Today we welcome author:
Courtney Walsh
A commenter will win a copy of
Courtney's book:
Change of Heart
Scroll down to see how.
Mary here. I'm so happy to welcome Courtney Walsh today. She is an amazing author, and even when she is forced to stay on the sofa and heal and it's snowing outside, she choses to spend the time with us. Isn't that cool? I thought so, too. I asked Courtney: how has God led you on your writing journey? Here is what she said:
The Fire Inside of Me
I never wanted to be a
writer. Not when I was a kid with an imaginary friend. Not when I was a theatre
major learning the fine art of telling stories on the stage. Not when I was the
last person in my college dorm before Christmas and spent an entire night
writing a one-act play.
And certainly not when
my dad told me I needed to do something with “my writing.”
Mary here: it’s a Dad
thing…someone must pay them to say things like that.
I didn’t know I had such
a thing.
See, at the age of
eighteen, I had it all figured out. I fully intended to graduate college with a
degree in theatre (and another in journalism—just to appease my parents) and
then move to New York City where I’d pursue my lifelong dreams on the stage.
I loved acting. I loved
creating flawed, true-to-life characters. I loved building relationships
between those characters, putting them in tense situations and seeing how they
would react. I loved witty dialogue, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, but
always filled with subtext of what isn’t being
said.
Being passionate about
these things meant that, of course, I
was going to be an actor. What else would a person be with this unique skill
set?
I graduated college
still planning to pursue this dream, but something happened on the way to the
big stage. Several somethings, actually… First, I fell in love. Yes, I was that
girl. I didn’t want to move on with a crazy life if it meant I was moving on
without this goofball of a guy who’d stolen my heart. Second, we were offered a
job in church ministry—and while we didn’t expect to be there long, we stayed
for twelve years.
I should add that this
was exactly what God had for us at the time. I never looked at this decision as
“settling” or “giving up” on my dreams. I simply discovered I had new dreams…
until one day and three babies later, I didn’t. I didn’t know what I wanted to
do anymore.
What was I going to be
when I grew up?
Mary here- Are we
supposed to grow up? I didn’t get the memo.
After six years heading
up the music ministry at our church, my husband made a grand leap—he became the
children’s pastor. Some might’ve said it was a step down, after all, many
people use kids’ ministry as a stepping stone, but if you saw the way God used
him, you would disagree. I’ve never in my life seen someone operating so perfectly
in their gifts than when I watched my husband teach and lead children. He has
this uncanny gift for breaking things down in a way that young minds not only
understand, but enjoy. They’re learning without even realizing it because
they’re having so much fun.
More than that, he came
alive. He’d gotten a little complacent—in many ways, it was like he needed a
new fire. So here he was, ignited—and there I was, wishing for just a spark of
what he had…
One day, after I became
aware of my own complacency I prayed. I pointed out that my husband was so
clearly doing what God wanted him to—but what about me?
Lord, what is it that will ignite
the fire inside of me?
And more clearly than
I’ve ever heard anything in my life, the Lord said, “Write.”
By this point I’d worked
as a contributing editor for a magazine. I’d written two scrapbooking books and
several skits and full-length musicals. But I knew in that whisper, God was
talking about something else—the thing I’d always been afraid to tackle—a
novel.
I was terrified, not by
the writing, but by the re-writing. I was certain I didn’t have the patience,
and more importantly, I had nothing to say. But who was I to argue with God?
So, I got to work. That
was in 2008. My first book, A Sweethaven
Summer, was released in 2012.
In those four years, I
studied, read, wrote and learned. But one of the most amazing things I
discovered was that all that schooling—and those acting dreams—were anything
but wasted. Creating characters, putting them in tense situations, seeing how
they react, helping them with their flaws, truly embodying them—I learned how
to do that because of my passion for theatre.
Sometimes it feels
frivolous, this novel-writing business. I mean, I’m not saving the world or
anything. But then I remember a quote I heard once during those four years of
learning:
‘Thou shalt not’ might speak to the head, but it takes ‘Once upon a
time’ to speak to the heart.
And that’s my prayer.
That somehow, through my words, I’ll find a line of communication to the hearts
of my readers.
And it sure is nice to
have found the thing to ignite that fire in my own soul.
What about you? What are you
pursuing the thing you’re most passionate about or are you waiting for that
spark? What is it that keeps you from diving in head-first? I pray that you find the thing that lights
the fire in your soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director,
and playwright. Change of Heart is her fifth novel and is set in the same town
as Paper Hearts. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times
and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the
debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven
series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney
lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts
studio. They have three children.
Courtney loves to connect with readers.
You can find her at her:
Website | Blog
Facebook | Instagram
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Colorado senator’s wife, Evelyn Brandt seems to have it
all. But her carefully constructed life comes toppling down when the FBI
crashes her society brunch with news that her husband has been arrested for
embezzlement, and he’s far from repentant. It turns out this was only the start
of his indiscretions―for which he has little regret.
As the weeks following the scandal turn into months,
Evelyn withdraws, even shirking her duties with the philanthropic Valentine
Volunteers. The inquisitive women of the group are determined not to let
Evelyn’s divorce destroy her. They have big plans for her to use her
long-forgotten artistic talent to reimagine the city’s iconic lamppost hearts.
But doing so will force Evelyn to work closely with Trevor Whitney, her
ex-husband’s former best friend. Though she and Trevor used to be close―and
he’s been letting her hide in his guesthouse―his gruffness conveys his unease
with the situation.
Amid the beauty of Trevor’s farm and the comfort of a
paintbrush, Evelyn starts to reclaim the dreams she sacrificed to become the
perfect politician’s wife. And as creativity inspires them both, Whit begins to
see the girl he fell in love with before his friend―and his own mistakes―stole
his chance. Possibilities for a new beginning emerge, but long-kept secrets
threaten to ruin everything. After so much time, is a change of heart too much
to hope for?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enter the contest to win Courtney's book:
Change of Heart
US readers invited to enter!!
1. Leave a comment (and email address)
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Thank you, Courtney, for joining us this weekend!
We enjoy chatting with you, Reader, and look forward to reading your comments and questions. Or at least your hi, hello, or hey.
