INTERVIEW | Sharon Hinck
By editor on Feb 12, 2007 in Interviews
Sharon, describe yourself for our visitors.
I’m a wife and mother of four children who generously provide me with fodder for my books. I’m part of a weekly small-group women’s Bible study (very like the group described in the BECKY MILLER novels.) Since releasing my first novel, I only rarely get to indulge in favorite hobbies like rubber stamping, reading, scrapbooking and gardening. Actually, sleeping and eating have gotten squeezed off my list some days, too. I love Celtic worship music, hiking in the North woods, animated discussions around the supper table with the family, and praying with friends.
I write “stories for the hero in all of us†and my books share a common theme: The life of faith is a grand adventure, and even the small choices we make each day can be heroic. My characters discover that God can accomplish amazing things through our ordinary lives.
How do you find time to connect with God?
I’ve recently joined a women’s Bible study at our church to work through the Bible in a year – knowing that meeting each Wednesday will keep me on target and accountable. I also have my Thursday group, and we are doing another Beth Moore study right now. The homework for that nudges me into the Word each day. I look for ways to “Practice the Presence of Jesus†(as Brother Lawrence wrote about decades ago) throughout the day. When I need a break to stretch, I sing a worship song and dance in praise (I used to be a ballet teacher). When I answer a friend’s email, I include a prayer for them. When I fold laundry, I pray for the person whose clothes I’m folding. Even so, it’s WAY too easy for my walk with God to get squeezed out by the busy-ness of life. It’s requires daily re-focusing.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
I earned an M.A. in Communication from Regent University in 1986 and spent ten years as the artistic director of a Christian performing arts group, CrossCurrent. That ministry included three short-term mission trips to Hong Kong. I’ve been a church youth worker, a choreographer and ballet teacher, a home-school mom, a church organist, a speaker, and a freelance writer. One day I’ll figure out what to be when I grow up. In the meantime, I’ve been writing novels. God has been kind and opened some doors for them.
Tell us about your current book?
It’s another BECKY MILLER book! I adore this gal.
Becky Miller believes in fixing things: children, friends, mother-in-law, sister, church . . . and her husband. So renovating a run-down farmhouse is right up her alley–the perfect antidote for the pressures of modern life.
But Becky’s pursuit of the simple life is soon threatened. Her mother-in-law moves in, her son finds trouble at school, her sister arrives for a visit, her best friend is acting weird, all while work stresses mount. Worst of all, her marriage is in need of some major remodeling of its own.
Cinematic daydreams provide Becky with heroic drama. Maybe that’s why she escapes into the scenes so often. In real life, everything is a muddled mess.
Who knew one old house could lead them to the brink of bankruptcy? Or that Becky’s physical handicap could threaten to steal their dream?
Can Becky stop fixing everyone else and let God renovate her heart so she can find her own happy ending?
How did you come up with ideas for your current release?
Sadly, my husband and I have been starry-eyed buyers of fixer-uppers. Our first home had windows so stained with cigarette smoke they looked like stained glass, and the stained carpets were infested with fleas. When we started a “quick and easy†update of the bathroom, we discovered rotted walls behind the tub surround. When the dryer didn’t work and my husband disassembled it, he found chicken bones inside. We’re still trying to figure out why someone was drying a dead chicken in the clothes dryer. So writing about renovating an old home felt VERY familiar.
I’ve also noticed that many women feel driven to “fix†things – so examining the ways that Becky learned to let go was a good experience for me.
List your most recent books.
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, 6/2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, 2/2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, 5/2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, 9/2007)
The Restorer’s Journey (NavPress, 12/2007)
Symphony in the Key of Mom (Bethany House 2/2008)
Penny’s Project (Bethany House 9/2008)
What’s next for you?
a nap
Where can visitors find you online?
www.sharonhinck.com
http://sharonswriting.blogspot.com/
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