Sharon Hinck, Robin Jones Gunn, and Dandi Daley Mackall are among my favorites. There are also sign language books, a How to Learn Greek study that I never finished, and tons of very old scrapbooks that, along with my first draft of Ransomed Dreams, will remain hidden from human eyes. Q:  Do you have a scripture verse that expresses your writing message? I have a writing verse, but I often wish God hadn’t assigned this one to me because it talks about suffering for the gospel. But that’s part of walking with Jesus and this verse encapsulates my writing journey and message. The verse is  2 Timothy 1:8-9 “But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of anything we have done, but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” Q:  How and when did you realize you could write a full length novel? And did you ever imagine it would be published? I don’t know that I ever thought about whether I could write a full length novel or not; I just did it. Ignorance is sometimes bliss. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I started writing Ransomed Dreams, somewhere in the depths of my heart I allowed myself to hope it would be published. I never let go of that dream, not even after all the major houses save one rejected it and I’d heard nothing from my dream publisher. That dream publisher did get back to me eighteen months later, and it’s their logo I’m thrilled to have on the cover. Q:  Tell us about the moment you heard that Ransomed Dreams would be published? I received an email from my agent detailing the contract offer after two months of back and forth conversations with Multnomah. That was a nerve-wracking process of answering questions about a book I’d put under my bed as a dust catcher. When the offer came it was all I could do not to go throw up. I felt sick to my stomach with the thought that someday people would actually read this book and the overwhelming realization that I wasn’t ready. But my husband reminded me that this was what we’d prayed for and dreamed about and that God was still God. Knowing this project’s success didn’t rest on my shoulders relieved a lot of the fear. I still have to go back to that truth daily. Q:  Any advice for a writer who’s striving for publication? Rest in the sovereignty of God and trust His timing. I know well how hard that is to do, but I’m convinced it’s the best choice. I wasted a lot of time not resting but striving after publication thinking a contract would validate me in some way or at least grant some satisfaction in knowing someone thought I have what it takes. But God keeps returning me to 2 Timothy~ He called me for His purpose, not to validate me or because of anything in me, but simply to share His story in the way He gave me to do it in His time. Q:  What’s one thing about becoming published that was not what you thought it would be? I never thought being a published author would be such a wrestling match with God about my worth. I’ve been told over and over by awesome friends that good reviews don’t make me and bad ones shouldn’t break me, but it’s so hard to keep the perspective that the only person’s opinion of me that truly matters is God’s. I’m thankful God is unendingly patient and loving because we’re still walking around this mountain! Q:  You have written about diabetes in your life. If this has affected your writing, tell us how. Being a diabetic affects everything I do. I struggle to write through days when my blood sugars are too high or too low, and even when things are level and good I still have to manage insulin doses and monitor my blood sugars often. Maintaining good diabetes control is tough when the smallest decision can throw things out of whack. If I don’t take enough insulin to cover a quick bite I grab in between sketching plot twists, or if I let frustration get the better of me in working out a chapter, it shows in my heightened blood sugar levels. But having a chronic illness has taught me that God can do amazing things with frail, fallible me when I surrender to Him. I wish I could say like Paul that I praise God in my weaknesses, but God’s still working that in me. Q:  What does your family think of the book? My husband is my first and biggest fan. If it wasn’t for his support I would have quit a long time ago. My three kids think mommy’s book is the coolest thing ever and they help me remember there is much joy in this journey. And my mom is incredibly proud of me and raves about Ransomed Dreams. I’d like to think her praise is totally objective, but I’m okay that it’s not. Having my family excited for me and encouraging me every step has been a huge gift that comforts me and prods me to keep going even when it’s tough. Thanks to Amy for her candid and inspiring interview.