I’m happy today to share with you some exciting news! Gina Holmes, one of my long-time blogging buddies, is releasing her first book this month! It’s called Crossing Oceans, published by Tyndale House. Gina has become a well known writer in the Christian book publishing world through her influential literary blog, Novel Journey. I enjoyed sharing a meal with Gina back in 2007 at the Christy Awards, held in Atlanta. She has definitely been an inspiration to me!
Welcome, Gina! Your blog, Novel Journey, grew out of your own journey to become a published author. Can you tell us a little about your journey to publication?
I’ve been writing toward the goal of publication for something like ten years. I had written four manuscripts that haven’t been published before this one, Crossing Oceans, was contracted. I’ve had lots of rejections and near misses along the way, but I’m so grateful for all of it. Crossing Oceans is my best piece of writing to date and a story I’m so very proud to debut with.
And thanks for mentioning Novel Journey. It has been a labor of love, not just for me, but for the whole Novel Journey team. It’s a great place for readers to discover new authors and for writers to connect and learn. And unlike most things in life, it’s a completely free resource.
As you reviewed novels and talked to a lot of novelists who have had varying degrees of commercial success, was there ever a “dark night of the soul” where you decided this just wasn’t what you thought it was going to be, just wasn’t worth pursuing?
Not worth pursuing? No way! There are so many worthy stories to tell, and it’s my burning desire to do that. Not to say that I didn’t have fleeting moments of despair along the way, particularly when I came close to getting a contract, only to see it fall through at the last minute. But those moments really were fleeting, and I knew God’s timing would be perfect … and it was.
You’ve written several as-yet-unpublished novels, all of them in a completely different genre—thriller/suspense. Crossing Oceans is quite a departure. Do you prefer or find your voice more easily in one or the other?
I grew up reading suspense, so naturally that’s what I thought I should write. I did okay with it and got some recognition in a contest and came close to getting contracted, but ultimately none of those suspense novels ever sold. Then I started reading some really amazing novels outside the suspense genre, and it was like another world opened up to me. It was no longer a thriller I longed to write, but a story that would change lives the way the books I read had changed mine.
When I started Crossing Oceans, I presented it along with a suspense novel I was working on to my agent, Chip MacGregor. I asked which one he thought suited me better. He told me both were good, but that Crossing Oceans seemed more like my true voice, or something to that effect.
It turned out to be a turning point and absolutely the right advice. I’m now writing what comes naturally and absolutely loving it. Chip’s a genius.
How did the idea for Crossing Oceans come to you?
I’m not exactly sure where the idea came from, but when I write, I’m usually working out something in my personal life, past or present. Often it’s not until the story is done that I figure out exactly what.
I think with Crossing Oceans it probably was my relationship with my parents. They divorced when I was a baby. For the first years of my life, I was with my mother, and then when I was in second grade, I went to live with my father. I know what it’s like to be torn, like Isabella, between two families who don’t always like each other but who all love the child they share. Then again, maybe I wasn’t working out anything! Maybe I just fell asleep watching something about a dying mother, and woke up thinking I had a brilliant idea.
Do you ever find your Christian worldview a challenge to convey in your writing or as you communicate with other novelists in the industry?
It’s not difficult to convey in my writing, I don’t think. At least not today. Hey, I’m a sinner. I wish I weren’t and I try not to be, but I always seem to fall short. It’s the same for my characters.
The thing with me, and them, is we get back up, dust ourselves off, and try to do better next time. My faith, in all its imperfection, isn’t lip service. It’s who I am. What I believe. That comes out in my conversations, my choice of clothing, music, friends, and in my writing. It’s very natural for me.
As far as other novelists go, I guess it’s not a challenge. I’m a Christian and not everyone’s going to agree with what I do, or what I write, or what I believe, and that doesn’t matter. My mother said when I turned forty that I would stop caring so much what people thought and really start being who I am. I’m almost there and, as usual, she was right. I would say that in my personal life, everyone who truly knows me is well aware that I’m a Christian. I don’t hide it in my professional life either.
Thank you so much for visiting us here, Gina! We wish you the best with your debut novel and look forward to seeing what’s next in your career!
You can learn more about Gina Holmes at her personal website and also see all the fun things she’s up to at Novel Journey. Here’s a picture of me and Gina hanging out together at the Christy Awards in 2007.
Blogging buddies meet!
