INTERVIEW:

How long have you been an influencer?

With Because Fiction? Starting my seventh year.

What inspired you to become an influencer?

I am passionate about sharing authors’ books with readers looking for them, and in particular, sharing Christian Fiction reads with readers who want books that encourage and align with their faith. I also wanted to help readers find the indie authors and small publishers who might have just what they’re looking for. It’s hard to learn about the lesser-known books and authors, so I wanted Because Fiction to be a place where every author had an equal chance to share about his or her book.

Share a little about your journey as an influencer.

For years, I maintained a blog where I wrote about writing and shared book reviews, but as readers turned more and more to video and audio for book recommendations, I decided that it was time to shift to a podcast. Mine is an audio-only podcast because so many authors are uncomfortable with video. I wanted a “safe place” where they could relax, get comfortable, and just have a good book chat. It has worked out really well. My goal is more to help people already looking for a particular book to find it rather than to convince someone to read something they aren’t interested in. This isn’t about “moving product” as much as introducing readers to a new book friend. Being an eclectic reader, I get excited about most genres, so I’m excited to share.

What do you like most about what you do? What are your biggest challenges?

I love hearing the diversity in the Christian writing community–the gentle Amish stories contrasting with suspense and intrigue in an Amish community. Biblical fiction featuring characters near to the Biblical heroes we know well contrasted against cyborgs in the future and everything in between. I love hearing what inspired an author to write a book she didn’t want to touch or to keep going when he didn’t think he had another story in him. The biggest challenge is having enough time. This was supposed to be a once-a-week podcast, but almost overnight, it had to shift to twice just to keep up with the number of books coming out. I also had to shift its original plan (it wasn’t going to be an interview style) to be able to keep up with the requests. As a result, I entered the BookTube arena so I could still talk about the books I was reading and what I liked or didn’t about them. Truthfully, I could release an episode every day of every week and still not have enough slots for all the available books. That makes me sad, but I have my own books to write, too. Which is my final challenge. Being able to keep going while still writing. I’ve hired an editor to edit for me, but that makes it a bit expensive to keep doing. I have host fees, scheduling fees, and now editing fees. I don’t charge for the podcast, and I don’t do advertising. I tried that and it just didn’t work. I didn’t like promoting one person’s book at the same time I was sharing another’s. It didn’t set well with me.

What are you working on now? What can we expect in the future?

I have plans to create a “week of” XYZ once a quarter. If it works well, I may even do it once a month. For February, it could be “A week of romances” where I have my usual two episodes and then four other short episodes on the featured week. In July it could be patriotic or whatever. But again, that’s more work and expense, and I don’t know if the interest is there. Once I finish the two books I’m working on, I’ll start doing some research to see fi it’s a good idea or not.

Do you have a favorite episode, interview, or social media post from your time as an influencer? Tell us a little about it.

That’s almost like asking who my favorite child is. Hint: it’s the one who did the dishes or brought me chocolate, or something like that! 😉 I mean, Jaime Jo Wright and I had a blast talking. We laughed so hard my sides ached. But then I always walk away encouraged and uplifted when I chat with Suzanne Woods Fisher. Then there’s the new author who is so excited that someone wants to hear about her book or the guy who is working on the movie rights for his series. You know? When I interviewed Avellina Balestri, we talked for HOURS. I mean, it was about an hour before we started recording, and we had to edit over 2.5 hours down to less than one. Still don’t know how I did that. But it was fascinating. That woman is a wealth of English and American history!

Do you have any fun facts to mention? What does a day in the life look like for you?

Well, my day probably looks very little like many readers’. I wake up around 2 p.m. and my day starts. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays (used to be Thursdays, so we have a few of those still right now), I’m usually out in my shed-i-ffice (shed turned into an office) for recording by three. I usually have at least one episode on recording days–often two. MOST seem to take place at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. so after the first, I rush in to make dinner so I can be out here on time. I tend to get reheated food once I’m done out here. At 7:30/8:00, I take an hour to hour and a half nap, and then my “day” really begins. At 9:00, I head out to the shed-i-ffice where I do my Bible study and prayer before settling down to read. I’m usually working on two books at at time, so I read five chapters in each. Then time to write. If I don’t let myself get sidetracked, I can get a LOT of writing done at night. I tend to write around 1500ish words an hour–more if I’m dictating. But the research… At midnight, I have my “dinner” and try to be done by one o’clock. During that time, I’m usually listening to a book. Between 2:00 and 3:00, I go for my walk. I listen to an audiobook as I head out–usually mystery. When I come back in, I’m often brain dead and unable to keep writing. If that’s the case, I do other admin stuff like scheduling IG posts, making images for the podcast, updating the website, replying to emails–all the things. Of course, podcast days include emailing the info to the authors. about every ten days or s, I bake bread. While food heats or cooks, I’m cleaning the kitchen. When I take a shower, I scrub the bathroom. Let’s face it. Life has the boring bits, too. But it’s a god life, and I’m blessed to have it.

What would you like to say to followers/subscribers?

Thank you! Seriously, the more you listen and engage, the more authors get to share their stories with the world. And that’s important. So thank you!

What is your favorite thing about what you do?

When I get that email that says, “I heard you talking to the author about XYZ book, and decided to give it a go. I have a new favorite author now. thanks!” Makes all the work more than worth it.