Interview with Author Ruth O’Neil and a Giveaway!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! This week, I’m pleased to finally have Ruth O’Neil as my guest! I’ve had Ruth scheduled a couple of times, and kept having to reschedule her. Ruth is a homeschool mama and author of several Christian fiction books! Read on to see how you can be one of two winners of her book Come Eat at My Table!

Tell us a little bit about yourself. I have been a writer since I was 9 – at least that’s when I considered myself a writer. I was born and raised in upstate NY, but now live in VA. I have been married for 26 years, have raised three children (homeschooling them all the way), and now teach writing classes at a local homeschool co-op. A couple of my favorite things to do are spend time at the beach, go camping, spend time at the beach, go hiking, spend time at the beach, and oh, yeah, spend time at the beach.

Tell us about your current release. The book I want to share with readers today is actually the first novel I published, Come Eat at My Table. I don’t know if it’s because this book if my “firstborn”, but it’s the book that is dearest to my heart. Karin is a woman who thinks she has long since left her past behind her. As soon as she was able, she ran away as far and as fast as she could. But now, 20 years later, the past has found her. It forces her to face issues and forgive those who hurt her, even if they never offered their repentance.

If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it? Absolutely! That’s why I write. The first time I received a note from a reader of Come Eat at My Table, I couldn’t stop smiling. In my mind, that book was a success. Nothing else after that mattered.

What do you think is lacking in Christian Fiction? The part about it being “Christian.” I hear so many readers today comment on how they started reading a book that was labeled Christian fiction only to contain gratuitous sex scenes, swearing, and other things that definitely should not be part of the Christian life. I’m proud of the fact that my books are completely clean. You can tell a hard story and still make it emotional without including all the gory details of life.

With all those characters in your head screaming to get out how do you write fast enough to get it all down? I don’t write fast enough some days. I’ll be writing along and have a GREAT idea. By the time I’m done writing down the thought I was previously working on, the new thought is often gone. I try, but unfortunately my brain works faster than my fingers sometimes.

Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write? Little bit of both. I am definitely a planner. When I start writing without a plan I end up nowhere. But that doesn’t mean I have to have all the details worked out before I begin. I usually have several stories brewing while I’m working on one. I just jot down all my ideas in a notebook for that idea so that when I’m ready for the next book, I already have quite a few thoughts in place.

What is your preferred method of writing? (computer, pen & paper, etc.) I am definitely a pen and paper at first gal. There’s something about the feel of the pen in your hand and the smell of the paper. I also have this weird thing about watching the ink go down in the pen. I guess I feel like when the ink is gone, I’ve accomplished something.

What is your inspiration for writing? Life. Inspiration is all around us. Come Eat at My Table has a LOT of real life scenes in it. I think that’s what makes it real to readers and draws them in – they can relate.

Find Ruth online:

Blog, Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Amazon, Google+

Find Ruth’s Come Eat at My Table online!

Ruth is giving away TWO copies of Come Eat at My Table! Winner can choose ebook or print. Enter here:

 

 

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5 comments

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    • Ruth O'Neil on June 22, 2017 at 14:49
    • Reply

    Thanks for having me today, Hallee!

  1. Hallee, thanks for sharing this interview.

    Ruth, I love your comment: “You can tell a hard story and still make it emotional without including all the gory details of life.” Leave the gory to the world – I’d much prefer to see the glory and the victory, thank you very much.

      • Ruth O'Neil on June 25, 2017 at 19:53
      • Reply

      Absolutely! That’s when God comes into the picture.

  2. Very interesting. I live in VA, too, in Mechanicsville. 🙂

      • Ruth O'Neil on June 25, 2017 at 19:54
      • Reply

      Ah! Only a couple of hours away. We’re practically neighbors!

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