The main character, Libby Morgan, goes through a long stretch of unemployment. Was Libby’s experience a reflection of your own?
Unemployment or the loss of a job wasn’t my personal experience – it was more a family experience. My husband, Wayne, who worked as a construction electrician, often experienced layoffs and slowdowns on the job site. One year, in a slow economy, Wayne was unemployed for nearly nine months. It was a difficult time for all of us. Â
How was the writing process for Starting Now? Did the story flow freely? What were the challenges?
Because the gift God gave me is that of a storyteller, I often have multiple ideas and need to devise a method of choosing which stories to develop. I do this by checking my plot premise against several key words. They are: relevant, provocative, realistic, creative and entertaining. Starting Now fell solidly into the relevant. Once I had the storyline down in my head, the words flowed. As for challenges . . . this was my first book with Random House and I was particularly concerned that the story live up to the publisher’s expectations. I was working with an entirely new team; new editor, new cover art… new everything. My hope is that this book lives up to their faith and commitment to me.
Knitting features prominently in the book. Are you a keen knitter yourself?
Saying that I am a keen knitter is an understatement of my love of the craft! I believe I inherited this love of craft from my grandmother, although she died before I have any memories of her. My older cousins tell stories of sitting in a semi-circle on the rug in front of her rocking chair and watching grandma crochet at lightening speed while rocking and snoring. She was sound asleep. I don’t know that I’ve reached that level, but I will tell you that I dream about knitting. I have a queue of projects waiting to be knit that would stretch from Washington to Florida – the two states where my husband and I divide our time. Â
