Intimate Conversation with the author of
Mom's the Word, Marilynn Griffith
Mom's the Word, Marilynn Griffith
Marilynn Griffith is an author, speaker, and founder of the SistahFaith Network. Her credits include Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul and more. Her novels have been featured in Charisma and Upscale magazines. She was named a 2007 Author on the Rise by Christian Retailing. She has served as Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers.
Ella: Tell us about your passion for writing. Why do you write? What drives you?
I write because it's part of who I am, the way I'm made. I write tounderstand, to be understood and make myself and others see things we'd rather not see. Jesus drives me because He keeps telling mestories.
Ella: Introduce us to your new book, Mom's the Word.
Mom's the Word is a book about friendships, motherhood and secrets. Two women who seem very different at first become neighbors. Each thinks she has something to teach the other. In the end, God has something to teach them both--He knows us, even when we don't know ourselves. When Karol Simons, the burnt out mother of three who loses it and tells her family not to call her Mom anymore (especially her husband who has gotten into the habit) everything changes. Her husband offers her 21 kid-free days to rediscover her passion...writing. He needs the neighbors help to pull it off. Pick it up today and see how three weeks change all their lives forever.
Ella: Finish this sentence: I am Powerful because...
I'm powerful because I have God's power inside of me, because I am a warrior of words, a master of mathematics, a mother of many and a wife of a man of God. I am powerful because it is my destiny.
Ella: Where are you from? How did you start your writing journey?
I am originally from Dayton, Ohio. Though I've been in Florida for twenty years, my imagination still spends a lot of time in Ohio. I'd always been writing but never thought I could be published. That was for famous people I thought back then. Some things had happened politically and within my spiritual walk that sent me back to the beginnings of myself. When I got there, it was stacked with notebooks and etched in verse. I started writing as an exercise in rediscovery
at first, then obedience and finally surrender.
I'm powerful because I have God's power inside of me, because I am a warrior of words, a master of mathematics, a mother of many and a wife of a man of God. I am powerful because it is my destiny.
Ella: Where are you from? How did you start your writing journey?
I am originally from Dayton, Ohio. Though I've been in Florida for twenty years, my imagination still spends a lot of time in Ohio. I'd always been writing but never thought I could be published. That was for famous people I thought back then. Some things had happened politically and within my spiritual walk that sent me back to the beginnings of myself. When I got there, it was stacked with notebooks and etched in verse. I started writing as an exercise in rediscovery
at first, then obedience and finally surrender.
Ella: Who are your two main characters and what do you like most about them?The two main characters in Mom's the Word are Karol Simons and Dyanne Thornton. Karol has just had her best friend move away from the house next door only to have young, skinny and somewhat aggravating Dyanne move in. Karol's tired of her kids, Dyanne is itching to have a baby, but not like the brats next door. Both women have problems in their relationships with their parents and are trying to discover who they really are. One things motherhood is keeping her from discovering her identity; the other things motherhood will create her identity. In the end, they're both wrong. Mom's just a word.
Ella: What makes your book stand out and would entice a reader pick it up?
The cover has bright colors and flowers and a pretty woman on the
cover. It also starts off with a poem and there are quite a few poems throughout, which is different for a novel. (Karol is a poet). I'm not sure the book is quite as cute as the back cover copy implies as there are always some grown up conflicts and secrets in my books, but there
is definitely a great group of characters and conflicts. I hope people enjoy it.
Ella: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
As always, I want readers to laugh, cry and pray. I want God to meet them where they are on some page of the book and give them something I never planned for.
Ella: What is the most surprising thing you have learned in creating books?
Probably the most surprising thing I have learned (though I thought I knew) is how powerful the imagination can be. Though I know that my characters aren't real, I have been with them so long that they become very real to me...and to my readers.
Ella: What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? Getting my husband to read one of my books. :) Seriously.
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
My next release is SONGS OF DELIVERANCE (December 1, 2009, Revell Books). It is the sequel to RHYTHMS OF GRACE (September 2008, Revell Books). I'm very excited about my 2010 releases as well: SistahFaith, my first nonfiction project, containing true stories of women who have hurt but healed by God and Second Chance Blessings, my novella in the MILLION BLESSINGS anthology (Kensington 2010) with authors Angela Benson and Tia McCollors. See you on the bookshelf!
Ella: How may our readers contact you online?
http://sistahfaith.ning.com
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