Ruth Logan Herne Interview by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Author Ruth Logan Herne

Ruthy, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

Hmm… well I’m never big into degrees of difficulty! Life issues chances and challenges and I’ve always believed that using everything God gave me to the best of my ability was the expectation, you know? I’ve got a great story about dealing with my parents’ alcoholism in “The Power of Forgiveness”, in December’s “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. I love that they grabbed that story and featured it because forgiveness is the key to so much. We weigh ourselves down with a lot of baggage when we hold onto grudges and angers. Resentment anchors us in darkness and I’ve always preferred the light of joy for that very reason! My faith sustained me as a child, I was blessed by the kindness and high expectations of a great Catholic school, and I knew that if I could hang on… become an adult… I could carve my own paths, my own way, with God’s help. And I did!

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

Ecclesiastes 3 is my mainstay for everyday living. I believe that for everything there is a season, and God wants us to identify those seasons/times and live peacefully while benefitting others. Pope Francis recently tweeted (I love that the Pope tweets!!!) that charity is the best way to evangelize. Simple words, a great truth. Actions speak louder than words. Have you guys ever heard the beautiful hymn “Make My Life an Alleluia”?

I love it, here’s a link to a quartet of girls from the Philippines who do an amazingly sweet version of this beautiful song. These words are how I want to live my life, being the best example I can be in everyday things. We all know that old saying “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” I love that! I’m smiling, just thinking of those sage words! I’m a Martha type, and we like to act first, beg forgiveness later! J

I have two favorite New Testament verses, both rally around forgiveness. When Jesus challenges the crowd to throw the first stone and no one dares lift a hand to curse the accused woman… How powerful is that image? To have the mirror held to our own faces? And then the command to forgive seventy times seven. Oh my stars, we get so up in arms over perceived slights. Little things. We’re kind of ridiculous really, from time to time, so I love keeping that image of warmth and forgiveness front and center.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

This is an interesting question! All of my Love Inspired books are available in large print version when they’re on the sale shelves of stores, or for a few months online, but once those are gone… They’re gone! Which is why I’m so blessed to have e-copies of all of my work now. It’s so easy to increase the font size, enjoy the story with little or no eye strain, and the new generation e-readers are just plain fun. None of my books have been brought out in audio as yet!

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

It’s hard for me to specify a “latest work” right now, and I’ll happily tell you why! We had two delightful holiday collections release in November (Hope for the Holidays Contemporary and Hope for the Holidays Historical collections on Amazon) and I had a 4-Star reviewed Love Inspired release in December and I’m part of a historical novella collection that just released from Barbour Publishing “Homestead Brides”… Just delightful!

I have a charming Zondervan novella releasing in three weeks, set in Old City, Philadelphia, a place I love. I love the rich history of Philadelphia, the image of how many people fought and sacrificed for our freedom. 

“All Dressed Up in Love” is funny, charming and heart-warming and shows the difficulties of obeying two masters, God and money…. But also that we need to keep our hearts and souls open to God’s direction!

In “Her Holiday Family” Tina Martinelli is part of an angry, dysfunctional family. Estranged from the few local members of her family, and with her parents deceased and her popular café burned to the ground by arsonists, Tina is ready to wipe the dust of her hometown off her sassy boots. But timing is everything in God’s world, and when her dear friends need her to help run their family hardware business while the owner fights cancer, she agrees. And when their son realizes it’s time to lay the guilt of the past to rest and come home to help his parents, they realize they’re meant for each other… but Tina doesn’t think she can stay and Max knows he can’t leave…. Resentment, guilt, anger and assumptions played a big role in messing up Tina’s family, but can she be strong enough to break the cycle?

Of course she can!

Question you’d like to ask readers:

Do you have a to-die-for recipe you should be sharing with me? Because I love to cook and bake and when you’re the mother of six and grandmother of thirteen, you love to try new things!

GIVEAWAY: Leave an answer to Ruthy's question to enter for a chance to win a copy of one of her books. We'll be giving away two this week and Ruthy will be giving away one, too!

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