Lauraine Snelling Answers The Faithful Fifteen
June 2004
FR: What kind of testimony to your faith are you demonstrating in this book? If you are writing fiction, do you write fiction that is based upon your faith, or that has a message for the reader? Is your goal to demonstrate your faith in your writing?
LS: My goal in writing is to entertain and let the Holy Spirit do the showing and the teaching. Redemption runs through all my stories. God loves and He meets us where we are. Because of who I am, everything I write points to my Lord and Savior. My stories show real people struggling with their faith or the situations they are in, and through the struggles learn to trust that God is in control and that He loves them. Most often trust and the necessity of forgiveness are central themes. This way the reader makes the same discoveries I did.
FR: When did you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus? Where are you today in your walk? Is your faith an important part of what you do?
LS: I grew up in the Lutheran church and it seems like I always knew that Jesus is my Savior. When I was confirmed at 14, I made my public declaration of faith, but at Bible camp one summer before that, I remember inviting Jesus into my heart. Today, I am still walking, every once in a while I run and jump. And I skip a little too. How could I live without Him?
FR: Tell us about your church experiences, how you grew up (or maybe didn't grow up) in the church, where you attend now, your involvement in your local assembly, etc.
LS: Now we are members of Saint Jude's Episcopal Church here in Tehachapi and attend when we are home. We travel a lot and visit other churches wherever we are. My main ministry is writing and teaching/coaching upcoming writers. I have learned that I cannot do it all and so I do what God calls me to do.
FR: Tell us about your current church family/fellowship. How does it influence your work?
LS: This is a small congregation and we are building friendships there. My extensive writing family is also my church family and our ministry is reciprocal. The church of fiction writers that meets at my house every summer for about two weeks has a special place in my heart.
FR: Who are your spiritual mentors? Your professional mentors?
LS: Spiritual: Father Richard Williams, the members of my Round Robin group ---writers who have been together for twenty years and are my accountability group in all things. They fit both categories.
Many of the great writers I read, again so many of those fit both groups. Lee Roddy and Colleen Reece are two of my original writing mentors and continue as cheerleaders. Cec Murphy fits in both, too.
FR: Discuss your calling/mission --- as a writer and as a Christian.
LS: I am called to write great stories that people love to read. Writing, teaching, loving unconditionally, encouraging anyone and everyone and hugging are my assignments and the things I do best.
FR: What are your Scripture reading habits?
LS: My commitment is to be in the word daily. I don't always make it, but feel like something is missing when I don't. I look for guidance, comfort and wisdom within the pages, knowing they are there, getting excited when what I need leaps out at me, even though I've read that passage many times before and didn't see it.
FR: What books have most influenced your work?
LS: I'm thinking you mean besides the Bible. Madeleine L'Engle's WALKING ON WATER, THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER, and her CROSSWICK JOURNALS. Phillip Yancy: SOUL SURVIVOR, THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW, WHAT'S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE. RAGMUFFIN GOSPEL by Brennan Manning. THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL FICTION and FICTION IS FOLKS by Robert Newton Peck. All of Walter Farley's horse books. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Diane Ackerman's MOON BY WHALE LIGHT and her other books.
FR: Do you read secular fiction at all? If so, who are your favorite authors and why?
LS: Of course. Some of the best writers, many of them Christians, write in the general market. I am excited that my books are in all the bookstores, since only ten percent of Christians go into Christian bookstores. I read omnivorously; I love to read almost as much as I love to write. Reading came first. Favorite authors include: Madeleine L'Engle, Sue Grafton, Luanne Rice, John Grisham, Tony Hillerman, Earlene Fowler, Lillian Jackson Braun, Dick Francis, Janet Evanovich, Leif Enger, Pearl Buck, Patricia Cornwell, Liz Curtis Higgs, Karen Kingsbury, Patricia Rushford, Sandy Dengler, Wendy Lawton, Philip Yancey, Brennen Manning and most anyone someone I trust recommend. Why do I read these people? Their stories make me laugh and cry, dream of writing that well, transport me to other worlds and learn more of being human and God's child.
FR: What are your other media habits --- television, movies, music, etc.?
LS: Again, eclectic. I don't watch a lot of television because I just don't have time. I like O'Reilly, M*A*S*H, Hallmark Channel. I'd watch more movies too if I had time. I don't like horror or bloody things. Music, like the others, depends on my mood and if I take the time to change the CDs.
FR: Do you and your family have any special faith-based traditions?
LS: Being together is a treat. Since we have no grandchildren, we borrow others.
FR: Tell us about your prayer life and habits.
LS: I try to live in the "pray without ceasing" kind of life, knowing that God is leading me to be the person He designed. I'm always rejoicing and amazed at how much He loves me.
FR: Describe what you believe the role of writing in religion is.
LS: Since God gave us the word, I believe that writing is both a gift and privilege. God tells good stories and I want to be like Him.
FR: Tell us about one or more of your favorite encounters with readers.
LS: An elderly man and woman stood before my book table. He turned to her and said, "It's MY turn to read it first this time." Referring to my Red River books. Many have said that the faith and struggles of my characters have led them to deeper faith. One wished she could have a group of women friends like those in HEALING QUILT.
FR: Would you share a story about someone you've brought to Christ or share how your writing has helped someone?
LS: People are finding ways to comfort those who grieve after reading A HAND TO HOLD. One young teen wrote that she realized that since God got Trish, one of my teen characters, through her father's illness and death, He would do the same for her.
I have two current releases. A HAND TO HOLD is a nonfiction gift book to help those who want to comfort someone who is grieving and don't know how. Released by Baker Book House mid-May.
My next release is THE WAY OF WOMEN, contemporary women's fiction, released by WaterBrook Press on June 15.
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