Interview with Author Emily Conrad

Emily Conrad lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two rescue dogs. She loves Jesus and enjoys road trips to the mountains, crafting stories, and drinking coffee. (It’s no coincidence her debut novel is set mostly in a coffee shop!) She offers free short stories on her website and loves to connect with readers on social media. www.emilyconradauthor.com 

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

Thank you! I’m excited to be here!

What is your favorite thing about being an author?

My very favorite thing to do is write stories, and I’m so thrilled to get to spend my time doing that! There are hard parts, of course, but when I wrap up a good day of writing, I have that just-walked-out-of-a-movie-theater feeling.

That is a fun way to put it.

Where did the inspiration for your latest book come from? 

Initially, I started writing Justice to explore how a close, long-term friendship like Jake and Brooklyn’s would be affected by the aftermath of a sexual assault. Brooklyn and Jake’s circumstances are very, very different from the Biblical account of Mary and Joseph, yet both couples are faced with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy they didn’t cause. When I noticed that similarity, I borrowed further inspiration from Mary and Joseph to flesh out Jake and Brooklyn’s story.

  

What do you want readers to come away with after reading your books?

The verse that stands out to me the most is Zephaniah 3:5, which one of the characters quotes in Justice. One phrase of it, from the King James, goes, “The just Lord is in the midst thereof.” Jake and Brooklyn suffer wrongs, but even when it looks like God has allowed evil to go unchecked, He is present, just, and at work. I hope readers come away from Justice assured of that.

 I love that!

What is one of your favorite scenes in Justice?

It’s hard to decide, but I think I have to say the fire escape is my favorite scene. Brooklyn’s history affects how she interacts with Jake and prompts her to limit any physical relationship. I hope I’m not giving too much away here… But I when I wrote that scene, to me, it felt a lot like writing a kiss even though that’s not what happens.

If time and money were not a concern, what one skill would you like to learn?

Only one? I’d love to improve my painting skills. When I was a child, art was more of a draw to me than writing (though I did some of that, too). I still dabble in art occasionally, though. I have a mental image of a painting I’d like to do, but I haven’t started it in part because of time, and in part because I’m not sure I have the skill to make what I see in my mind appear on the canvas. Other skills I’m interested in are violin and Italian, but I think I would use painting a lot more, so if I can only choose one, that’s it!

You and I should get together. We share a lot on our "to do" list!

What is your favorite thing about where you live?

Spring! I live in Wisconsin, which means we have a decent winter with snow and cold weather. That’s fine for a while, but when the snow starts to melt, the smell of damp earth and the ability to walk outside in a light jacket just makes me so very happy. Plus, it means my favorite flowers—peonies—aren’t far from growing!

What are you working on next? 

I’ve already written three manuscripts since completing Justice, and I’ve started a fourth. I don’t have contracts for these manuscripts, so it’s hard to say which will make it to readers first, but most of them take a seed of inspiration from a Biblical account—Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, and David and Bathsheba. As with Justice, the stories aren’t simply retellings of Biblical stories in modern times, but in some ways, the characters’ situations are meant to explore a some of the same questions and difficulties our Biblical heroes faced. Whichever finds its way to publication first, I hope readers take away from the stories that though our times may have changed and though our lives have different circumstances, the God of the Bible is still the same. He is a God who pursues us despite our sin, who is faithful, and who redeems.

Well, all the best in your future writing and books. I am very intrigued by your story and hope sit down with it soon! Thanks for joining us!

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she's pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. Brooklyn can’t bring herself to name the father as she wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake. If Harold Keen, the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake's coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both.