With a past as a soprano soloist your life was all about music and singing and you wrote many of your own songs. Was this the start of your writing career?
I had always been interested in writing, even as a young child. In high school I took a creative writing class and during my singing ministry I took a class on writing fiction, so the interest has always been there. After I lost my voice to a surgical mistake, I was too depressed to even think about anything but getting my voice back. In time however, I began to feel an overwhelming desire to write about the Lord. I had sung about Him for so many years, it should have been a natural thing to just go from writing songs to writing books, but I balked at not being able to sing and tried everything to get back to my previous vocal range. One day while I was praying, I felt such a crushing desire to write that I went to my computer, put my hands on the keys and said, “Okay, Lord – I surrender. If you don’t want me to sing anymore, I won’t. I will write whatever you want. Here are my hands – use them.” For about 3 months I was writing non-stop (my family thought I’d gone off the deep-end!), but eventually the story was finished and the result was Come to Me.
How does song writing differ from writing a story?
Songs are easier! You can make one song into many things, just from the beat of the music. I could take a hymn and turn it into a pop song, for example, but with a story, you are locked into characters, motivations, antagonists, etc. I find writing stories difficult, but at the same time I enjoy the result.
Tell us about your book 'Come to me'.
Come to Me is about the life of Christ through the eyes of His mother. It follows Mary from her engagement to Joseph, through to Jesus’ birth, childhood, ministry, death and resurrection. It also explores what happens when you surrender to God and allow Him to work in your life.
Was it hard to write a book based on the bestseller of all time?
Yes it was! My main goal was to present Mary, Jesus and his apostles as real people. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he was still human. I wanted to present him as the people of his time saw him. I didn’t want to stray from scripture and so I included many footnotes throughout the book, so the reader could get out their bible to verify the story. The places that are “made up” of course would be private conversations, Jesus’ childhood, and in areas that are not clearly defined in Scripture.
You self published using lulu.com. Would you recommend them to others? Why or why not?
I would recommend them. I think their services were easy to use and the prices were excellent. They take care of everything, the ISBN #, making sure it is listed with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. I never considered using a publisher because at the time, the book was so personal to me that at first I just had a few copies printed to give to family and friends. However, the Lord works in mysterious ways and I soon found myself on book tours, TV and radio, so it kind of grew out of my hands.
What made you choose lulu.com for your book?
My daughter had used them for a graphic novel that she had been working on and they did such lovely work, that I didn’t think twice.
Anything else?
For more information about Come to Me, and to read an excerpt you can visit http://www.authorlauradavis.com.
I had always been interested in writing, even as a young child. In high school I took a creative writing class and during my singing ministry I took a class on writing fiction, so the interest has always been there. After I lost my voice to a surgical mistake, I was too depressed to even think about anything but getting my voice back. In time however, I began to feel an overwhelming desire to write about the Lord. I had sung about Him for so many years, it should have been a natural thing to just go from writing songs to writing books, but I balked at not being able to sing and tried everything to get back to my previous vocal range. One day while I was praying, I felt such a crushing desire to write that I went to my computer, put my hands on the keys and said, “Okay, Lord – I surrender. If you don’t want me to sing anymore, I won’t. I will write whatever you want. Here are my hands – use them.” For about 3 months I was writing non-stop (my family thought I’d gone off the deep-end!), but eventually the story was finished and the result was Come to Me.
How does song writing differ from writing a story?
Songs are easier! You can make one song into many things, just from the beat of the music. I could take a hymn and turn it into a pop song, for example, but with a story, you are locked into characters, motivations, antagonists, etc. I find writing stories difficult, but at the same time I enjoy the result.
Tell us about your book 'Come to me'.
Come to Me is about the life of Christ through the eyes of His mother. It follows Mary from her engagement to Joseph, through to Jesus’ birth, childhood, ministry, death and resurrection. It also explores what happens when you surrender to God and allow Him to work in your life.
Was it hard to write a book based on the bestseller of all time?
Yes it was! My main goal was to present Mary, Jesus and his apostles as real people. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he was still human. I wanted to present him as the people of his time saw him. I didn’t want to stray from scripture and so I included many footnotes throughout the book, so the reader could get out their bible to verify the story. The places that are “made up” of course would be private conversations, Jesus’ childhood, and in areas that are not clearly defined in Scripture.
You self published using lulu.com. Would you recommend them to others? Why or why not?
I would recommend them. I think their services were easy to use and the prices were excellent. They take care of everything, the ISBN #, making sure it is listed with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. I never considered using a publisher because at the time, the book was so personal to me that at first I just had a few copies printed to give to family and friends. However, the Lord works in mysterious ways and I soon found myself on book tours, TV and radio, so it kind of grew out of my hands.
What made you choose lulu.com for your book?
My daughter had used them for a graphic novel that she had been working on and they did such lovely work, that I didn’t think twice.
Anything else?
For more information about Come to Me, and to read an excerpt you can visit http://www.authorlauradavis.com.
