Interview With Pamela Griffin
Meet Pamela Griffin
Interview by Sandra Moore
Tell us a little about yourself -- age, married/single, children, how many books authored, etc.
Let's just say I'm not yet forty and leave it at that. I have two adorable children, Brandon and Joshua, ages 11 and 8, and we live in the house that was once my grandparents. I've authored 4 novels by Heartsong Presents (one coming out in February) , 5 Barbour novellas (2 coming out this year) and one e-book novella. (now out of print). On a personal note, I love garage sales, great bargains, etc.--and have recently become an "ebay auction junkie"--as of this week. LOL
How did you become interested in writing?
Years ago a lady at a church in Fallon, Nevada (where I lived for a year) lent me a huge box of Christian romances to read--both Heartsong Presents and Serenade Serenata/Saga (a now defunct book club). I soon was addicted to them, and a few authors quickly became my favorites. I loved their stories and thought to myself, "I'd really like to write something like that one day." Not too long after that, something happened in my personal life that made me sit down with a pen and memo pad and I composed my first story, in between taking care of my two boys--then babies. Later my father got me a computer, and I was soon working on several stories at once. I still do that today. :-)
What was your biggest obstacle in regards to writing and/or getting published? How did you overcome it?
I would have to say *I* was the biggest obstacle, or rather the self inferiority I sometimes feel. People would ask me, after having read my stories, "Have you sent that to a publisher yet?" And I'd reply with "What--are you kidding? Nobody would ever want to read my stories--except for family, of course." (Guess I was wrong. Thank God.) I often have to pull myself out of the miry pit of feeling like an untalented writer who no one likes--IOW I have to stop letting the devil beat me over the head with lies and ask God to help me.
What has been the highest moment of your writing career?
That would have to fluctuate between receiving "the call" (Of course I sounded like a moron when I realized Becky Germany wanted my book--I was stuttering and everything--and receiving fan mail from people who tell me how my story positively changed their lives and/or how they think about God. That has to be the best feeling. Knowing I was a vessel--or my book was rather--in reaching out to another.
Who/What is your greatest inspiration to write?
I would have to say God. Very often when I play "hooky" from my computer for awhile--like several days at at time-- the Lord gently reminds me that He has called me to write, and I'll feel better about myself if I obey His leading. (Though He does often show me to take a few days off after completing a deadline.) Sure enough, as soon as I start writing when He's shown me to, a wonderful warm feeling melts through me. I like to think of it as God's approval. All I know is, I could have been really depressed before that (usually when I haven't written for a long time), but when I obey Him and write, the depression lifts. Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love to write. But sometimes problems in my personal life tend to crowd to the foreground, and I need that Holy Spirit prod.
Are you a seat-of-the-pants writer, or do you plot extensively before your fingers hit the keyboard?
Seat of the pants--definitely. Here's what I do. I may have all sorts of neat ideas for the next scene or to start a book or whatever--but then I sit in front of my computer and pray, committing the whole thing to God and asking for His Holy Spirit to take over and His words, not my own, to come out. Most of the time when this happens, I start typing and find I'm taking a complete different direction from what i "plotted in my head"--and it's usually ten times better. I find myself reading the story as my hands are flying on the keys, and it's as if it's fresh and new--and that's exciting. :-)
Do you prefer writing contemporary or historical?
Hmm. . .that's a hard one. I am writing--or in the process of writing--several historicals from different time frames. I LOVE writing (and reading) historicals. Yet I also love to write contemporaries--especially when there's comedy in them, and I'm in the process of writing a few of those too. Another think I like to write is suspense and mystery. My February HP release is a mystery/suspense gothic type--set off the coast of Maine. About a PI going undercover as a nanny to solve a year old murder mystery, and you guessed it--the hero is the suspect. It's a contemporary. Actually, I like to blend a bit of all the writing spices--humor, suspense, mystery, drama, etc.--into all my stories, because that's how real life is. A little of everything.
What's the nicest thing anyone ever said about your writing?
I've had several write me that I'm the best author they've ever read--or that my book was the best book they've ever read--but I'm sure all authors get that, since people's tastes are so different. I like it what someone said about me once--one of my crit partners, as a matter of fact. When I asked her what kind of "voice" I had and what author my writing style emulated, (after holding a loop discussion on voice), she told me that I'm not like anyone she's read. She said that my voice and style are unique, as are my stories--then stressed it was a compliment. I took it to mean one. I also love it when people tell me that they got so lost in my stories that they couldn't put the book down. That's a neat thing for an author to hear.
Who is your favorite character in your books, and how did you come up with that character?
That's like asking a mother to pick between her children! I love them all! But, all right, I'll try to choose . . .of thosse I've published so far (not including my works in progress or those coming out in 2002), I'd have to say Charlotte from "In the Secret Place." She had everything going against her, came from a rotten background, etc.--was a big time sinner--but through a series of startling events came to know the Lord. I love stories with conversions and love to write them, too. Because when you get right down to it--that's the only thing that matters: people coming to the Lord. One thing I really like about Charlotte--she was the bad girl in my first book. I love to take the "bad girls and boys" and show how the Holy Spirit can work, if given the chance. (It's a personal thing, you see, since it happened to me.)
If you could tell a beginner one thing, what would it be?
Don't give up. If you feel God has called you to write, believe me, He has a plan and it will all come to pass in His timing. We often get impatient, since we live in a fast-paced society, where we rarely have to wait on anything. But believe me--God's timing is truly the best way. And if you start feeling down about yourself as a writer--and go through that "everyone else is so much better, so why even bother?" syndrome--then that's the time to tell the devil to be quiet and to thank God for all He's doing in your life, then recommit your writing to Him. (Remember, the devil is a liar--so everything he says are lies.) Everyone gets rejections--even the big names. It's part of the business and is nothing against you as a writer. Cry if it makes you feel better, pound a pillow if you feel you must--but then, to quote an old song, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." You'll be glad you did. :-)
Would you like to share a MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT you have experienced in your writing career?
Not really. LOL Seriously, I can't think of a one right now, though there have been many. . .maybe you'd like to hear about my "mad dash deadline scrambles" to the post office before they close, coupled with awkward slapstick-like actions (dropping envelope, dropping keys, putting purse on counter, then having pamphlets tumble down when pulling purse away--that sort of thing)? I will say this for an embarrassing moment:: In my novella "Walk, Don't Run" in the Tails of Love collection--the first scene that happened to my heroine? Yep, that happened to me. I was locked out on the balcony of a two-story apartment with a toddler inside, cactus plants and a sharp wooden picket fence below--only in my case it was the middle of the night and I was out there hours, not minutes like my heroine was. I remember sitting out there, watching my toddler's red face--made that way because he couldn't understand why Mommy was on the outside and he was on the inside--and grumbling to myself, "Some day, I'm going to laugh about this and I may even put it in a story." And sure enough, I did.
END
You can find more information on books by Pamela Griffin here.
Interview by Sandra Moore
Tell us a little about yourself -- age, married/single, children, how many books authored, etc.
Let's just say I'm not yet forty and leave it at that.
How did you become interested in writing?
Years ago a lady at a church in Fallon, Nevada (where I lived for a year) lent me a huge box of Christian romances to read--both Heartsong Presents and Serenade Serenata/Saga (a now defunct book club). I soon was addicted to them, and a few authors quickly became my favorites. I loved their stories and thought to myself, "I'd really like to write something like that one day." Not too long after that, something happened in my personal life that made me sit down with a pen and memo pad and I composed my first story, in between taking care of my two boys--then babies. Later my father got me a computer, and I was soon working on several stories at once. I still do that today. :-)
What was your biggest obstacle in regards to writing and/or getting published? How did you overcome it?
I would have to say *I* was the biggest obstacle, or rather the self inferiority I sometimes feel. People would ask me, after having read my stories, "Have you sent that to a publisher yet?" And I'd reply with "What--are you kidding? Nobody would ever want to read my stories--except for family, of course." (Guess I was wrong. Thank God.
What has been the highest moment of your writing career?
That would have to fluctuate between receiving "the call" (Of course I sounded like a moron when I realized Becky Germany wanted my book--I was stuttering and everything--and receiving fan mail from people who tell me how my story positively changed their lives and/or how they think about God. That has to be the best feeling. Knowing I was a vessel--or my book was rather--in reaching out to another.
Who/What is your greatest inspiration to write?
I would have to say God. Very often when I play "hooky" from my computer for awhile--like several days at at time-- the Lord gently reminds me that He has called me to write, and I'll feel better about myself if I obey His leading. (Though He does often show me to take a few days off after completing a deadline.) Sure enough, as soon as I start writing when He's shown me to, a wonderful warm feeling melts through me. I like to think of it as God's approval. All I know is, I could have been really depressed before that (usually when I haven't written for a long time), but when I obey Him and write, the depression lifts. Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love to write. But sometimes problems in my personal life tend to crowd to the foreground, and I need that Holy Spirit prod.
Are you a seat-of-the-pants writer, or do you plot extensively before your fingers hit the keyboard?
Seat of the pants--definitely. Here's what I do. I may have all sorts of neat ideas for the next scene or to start a book or whatever--but then I sit in front of my computer and pray, committing the whole thing to God and asking for His Holy Spirit to take over and His words, not my own, to come out. Most of the time when this happens, I start typing and find I'm taking a complete different direction from what i "plotted in my head"--and it's usually ten times better. I find myself reading the story as my hands are flying on the keys, and it's as if it's fresh and new--and that's exciting. :-)
Do you prefer writing contemporary or historical?
Hmm. . .that's a hard one. I am writing--or in the process of writing--several historicals from different time frames. I LOVE writing (and reading) historicals. Yet I also love to write contemporaries--especially when there's comedy in them, and I'm in the process of writing a few of those too. Another think I like to write is suspense and mystery. My February HP release is a mystery/suspense gothic type--set off the coast of Maine. About a PI going undercover as a nanny to solve a year old murder mystery, and you guessed it--the hero is the suspect. It's a contemporary. Actually, I like to blend a bit of all the writing spices--humor, suspense, mystery, drama, etc.--into all my stories, because that's how real life is. A little of everything.
What's the nicest thing anyone ever said about your writing?
I've had several write me that I'm the best author they've ever read--or that my book was the best book they've ever read--but I'm sure all authors get that, since people's tastes are so different. I like it what someone said about me once--one of my crit partners, as a matter of fact. When I asked her what kind of "voice" I had and what author my writing style emulated, (after holding a loop discussion on voice), she told me that I'm not like anyone she's read. She said that my voice and style are unique, as are my stories--then stressed it was a compliment. I took it to mean one.
Who is your favorite character in your books, and how did you come up with that character?
That's like asking a mother to pick between her children! I love them all! But, all right, I'll try to choose . . .of thosse I've published so far (not including my works in progress or those coming out in 2002), I'd have to say Charlotte from "In the Secret Place." She had everything going against her, came from a rotten background, etc.--was a big time sinner--but through a series of startling events came to know the Lord. I love stories with conversions and love to write them, too. Because when you get right down to it--that's the only thing that matters: people coming to the Lord. One thing I really like about Charlotte--she was the bad girl in my first book. I love to take the "bad girls and boys" and show how the Holy Spirit can work, if given the chance. (It's a personal thing, you see, since it happened to me.
If you could tell a beginner one thing, what would it be?
Don't give up. If you feel God has called you to write, believe me, He has a plan and it will all come to pass in His timing. We often get impatient, since we live in a fast-paced society, where we rarely have to wait on anything. But believe me--God's timing is truly the best way. And if you start feeling down about yourself as a writer--and go through that "everyone else is so much better, so why even bother?" syndrome--then that's the time to tell the devil to be quiet and to thank God for all He's doing in your life, then recommit your writing to Him. (Remember, the devil is a liar--so everything he says are lies.) Everyone gets rejections--even the big names. It's part of the business and is nothing against you as a writer. Cry if it makes you feel better, pound a pillow if you feel you must--but then, to quote an old song, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." You'll be glad you did. :-)
Would you like to share a MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT you have experienced in your writing career?
Not really. LOL Seriously, I can't think of a one right now, though there have been many. . .maybe you'd like to hear about my "mad dash deadline scrambles" to the post office before they close, coupled with awkward slapstick-like actions (dropping envelope, dropping keys, putting purse on counter, then having pamphlets tumble down when pulling purse away--that sort of thing)? I will say this for an embarrassing moment:: In my novella "Walk, Don't Run" in the Tails of Love collection--the first scene that happened to my heroine? Yep, that happened to me. I was locked out on the balcony of a two-story apartment with a toddler inside, cactus plants and a sharp wooden picket fence below--only in my case it was the middle of the night and I was out there hours, not minutes like my heroine was. I remember sitting out there, watching my toddler's red face--made that way because he couldn't understand why Mommy was on the outside and he was on the inside--and grumbling to myself, "Some day, I'm going to laugh about this and I may even put it in a story." And sure enough, I did.
END
You can find more information on books by Pamela Griffin here.
For more great interviews, visit our Author Interview Archives.