Author of Reclaiming Intimacy (Kregel)
by Trisha Bleau Smith
T4JYM: I was very impressed with Reclaiming Intimacy since T4J deals with so many people who have given themselves away before marriage. Where did the idea for the book come from? How has it been received by the public?
HJ: The idea for the book actually came out of my own experience of marrying early under circumstances relating to having had premarital sex. I was pregnant and so we got married.l We then went through a lot of adjustments and fall out from our earlier decision of having premarital sex, and there really wasn’t anything out there – material wise – to guide us through this hard process. So I thought this might be helpful to someone else who may be dealing with some consequences from prior relationships before marriage. So far the book has been received well by those who have read it. It is my prayer, though, that it will reach the people whom God intends to speak to through it.
T4JYM: Do you have any further plans for writing? What other books have you written or plan to write?
HJ: This was my first book to write, and I really like the opportunity writing gives a person to do discipleship and share about what Jesus has done in their lives. I hope to do more writing, but writing is such a tough thing. I’m not naturally inclined to it or that gifted in it. So if I do any more writing, it will need to be completely God-initiated and led. I pray about it a lot and ask God to provide the opportunities and open doors He wants if He wants me to do any more writing.
T4JYM: What training do you have in writing? Do you consider yourself to be a good writer with a God given talent? Or did you have to work to get to where you are now, taking classes on writing and such?
HJ: I don’t have much training in writing. My degree is in communication arts but that focused on speaking and drama. I’ve never considered myself gifted in writing. In fact, in high school I was the sports editor for the school paper and I wrote a column for each issue. I disctinctly remember picking up the paper one time and reading a column that another student had written in a different section of the paper one day, and comparing it to mine. I was so touched and moved by what she had written. It really hit me right then that I’m not gifted in this art. She was. And I felt at that time that I just didn’t have what it takes to be a writer. I think that is a good thing though because I can not hesitate one second in giving God the glory for any and all ministry that results from me having written something – because I know that He stooped to use me.
T4JYM: How much time went into putting this book together? How much research went into putting this book together?
HJ: All in all, it took about four months of committed writing to write the book, although there was a lot more time spent in procrastination. The book required a lot of research – I think anything worth reading usually results from good research and compiling that research to meet the needs of the reader.
T4JYM: How did you get started in writing? How many times did you find your work was sent back to you before it was finally accepted by a publisher?
HJ: I began writing by sending in article submissions to local newspapers. When those got published, I then took it a step further and tried Christian magazines. When those got published, then I tried larger Christian magazines and then I asked God to arrange for someone to publish this book and told Him that I wasn’t going to directly try and do it myself. Well through an internship that I did at the seminary, the teacher arranged for me to meet with her publisher at a convention, and I told the publisher about the book idea. They gave me a contract a few months later. All in all, I personally sent off the manuscript two times. The first time it was rejected. That was when I asked God to do that part of it – arranging for a publisher since I’m not keen on rejection or taking a lot of time to do things when I had other responsibilities like my kids. The second time I proposed it, it was accepted.
T4JYM: How do you go about editing your writing? Do you send it to people to read first, BEFORE you send it to publishers? How many times do you go in and change things?
HJ: Editing is a major challenge for me and I like to get as much feedback as people will give me. My husband does a lot of this for me. I thank God for editors – they have a tough job. I change things so many times – in fact, one article I wrote for Today’s Christian Woman took me a sum total of 30 hours in writing, re-writing and editing. That’s a lot of hours for just a few hundred dollars of pay. Writing can be a lot of work. But you can’t write for the pay – just write because God puts it on your heart to do so – or you might give up and say it’s not worth it somewhere in those 30 hours. Other times, things seem to go smoothly like the article I wrote for Focus onthe Family took about 3 hours total with only minimal edits.
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing writing as a career?
HJ: I would advise anyone thinking about writing to trust God’s leading in your life. If He has called you to do this, then seek His face and ask Him how he wants you to go about it. Look for Him to show you through people or arranging things for you and then tell Him thank you when He does.
T4JYM: What kind of activities do you like to do in your spare time?
HG: I don’t have much spare time with three kids, a hobby of writing and doing missions as our full-time job. But if I did have spare time, I like to read a good non-fiction book or watch some tv.
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