Interview with Linda Brooks Davis

Today we're visiting with Christian fiction author, Linda Brooks Davis.

Born and reared on a farm in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Linda earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Abilene Christian University and Houston Baptist University. She devoted 40 years to students with special needs and reared a daughter and son who are now veterinarians practicing together.

When she isn't writing, teaching 4-year-olds at church, reading, or researching her genealogy, she's doting on six beautiful grandchildren, three of whom arrived in triplicate form in 2005. In her first published article, "The Choice", which appeared in LIVE, a 2011 publication of Gospel Publishing House, she chronicled her daughter's agonizing at-risk triplet pregnancy and the heart-wrenching choice her medical team placed before her. Linda also has published articles in two other collections of stories about God's grace.

Linda likes to brag on her daughter and son, both veterinarians who like one another well enough to practice together. In Texas that's called learnin' to get along.

Welcome Linda! We're so glad you could visit us today. 

What made you decide to become a writer?

I have been a lifelong voracious reader but haven’t always enjoyed writing. I think I feared the critiques in my early school days. It wasn’t until I entered high school that I learned there was something inside me that longed to put my thoughts and emotions onto paper. During my first year of college, a daily delight was writing letters home to Mother and Daddy and little brother Dale and imagining their vicarious enjoyment of my college experience. I was a bit stunned when a creative writing English professor asked if I’d ever considered writing for a career. The thought of putting my thoughts and emotions “out there” for anyone to see was way too intimidating at the time. And then life happened. It wasn’t until 50+ years later when my at-risk triplet grandchildren were born and survived beyond all odds in 2005 that the old longing returned. I knew I must pass along the legacy of faith my ancestors handed me. And I must do so through Christian fiction.

Where did the inspiration for your latest book come from? 

Sitting on my grandmother’s lap and hearing her tales about life in Indian Territory prior to 1900 is among my earliest memories. I was fascinated. My mother continued the tradition through her own passion for her family’s history in the early decades of the twentieth century in Oklahoma and Texas. I couldn’t count how often someone in the family would say “Someone ought to write a book about that” when referring to family lore. So it came naturally to return to my family legacy for the basis of The Calling of Ella McFarland.

Your website says you write historical fiction that inspires. What does this mean to you?

The historical fiction I write is both romantic and inspirational. The heart beat of a good story is love. But the tale that includes spiritual elements breathes. The inexplicable grace and love of God that is woven into a story makes it a worthy read to me.

How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing? 

I’m in the latter season of life. Perhaps it's late fall … or it could be winter, judging from all the gray hair atop my head. I have no time for writing fluff. Faith in God, love for my Savior, and dependence on the Holy Spirit flow naturally into my stories. I could not write otherwise.

Tell us about winning Jerry B. Jenkins’ Operation First Novel contest.

I first became acquainted with Jerry Jenkins in 2007 when I won an essay contest offered by a local radio host whose program was sponsored in part by the Christian Writers Guild. My prize was the Writing for the Soul Conference in Colorado Springs. I was completely ignorant of all things publishing, so it was an awe-inspiring event. Following the conference I committed to learning all I could about the writing craft. My shelves are lined with books on writing, and I’ve attended so many workshops and conferences and taken so many online courses that I eventually had to decide I would implement what I’d learned before traveling another mile to learn anything else.

The deadline for Operation First Novel 2014 was mid-September. The previous September to April had been a low point for me. For no apparent reason, I had come home from a major conference feeling discouraged and despondent, so I abandoned writing completely. But six months later I woke one morning with a certain knowledge that I belonged at the computer and that I could not NOT write. I sat down and opened a file and typed CHAPTER 1 in mid-April and submitted the manuscript in mid-September, convinced beyond a doubt that it wasn’t ready for submission. There was still so much to do to edit it properly, but a deadline is a deadline, so off it went.

Imagine my surprise to learn about three months later that I was among eleven semi-finalists. I remember thinking It’s a good thing the list wasn’t limited to ten, or I wouldn’t be on it. Frankly, I had almost forgotten about it when the announcement was made the following January. When a friend texted that I had won, I thought someone had made a mistake. Surely not!

Hearing the news was actually a bit traumatic—in a good way. It took weeks for the reality to set in. Even now, I find myself wondering if I’m dreaming.

What are you working on next? 

The next story centers on one of the characters in The Calling of Ella McFarland. Just who is a surprise for now. Rest assured, it will be exciting as the heroine tackles women’s issues of the time and makes discoveries she never imagined.
Keep up with me at http://lindabrooksdavis.com.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us! 

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