INTERVIEW | Virginia Smith
By editor on Dec 5, 2007 in Interviews
Virginia, describe yourself for our visitors.
I’m a wife, mother, writer, singer, and scuba diving enthusiast. My kids are grown and living on their own. (Well, my son says he’s on his own, until his car payment comes due!) I’m one of those incredibly lucky writers who gets to do it full-time, so most of my days are spent in my home office in front of a computer, letting my imagination run wild.
How do you find time to connect with God?
I make time to connect with God. I have Bible study and prayer time every morning before breakfast, and that helps keep Him in focus. I also swim laps at a gym most weekdays, and I find that time incredibly refreshing – my mind is free and I keep up a running conversation with the Lord. He has given me some incredible story ideas and developments during our swim-times!
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
If I listed them all, I would blow your blog provider’s space limits! I’ve been an avid reader all my life, so I have a bunch of favorites! But one of my recent favorite authors is Sharon Hinck. Her Restorer series literally took my breath away. I had the honor of endorsing The Restorer’s Son and The Restorer’s Journey which means I got a pre-release copy from the publisher. Those stories containing everything I love in a book – real characters, a compelling plot, action, adventure, an inspirational theme that was woven intricately into the plot. You’ll think I’m weird when I say this, but reading those fantasy novels really did change my life. I’ve started memorizing Scripture, something I haven’t done since I was a little girl. (To know how The Restorer encouraged me to memorize Scripture, you’re just going to have to read the book and find out!)
Tell us about your journey to publication.
I started writing later than many authors. I was in my mid-twenties before I attempted my first short story. I’ve always loved reading, though, and one day I read a published short story that I didn’t think was very good. I thought, “I could do better than that!” So I did. I wrote a short story – it was a science fiction story – and sent it to the same magazine. The rejection letter arrived in something just short of the speed of light. And there began a very painful lesson, that writing well is a lot harder than it looks.
But as I wrote that first story, I discovered a passion for writing. I kept writing, and kept submitting, and kept falling deeper and deeper in love with the process of writing. I took an online writing course from Long Ridge, and then joined a critique group. Over the years the rejection letters piled up – almost150 before my first sale! But that first sale was a big one – my first Christian novel, a book called Just As I Am about a girl with purple hair and multiple facial piercings who becomes a Christian in her mama’s Kentucky church. That contract came twenty years after that first rejection letter!
Tell us about your current book?
Bluegrass Peril is my second mystery, and it’s my husband’s favorite. It’s set in Kentucky ’s elite thoroughbred industry, and I had so much fun doing the research. We visited thoroughbred breeders, and went to the races, and went to a thoroughbred auction (I almost bought a cute little filly, until my husband threatened to tie my hands behind my back to keep me from bidding!). I interviewed a man who works for the Jockey Club, which is the organization that registers thoroughbreds. And I also had dinner with a guy who does a lot of betting… uh, shall we say ‘under the table.’ The book is set on a thoroughbred retirement farm, and we spent several days at a real retirement farm for stallions.
How did you come up with ideas for this book?
When I visited Old Friends (www.oldfriendsequine.org) in Georgetown , Kentucky , I fell in love with the horses there. It’s the only retirement farm in the country that houses champion stallions, because they’re really hard to take care of. Every horse there has a history. Some of them earned multi-millions during their career, and yet when they got too old to race or breed, their fates were absolutely inhumane. The founder gave me a tour of the place, and he said something that intrigued me. We were looking at a horse named Ogygian, and the director said he still gets requests to breed him. (His stud fee before retirement was something like $30,000!) But the director said he would never do that, because it was a condition of the contract when he acquired Ogygian. I started thinking, “Hmmm. What if someone wanted to breed a champion really badly?” The story grew from that idea.
List your three most recent books.
Bluegrass Peril is my third published book, so I have three to tell you about!
Bluegrass Peril (Steeple Hill, December 2007) – Suspects and alibis are knee deep when the peaceful green pastures of a thoroughbred retirement farm become the unlikely setting for murder.
Murder by Mushroom (Steeple Hill, August 2007) – A potluck on the lawn of Heritage Community Church brings out the usual pests – ants and flies, gossips and murderers
Just As I Am – (Kregel Publications, February 2006) – Wacky Mayla Strong has finally given her heart to God. But Can He really use a purple haired young woman with a pierced lip?
What’s next for you?
I’m so excited about my next books. First, I have a humorous contemporary novel coming out in February that is the first of a series about 3 southern sisters. I’ve drawn rather freely on the funny quirks and habits of my own sisters to write these books (it’s okay – they won’t sue me or I’ll sic Mom on them!), so naturally they have a special place in my heart.
Stuck in the Middle (Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister Series, Revell, February 2008_ – Joan’s life is stuck — but with a little help from God, her big sister, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, she just might find her way into the life she’s been hiding from.
And then just one month later, the sequel to my first novel is being released! I’m thrilled about that book too, because I’ve gotten so many e-mails from people who read Just As I Am and want to know, “What happened to Mayla and Pastor Paul?” Well, now they’re going to find out! But this book can stand alone, too, and it deals with some pretty serious issues – like teenage pregnancy and abortion.
Sincerely, Mayla (Book 2 of the Just As I Am Series – Kregel Publications, March 2008) Mayla Strong’s life is spinning out of control. For a major control freak, learning to lean on those everlasting arms is the toughest lesson of all.
And finally, for mystery loves, I have a third mystery coming out in October of 2008! It’s a little early to spill any beans about that one, so everyone will just have to watch my website for updates!
Where can visitors find you online?
I’m at www.VirginiaSmith.org. I really want to encourage people to visit my website and check out the very cool contest I am conducting to promote my February release. I’m giving away a $500 shopping spree! So they definitely want to read about that.
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