Author of A Test of Love
by Trisha Bleau Smith
T4JYM: I picked up A Test of Love and found I was unable to put it down til the end. Where did the idea for the book come from? How has it been received by the public?
KS: I’m glad you were unable to put the book down! Many readers have felt the same way. One thing I keep hearing from readers is that the story seems very real and that Michael and Juliet seem like real people. I think one reason for that is because this story came from my heart, from my own experiences. The people and the details in A Test of Love are mostly fictional, but the themes of disappointment and lack of intimacy in marriage are things that I have personally experienced. I think that comes across and some people have even asked if A Test of Love is an autobiography, but it’s not!
T4JYM: Do you have any further plans for writing? What other books have you written or plan to write?
KS: Oh yes! I have found that writing is the most fulfilling thing–next to being a mother–that I’ve ever done in my life. I have finished writing the second story, Hope Deferred, in my Mount Hermon Series and I’m now deeply into the third and plotting and researching the fourth. I think there will be at least six books in the Mount Hermon Series, but that will surely not be the end of my 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?
KS: I took several creative writing classes when I was a student at San Francisco State University, but I don’t think that prepared me for novel writing as much as simply living my life and loving to write. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved to write extremely long letters, but never dreamed I would someday write books.
When I turned forty years old, two important things happened to give me the confidence to write my first novel. First, I felt very clearly that this was something God wanted me to do. I believed I had something helpful and encouraging to share with people about how to bring fulfillment to their troubled marriages. Sadly, I had learned these lessons from failing in my first marriage. I felt my message would be presented most powerfully in the form of a fictional story. The other thing that happened was that I began homeschooling my four children. For the first time, I felt confident about grammar and writing. Nothing taught those subjects to me as well as teaching them to my own kids. I discovered that I am passionate about grammar–so much so, that I worked for a while as an editor for a local newspaper.
T4JYM: How much time went into putting this book together? Do you have to do research for writing a fictional book such as this?
KS: I started to write A Test of Love in the summer of 1995 and finished it in the fall of 1999. Four years to write such a short novel seems excessively long, doesn’t it? But the reason it took that long is because I was learning how to do it as I went along. During those long years, I was checking out books about writing, editing, and grammar every week from my local library. Also, my youngest child was two when I started to write and mothering has always come before writing. In those early years, I did most of my writing in the middle of the night. Often I would get completely caught up in my story and lose all track of time, until the sun came up and I realized how long I’d been at my keyboard. Thankfully, in those days, my kids took naps!
Since I lived in Mount Hermon for five years, I knew the area well enough to write about it confidently. I did do some research on the Internet about the Shakespeare Centre in England, Kauai, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and San Francisco. Although I have personally been to all these places, I strongly believe in double checking all my facts. I think I owe it to my readers, even when writing fiction, to be accurate about details.
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?
KS: When I began writing A Test of Love, I had no idea how or if I would get the book published after I finished it. But it was so clear to me that I needed to write that story, I figured that even if it was something my granddaughter found someday in an old box in the attic, read it, and felt encouraged to stay married, it would be worth all the effort. I sent my proposal for A Test of Love to three Christian publishing houses and was turned down by all three. Then I advertised my proposal on the ecpa.org website and Kregel Publications asked to see the entire book. They offered me a contract about three months later.
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?
KS: I have a few close friends who read my books before I send them to a publisher. They help me identify things that aren’t clear or don’t seem to work. I made A Test of Love as polished as possible before I sent it to Kregel Publications. After Kregel accepted it, they teamed me with an excellent editor, Becky Fish, who insisted that several chapters and the ending needed to be rewritten. I learned so much from Becky’s insights and she helped me make the story stronger.
I tend to be a perfectionist about editing. I think this has helped me get my foot in the door as a new author. When the publisher of a local newspaper asked me to start working for the paper, it was because I had submitted a homeschooling article for them to consider. They said it was the only article they had ever received that wasn’t full of mistakes. When I worked as an editor for the paper, I was shocked to see how sloppy some of the submissions were. To me, sending in work that is full of spelling and grammatical errors is as bad as showing up for a job interview in torn, dirty clothes.
T4JYM: Do you get a lot of feedback from the public? Do you respond to the people who contact you about your works?
KS: A Test of Love has only been out for a few months, but I have received some wonderful and encouraging letters from readers. A few of the letters I’ve recieved have made me cry, as I marveled at the mystery that some words I wrote on my computer years ago reached someone I’ve never met and encouraged them. I always answer the letters and emails I receive from readers. A few of my readers have even become pen pals!
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing writing as a career?
KS: I would say that if you write things that you feel passionately about, you are bound to find readers on the other end who will respond to your words. Personally, I see writing as a ministry and a unique chance to encourage people I would probably not get to meet if it weren’t for my book. As far as the practical aspects of a writing career, I don’t think there is any substitute for learning good English grammar. Although this won’t guarantee that your work will be published, it will surely improve your chances. Most of all, as a Christian, I have had to turn all my writing ambitions over to the Lord. I feel that it is only because of Him that I have made it this far and I trust that He will continue to take me and my writing where I am meant to go in the future.
T4JYM: Do you do any other kinds of writing? For example, magazine writing, devotions, etc.
KS: I have written some stories for children, but I haven’t sent them around to publishers for consideration yet. I also wrote articles for the local family newspaper for a while, but that work was not nearly as fulfilling as novel writing. With homeschooling and homemaking competing for my time each day, I decided to spend what few hours I had for writing, working on the projects I loved to do most.
T4JYM: What kind of activities do you like to do in your spare time?
KS: I am a bookaholic, if there is such a term! I am always reading something–biographies, romance, and mysteries are my favorites. I am also a pet fanatic. My family and I have raised everything from birds and hamsters to an abandoned calf that we bottle-fed. I spend a large portion of my free time fussing over our Sheltie and five cats. I also love to watch old movies and play Scrabble and Clue with my kids.
T4JYM: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
KS: I’d like to invite people to visit my website, << No longer available >> to learn more about the story behind A Test of Love and the other stories I’m putting together in the Mount Hermon Series. If you visit the site, please send me an email. I love to hear from people!
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