Photo copyright by Lorri Nussbaum.

Photo copyright by Lorri Nussbaum.

Are you asking, “Where did the summer go?” Yep. I am.

As we head into October, maybe you’re even asking, “Where did the year go?” Yep. I am.

To tell the truth, the last 16 months since my first book released are mostly a blur. A happy blur. A very happy blur. One of the pleasant surprises has been doing online interviews on blog sites. Here are some of the questions I’ve gotten.

Other than writing great novels, what other goals do you have for your life?

A life-theme that is important to me is the idea of whole-life health. I want to be healthy not just in body, but as the body-and-spirit being that God created me to be. That includes my work, my family, my friends, what I eat, how much I move, how I pray—the whole package. This is not so much the kind of goal I can check off a list, but the kind of goal that is a life pursuit. Writing novels fits somewhere in that tapestry as a part of my whole-life wellness.

What is your Avenue of Dreams series about?

The Avenue of Dreams series is about three young women in Chicago in the 1890s who struggle to be able to choose their own futures. They come to their circumstances by widely divergent roads, but what they all seek is finding meaning in their lives. Lucy Banning (The Pursuit of Lucy Banning) is a privileged daughter of wealth, but society tries to put her in a box that squeezes the life out of her. Charlotte Farrow (The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow) arrives at the Banning house with a secret that makes it hard for her to trust. And because of the sudden death of her parents Sarah Cummings grows up in an orphanage and then goes into domestic service, a life she detests. In The Invention of Sarah Cummings we find out what she plans to do about it.

How did you come up with the concept for Valley of Choice series?

An article in the newspaper featured a new Amish settlement in southwestern Colorado. One of the names mentioned was similar to the name of an ancestor of mine, When I investigated further, I learned that my ancestor had been Amish, but made a life-changing choice that took his family into the general culture. I wondered what would cause him to make such a choice. Then I started thinking about a contemporary story with the same theme of values that drive choices. I ended up with dual story lines that intersect in the place where faith meets real decisions.

What is something the average reader wouldn’t know about you?

In the eighth grade, I was voted “Most Literary.” I guess this business of chasing words around the page goes back a long way. Who knew?

What other questions do you have? Leave one in the comments and I’ll answer it in an upcoming post.