This post marks another installment of my “7 Questions With an Author…” series, where I ask published authors an unchanging set of questions and share their responses here.
Today I’m honored to feature one of the most accomplished writers I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing – Mary DeMuth.
Mary has been writing since 1992, first as a newsletter editor, then as a freelance writer, followed by a fiction and nonfiction author.
Her articles have appeared in an array of national publications including In Touch, Bon Appetit, and Writer’s Digest. For two years she also penned a lifestyle column for Star Community Newspapers in Dallas.
Oh, did I mention that she’s written more than a dozen novels and nonfiction books as well? Check out the dizzying list HERE.
Then she somehow finds the time for her three kids, husband of 22 years, cooking, gardening, and triathlons (I’m getting fatigued just writing about it all).
Her latest accomplishment is the launch of her newest book titled Everything, which will be available next month; however, Mary has a special offer for anyone who pre-orders her book during the next 48 hours.
You’ll get immediate access to $69 worth of product offerings including an e-version of Everything so you don’t have to wait a month (which is perfect of overly-impatient types like me)!
Here’s the link to the special offer as well as 7 Questions With Mary DeMuth:
1. Tell us about your book?
The book Everything: What You Give and What You Gain to Become Like Jesus percolated in my heart several years after we returned from France as church planters. Having been overseas, we returned to the US with a brand new perspective on Christ and Christianity, and we saw both the beauty and struggles in the American church. Those observations, which bottom-lined in the issue of spiritual growth, make up the bulk of this book.
2. What led you to write it?
I wanted to explore why some people can walk with Jesus six months and grow leaps and bounds while others can claim to know Him fifty years, yet are stingy, angry, and not very Jesusy. What accounts for the growth? What makes folks stagnate? The answer comes back to what do we do with Jesus. And ultimately, how much of ourselves, our money, our agendas and our control are we willing to relinquish to Him?
3. Who is a writer that inspires you and why?
Mark Buchanan messes with me in the best possible way. One because he’s a poetic writer (I almost want to ingest his sentences;
they’re that beautiful) and two because he thinks deeply about Jesus and what it means to walk with Him in this crazy mixed up world. His book, The Rest of God, had a profound impact on my heart.
4. What was the biggest challenge you faced writing this book?
Giving myself permission to articulate what’s been bothering me for the past few years. I didn’t want to come across as critical at all, particularly because the book is primarily addressing me and my own crazed need for control. I wanted to write it in an invitational way, not as some hero who has figured everything out and reached spiritual nirvana, but as a fellow struggler who beckons friends to join her on the path.
5. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Write all the time. Words upon words upon words. You will only find your voice in quantity, not necessarily quality. Writing is like a muscle—if you don’t exercise, it atrophies. Many people just want to be able to say they’ve written a book. They want to hold it and show others. But being a true writer is so much more than that. It’s sacrifice. It’s perspiring on the page. It’s dogged determination. It’s tenacity when you face rejection. It’s gusty. Writing for a living is not for wimps.
6. Where do you get your ideas?
They come to me all the time in every possible way. When I’m quiet, while jogging – tons of ideas pop into my head. I’d say 90% of my blog post ideas come on my runs. My problem isn’t finding ideas, it’s in deciding which ones to use. (Side note: it’s sheer chaos in my head.)
7. Anything that you’d like readers to know that I haven’t asked?
I really want this book to be community centric. Which is why the book trailer isn’t about me and my pithy words. It’s about other people’s stories from around the world. You’ll see what I mean if you watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
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You can check out the official web site for her book at everythingthebook.com as well as follow Mary on Twitter @marydemuth and
Facebook.com/authormarydemuth
Also, don’t forget to preorder Everything by clicking HERE.
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