QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I've been speaking to some amazing people lately. This is the youth group at Johnston Evangelical Free Church in Johnston, Iowa.

I've been on the road speaking a lot lately. It is an amazing thing--meeting so many incredible people, hearing their stories, sharing with them how beautiful they are, that God has His hand on them for something special. One of the fun parts of these events is I often get a chance to do a Q&A at the end where I get to know the people attending the event better through their questions, and they get to know me better through my answers. We often spin off on different topics altogether and get into some fantastic conversations. But sometimes the questions come in later; on note cards, and emails, and tweets, and comments on my blog. Sometimes the questions throw me for a loop, but most of the time people seem to want to ask me the same kinds of things. So I'm writing my blog answering them. Two weeks ago I wrote Part One of this two part series. If you missed it, you can catch it here. If not, find a cozy seat and a pumpkin spiced latte (or fall beverage of choice) and let's chat.

People ask which book I've written is my favorite. Which one is your favorite?

Q: What is my favorite book I’ve written?

A: My answer is always the one I’m working on right now. I love all of the girls in all of my books. I wouldn’t have written about the topics I have if they didn’t resonate with me, tug at my heart. So, I have written about eating disorders, and divorce, and purity, and relationships, and loss, and date rape, and addictions. I am passionate about all of these things, because they effect people like you and me, and our families and friends, and we need to be armed and ready to deal with them, to face them, and to know we are worthy and beautiful despite what we may be going through. But now, well I’m working on a new story. There’s this girl and she's dealing with something, that nobody else knows about …. that’s all I can say for now. But I’m really excited about her, and where she’s going to go, and who she’s going to meet, and what she’ll hopefully learn.

Q: What is your greatest accomplishment outside of writing?

A: My family. I’ve been married nineteen years to my Prince Charming and we are blessed with four incredible children who delight us daily.

I think the biggest struggle all females deal with is self-image.

Q: What is the biggest struggle you see college girls face?

A: The biggest struggle I see all females face, from age 12 – 82 is self-image. There is so much pressure from our world and our media to look a certain way, we are judged by our size and our shape and our hair and our clothes. Virtually every magazine picture is digitally altered. The expectation of what we should look like isn’t even real. I strive to remind girls of all ages that they are beautiful as they are, as they were created, uniquely and perfectly designed. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and instead be the best version of ourselves.

Q: How did you decide when to write?

A: Ever since I was little I dreamed of being an author. I was a voracious reader with a constant imagination. I would have rather lived in my imaginary world than in reality as a child. We had copies of the books a distant half aunt had written on our bookshelf. I read them all even though they were about boys playing sports, which didn’t resonate with me. At all. But it didn’t matter. I loved touching their spines, believing in the possibility, that if someone related to me could write, maybe, just maybe I could write too. But I held that dream inside of me until years and years later, until I was married, and pregnant and had a career. When I finally shared my secret with my husband, there was no turning back. (Find the full story here)

Q: Do you need an assistant?

A: LOL! Although I don't have the luxury of hiring a personal assistant, I sure could use one! Until I make it to the best sellers list, I am extremely grateful to all of my readers, friends, and lovely people I’ve met who write reviews of my books, tell others about what they've heard me say or write, tweet and repost my comments, and encourage me along my journey. What a huge source of encouragement you all are!

Have I left anything out? Does anyone else out there have a question for me?