Over the last few weeks I’ve tried to answer the Who What When and Where of Plans for Emma. The final question – and always my favorite on any subject – is WHY. It’s a question any author ought to be able to answer before writing a single word and one I’m happy to answer for you.

I write because I have stories to tell. I have the stories of generations of family bouncing around my head – stories that have been told and retold for so many years that the facts blur into the legend that’s grown around them. I love these people and I love their stories. I believe there is value for the next generation of my family, other families from the mountain, and people everywhere to know about these people, who they are and what they’ve endured.

With that said, the bigger reason I write, and I hope the primary reason I undertake anything in my life is to glorify God. After all, that’s the reason for life – our purpose for existing. I write about a people with a deep faith in God, so in many ways it’s easy to weave faith into every chapter.

I hope that a Christian can read my stories and come away encouraged and uplifted. We have so many burdens in this modern world where Christ is assaulted on every front that we need some kind of escape – if only for a few minutes – into a world where the battle belongs to someone else. There are happy endings in my books if you look deeply. If your own faith will allow you to see that even in hardship there is joy and that leaving a legacy of faith is a greater success than any earthly convenience or pleasure.

Of course, not everyone who reads believes and I pray that my books might fall into the hands of someone who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that at the end of the story the gospel is clear and that the characters would draw you to Christ.

It is my intention that each story would end with an epilogue showing how the life of the characters affected the future. It’s not a luxury we enjoy as we make decisions great and small in our everyday life so I hope it will be an encouragement to see the long term effect of the characters’ lives. The end papers will always include a witnessing statement and resources where a reader can find answers to questions about God.

I’m so excited to have Emma in your hands and I can’t wait to hear what you think about this book. As always I’m asking that everyone who reads the book will leave reviews – Amazon is a great place to start with those although there are certainly other platforms for book reviews. I have so many stories I want to tell you and I’m turning right in on the next one. At this point I believe I’ll finish a trilogy that I have about ½ complete. It will follow a mother and her two daughters as they move from rebellion to obedience and service. They will face great pain as well as great joy. I’ll keep you updated as I progress on these three books.