My name is Laura J. Marshall. I'm the author of Christian Romance and Devotionals.
I’m a mom of five boys and wife of a really great, supportive husband. I love writing the stories God places on my heart. Most of them center around places I’d love to have visited or “live” for a while (in a 1685 cozy English castle in Persistent Love or in 18th century India in A Heart’s Home).
Which writer inspires you? I don’t tend to be “star-struck” over authors, actors, or people in the limelight. I’d say writers that most inspire me are the ones that work day in and day out to better their stories and skill, interact and acknowledge their fans, and build others up along the way; writers that have more of a servant’s heart than an “all about me” mentality. Some of those would be Suzanne D. Williams, Mary C. Findley, George McVey, Russell Sherrard, and Samantha Fury. I know so many, sorry if I can’t list more. How much research, if any, do you do when writing a book? I do research on all my books. For the nonfiction devotionals, well…the whole book was a learning process as I used an exhaustive concordance and listened to God’s leading (so lots of prayer). For fiction books, I research the place in time or locale, sometimes what trees or plants grow there, food they eat, etc. Why do you write? Wow. This is a question I ask myself often. Many times before starting a new project or in the midst of one, the doubts overtake me and I really think I should put down my writing pen and give up. I lament why I do this to myself and really, subject myself to the pain of the process and scrutiny in the end. But then I remember that it’s one of my happiest places. I actually live the story as I write it. I also believe God gives us certain talents and with those talents, He expects us to glorify Him and also to use these gifts for the “great commission” found in Matthew 28. Do you use an outline, plot, or just see where the story takes you? I handwrite a timeline; actually draw a line on a page and then write my beginning, middle, and end. Sometimes I don’t know all these at the forefront, but I have scenes in my head that I want to write or points I want to touch on. So I fill those in on the timeline and work through the timeline as I write the story. It helps remind me of plot points I need to work out or include and also keeps me from veering too far off the main theme as I free-flow write. What are you currently working on? I am polishing my manuscript for Faith, Love, and Fried Chicken, Volume II, Fall to send to my editor. Then I will be working on two stories I hope to release before Christmas since they are both set during Christmas time; one in Sicily called Christmas Coffee and the other is Volume III, Winter of the above Faith, Love, and Fried Chicken serial novel; both of these are contemporary Christian romance. What's your favorite quote on writing? “Perhaps I write for no one. Perhaps for the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow.” Margaret Atwood Do you pray over your books? Yes. I don’t think I could get through any part of this process without prayer. I also pray that God would use each book as He sees fit; so in writing, I try to listen to that “still small voice” on the “take away” for the reader in each story. Author Bio: Laura J. Marshall is a full-time mom of five boys. When not on active duty, she is the best-selling author of The Battle Cry Devotional series and inspirational fiction (historical romantic suspense and contemporary romance). She operates a popular blog called The Old Stone Wall which hosts and promotes Christian and clean books and encourages interaction between authors and readers. Find Laura online on Facebook and Twitter. Visit her Amazon author page or her website at www.LauraJMarshall.com |