BLOGWORDS – Thursday 28 February 2019 – CHAT THURSDAY – AUTHOR INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY – VARINA DENMAN
CHAT THURSDAY – AUTHOR INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY – VARINA DENMAN
“Shattering Lies ~ Strengthening Women”
“Even though we can’t control the negative influences of our society and the media, we can choose what our reaction is going to be.”
Please welcome Varina Denman to the blog.
FAST FAVES
Call or Text – Text, definitely. I’m allergic to conversation.
Paperback or Kindle – Kindle, most often, but paperback when necessary. I also love audio books!
Yoga Pants or Jeans – Jeans. Everyday. Usually with a sweatshirt.
rem: Hullo, Varina. Welcome! Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
VARINA: I’m a native Texan, raised in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and I still live there. During my high school years, my family moved outside the metroplex to a small town just south of Fort Worth. That’s where the setting for my first novel, Jaded, originated. Even though the book is set in West Texas, there are many glimpses of my high school hometown in its pages.
rem: I can’t even imagine—we moved around so much when I was growing up. Tell us three random things about yourself no one knows.
VARINA: 1. I’m sensitive to sugar and avoid it almost exclusively because it makes me intolerably cranky. Really, really cranky. 2. I have a red refrigerator. Actually, it’s a vintage 1950s model that no longer works. I painted it bright red, and it lives in our game room as storage for videos and gaming equipment. (I love antiques.) 3. As a child, I played with baby dolls until junior high, only putting them away out of embarrassment. As an adult, I started playing again when my first child was born. She was so much fun, I had four more.
rem: Oh! I loved playing with baby dolls, too! Also love antiques, and the idea of the red vintage fridge. I’m totally the opposite when it comes to sugar, though—I have LOW blood sugar, and I gotta have my fix! What is your favourite quotation and why?
VARINA: “Don’t look back; you’re not going that way.” I love this because it’s a good reminder to live for today, and to plan for tomorrow. What’s in the past is done and gone, and whatever mistakes I made back then don’t define who I am now.
rem: That’s so, so important to realize. What’s the most random thing in your bag or on your desk?
VARINA: I have a set of latex gloves on my desk, in a container that holds random office supplies like tape and paper clips. I use the gloves when I change the ink cartridges in my printer, so I won’t stain my fingers.
rem: Well, now, that’s just plain smart! If you could go back in time, what era would you choose and why?
VARINA: As a girl, I read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s prairie series, so I’d like to go back and visit that era. I would not want to stay long though, as I appreciate electricity and indoor plumbing. Also, I would request that Laura, Mary, and Carrie be present when I flash back. 😊
rem: No kidding about electricity and plumbing! Do you have a favorite Bible verse? And why is it a favorite?
VARINA: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 I keep this on a sticky note on my computer monitor where I can see it every day because I have the tendency to w-o-r-r-y about things.
rem: Don’t we all, my friend, don’t we all! #greatreminder What do you think is significant about Christian fiction? How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
VARINA: As a reader, Christian fiction is a safe zone where I can find good stories without having to worry about harsh content, and often the stories either encourage me in my walk with Christ or challenge me to grow closer to Him. As a novelist, I constantly feel God leading me to help other women with life’s hardships, even if it means I have to get out of my comfort zone.
rem: I’ve read all your books, and let me confirm right here and now—your stories resonate profound and deep truth. Especially Looking Glass Lies. When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you? Your fiction pet peeve?
VARINA: The writing. If a story isn’t well-written, I get distracted by the mechanics. I love reading novels that I can lose myself in, even forgetting I’m reading at all.
rem: So much yes! Which is more important: plot or characters?
VARINA: Hmm. That’s a tough one, but I guess I’d have to say characters. Maybe? I only say that because when I’m writing, if I get the characters figured-out, then the plot creates itself from their personalities. That’s how it works for me, but I can see how many writers would start with plot and weave the characters in.
rem: We are alike in that, my friend; I write my characters as if we’re getting acquainted—and they tell me the story. What would you do if you weren’t writing?
VARINA: Play with my grandkids every day, all day. 😊
rem: Sweetest answer ever. What are you reading right now?
VARINA: The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware; In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson, and The Enneagram Movie & Video Guide, by Thomas Condon
rem: OY! Three at once! Makes my brain hurt! LOL What do you munch on while you write?
VARINA: I don’t usually eat while writing, but I always have a glass of water handy.
rem: Your stories, while fiction, have a powerful message. Talk a bit about that, and how it came to be so vital to you.
VARINA: When I first started writing, I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to write about. I stumbled around with plot and characters, and I ended up with Jaded, a story centered around small-town church hurt and the pain of three women who live there. Even though I didn’t initially plan to write for hurting women, as I wrote the Mended Hearts series (Jaded, Justified, and Jilted), I became more and more passionate about speaking to that need. Now, I clearly see God working in my life, leading me toward topics that I might never have considered on my own.
rem: Don’tcha just love when He leads us, blindfolded, like that, to have such an impact? I am one who was so deeply impacted by Looking Glass Lies. Tell us about Shanty. Who is she, and what was her role in Cecily’s story?
VARINA: Ah, Looking Glass Lies was difficult for me to write because it hits so close to home. It’s not my personal story, but like the main character, Cecily Ross, I also struggle with self-image and have spent years learning to “think happy thoughts.” Shanty Espinosa is a figment of my imagination. (rem: I loved Shanty!) In Looking Glass Lies, she’s the leader of Cecily’s accountability group. Shanty is beautiful yet overweight, and she wears a smile constantly. She’s Cecily’s role model and cheerleader, and she helps the group work through their feelings in healthy ways … even when her own life begins to unravel.
rem: What is your Writing Routine? Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy nook?
VARINA: I have a morning routine that I try to stick-to faithfully. Up and dressed around 6:00, then I make a fruit & protein smoothie which I take upstairs to my office. While a drink it, I have my morning devotional and prayer time, then I make a todo list for the day. After that, I write for a few hours, then I tackle the list.
rem: So structured—not sure if I’m jealous or if that scares me! LOL What makes you struggle as an author? How do you handle it?
VARINA: Insecurity! What if my next book isn’t good? What if readers don’t like it? What if, what if, what if? Sometimes I drive myself a little insane, but to counteract the little voice in my head, I spend time with other writers, and we encourage each other, reminding each other of our strengths.
rem: Such a common dread, even among more seasoned writers. And the best way to handle it! What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
VARINA: Self-employment. I can work when I want, where I want. Unless I’m on deadline, then I work 24/7 no matter where I am.
rem: Can’t argue with that! How do you choose your characters’ names?
VARINA: Usually a name will just pop into my head for certain characters. Sometimes I keep them, but sometimes I realize they don’t work out so well. For instance, I might have two characters with rhyming names. Or I might realize four of my characters’ names all start with the same letter. (confusing) Several times I have searched for baby names with specific meanings. For example, one meaning of the name Cecily is “unrecognized beauty,” which suits my plot in Looking Glass Lies because Cecily believes herself to be unattractive.
rem: Oh that’s beautiful! Do you think of the entire story before you start writing?
VARINA: Well, I try to. I’m a plotter, meaning I attempt to plot the entire story before I write the first chapter, but no matter how hard I try, the story always veers into a slightly different direction. But for the most part, I follow my outline fairly closely.
rem: Tell us a little about your latest book?
VARINA: Looking Glass Lies tells the story of Cecily Ross, a young woman who suffers from low self-image following her divorce from an emotionally abusive husband. She returns to her hometown of Canyon, Texas, looking to heal, but coming home isn’t what she expects. In a town as small as Canyon, Cecily’s pain is difficult to escape. With help from her father, a support group, and an old friend who guides her to see her own strengths, Cecily may have a shot at overcoming her insecurities and learning to love again.
rem: I love how you weave such disparate characters into her life—not so unlike how Father God brings people into our lives. What is YOUR favorite part about the book or why do you love this book? Why should we read it?
VARINA: Looking Glass Lies is set on the rim of Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle, and I love the visual imagery that the story holds. When I was working on it, I felt like I was walking through the canyon with the wind whipping through my hair … instead of sitting in my office in front of a computer screen.
rem: Ditto when I read it! Tell us about why you wrote this book.
VARINA: I’ve struggled with self-image my entire life, and I wrote the book as an encouragement to other women that there’s more to life that what we look like. God has so much more in store for us than just looking pretty.
rem: Please give us the first page of the book.
VARINA:
Chapter One
I woke up in the middle of the night in our cavernous walk-in closet. Again. For a moment, I enjoyed the wispy memory of a not-yet-forgotten dream, but then I realized the plush carpet had become solid rock while I slept, its gritty fibers pressing against me as though I were wedged into a sandstone crevice instead of willingly tucked against the back wall beneath my hanging clothes.
Good grief. You have to stop this, Cecily. I told myself the same thing every blasted time, but so far I hadn’t been able to do it. Even now, I didn’t move so much as a pinkie finger, didn’t open my eyes against the harsh fluorescent light, didn’t crawl past Brett’s shoe rack where I could see myself in the floor-length mirror. Not a chance. Because that would have broken the spell and sent me back to the real world, and—no, thanks—I preferred the fairy tale where high school sweethearts lived happily ever after.
My husband slept soundly in our pillow-top king, just on the other side of the closet door. The phrase sleeping like a baby crossed my mind, and I snickered softly because Brett’s snoring was anything but childlike, and his seemingly undefiled slumber had been brought on by over-the-counter sleeping pills rather than the serenity of innocence.
Besides, Brett wasn’t the one who was childish. He never scrutinized his reflection in the mirror late at night. He never beat his fists against his thighs until he had bruises, hoping a tantrum would somehow change things. He never bawled uncontrollably, wishing he could mold his body into what it ought to be—like Play-Doh—kneading and pressing until the flesh became aesthetically balanced.
rem: Such a gripping opening scene! What is one take-away from your book(s) that you hope readers identify with?
VARINA: Hope. I pray that readers take-away a message of hope—that there’s more to life than surface appearances, and that God has awesome things in store for each of us.
rem: Thank you so much for chatting with us at my little nest today!
VARINA: Thanks, Robin! It’s been fun visiting with you and your readers today.
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https://www.amazon.com/Varina-Denman/e/B00KXZUCNM/
“…refuse to believe the lies you hear when you look in the mirror. Because you, my friend, are lovely.”
GIVEAWAY
Varina is offering a paperback copy of one of her books, winner’s choice. Apologies, U.S. address only.
Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway will begin at 12:00 A.M. on Thursday 28 February and end at 12:00 A.M. on Thursday 7 March. Giveaway is subject to the policies found on Robin’s Nest.
RAFFLECOPTER
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b485f64b7/?
#Blogwords, Chat Thursday, Author Interview, Varina Denman, Looking Glass Lies
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