Interview with Maggie Brendan

Interview by Carrie Fancett Pagels


Maggie Brendan is the author of Deeply Devoted of The Blue Willow Brides series. Maggie’s first series was Heart of the West, which included No Place for a Lady, The Jewel of His Heart and A Love of Her Own.

I recently met Maggie at the ACFW conference and had the privilege of talking with her while traveling back.

Maggie, welcome to Overcoming Through Time.  Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past?

My heroine in Deeply Devoted has a tragic past, but I’d be giving away the best part of the book here so instead I’ll tell share my own difficult times. My brother was my writing mentor, with seven westerns under his belt. He died suddenly and without warning from the Hantavirus contracted most likely at Glacier National Park where he was Deputy Superintendent. I felt like my world was caving in because he was not only my friend, but the father figure for most of my life which had been thrust upon him while he was still in high school. A year before his death, almost to the day, another brother died suddenly from cancer. Four years earlier, my sister died of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma—a rare type. I didn’t think it could get much worse, but my mother died three years after my sister. Then during the deadline of Deeply Devoted, my oldest brother died of congestive heart failure. I couldn’t have walked through any of this without my faith in God and the knowledge that I know for a fact, I will see them again. Praise God! He gave me strength to face each day and surrounded me with His love by supplying me with the love of a few close friends and of course, my family. The more deposits you get in Heaven, the more appealing it becomes. I look forward to it someday. Other very sad things happened during my deadline, but that will have to be shared in the future. Let’s just say God is continually working in my life, stripping away all the layers of self to get to my heart.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

Oh goodness! I have several but I usually sign this scripture on my book: Psalm 27:1a (NASB) The Lord is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear?

Disability friendliness:

My previous books are in large print and available on Kindle and if your guests reading this didn’t know, Kindle can read to you. J Deeply Devoted will soon be in large print later on. That usually happens after it has been in print for a few months.

Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio? 

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

I like my readers to know that man may plan his life but God directs his steps. I’d say that our entire life and future is dependent on our faith in God and if we allow His direction, instead of trying to handle things on our own we can have abundant life. In Deeply Devoted, I used what is broken, cracked and even lost can be ransomed and redeemed by God’s eternal love. I relate this to the Blue Willow china in that just as china must be fired to become a durable piece in order to have a delicate pattern, we, too, are also tested by fire to refine our character that can result in becoming purified as God’s works in us to be in a more resilient follower of Christ. He who is deeply devoted to us is the ultimate author of love and romance…The Living God.

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

The one thing that always comes to my mind while researching is the resilience of the people who settled the great West. Today, we wimp out when a thunderstorm takes out our electricity for a few hours or days instead of using that time for reflection or reading and just enjoying the quiet. That’s when we can hear God’s voice…in the quiet stillness. Our world seems so full of constant “noise”. We all need a respite from this crazy techno world we are experiencing at this stage in history. I doubt most of us  would’ve lasted one week if we’d had to endure what the settlers of the West dealt with day in and day out.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?

As mentioned, restoration, through God's grace, is a theme in this book.

Comments from Carrie:

Maggie’s answers really gave me pause.  She has certainly had her share of grieving. Having lost my own mother a little over a year ago (and she loved the Blue Willow pattern!).I feel like I am just coming out of that shock of having no parents. But as Maggie says, one day we will see our loved ones again, in heaven. And what about those people who don’t have that reassurance?  We need to reach out to them today.

Do you know someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one? Are you?  What can you do or what has been done for you to ease pain?

GIVEAWAY:  We will be giving away a Kindle version and a paperback version of one of Maggie’s books, any of your choice.  Leave your email address with your comment to enter.