Interview With Lisa Wingate

Lisa Wingate at Book Signing

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

Well aside from dealing with empty nest -- I'll be the first to admit that it was just plain rude of these boys to grow up and actually want their own lives -- I think I struggle with something many women struggle with. It's hard to separate other peoples' judgement from God's judgement. We're supposed to shrug off the one and base our opinions and our self-evaluations on the other.

In life and in publishing, that's not an easy thing to do.

The publishing process doesn’t end up being only between you and God, and neither does life.  Every worldly concern enters, other people bring in their personalities and opinions, and it can be bruising.  

I struggle with all of that, quite honestly.  I’m a youngest kid in the family, and I had two older brothers picking on me all the time (I wouldn't trade them now, but I would have then).  I bruise easily.  Many writers do—that sensitivity is part of what makes you a writer.  I’ll ignore twenty-five good reviews and be hurt over one bad one.  That’s just human nature, for many of us, especially as women.

On the other hand, I know I’ll never write the perfect story, because everything I write comes from a point of imperfection,  from a vision through the dark glass.  But God is so capable of taking the imperfect things we create and using them in absolutely perfect ways.  A story is an endless possibility.  You never know when your story may hold the hand of someone else through a dark night of the soul.

Would you tell us about one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? (transparency appreciated!)

I think I've sort of combined Question 1 with Question 2. It's a lifelong struggle, really. I'm always working on it. I don't like it when people are mean -- does anybody? I struggle to let it go and trust God to be work on other people while I work on me.  My snap reaction is more toward wishing they'd get a dose of salmonella in their next hamburger. (Oh, did I say that out loud?)

Which, of course, only means I'm still working on me. It's also a good reminder that I need to put into the world what I want to take out of it. If I want kindness, I need to put in kindness. 

Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate

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?  

Yes.  All of my books are available in audio (thought sometimes the audio release is a few months behind the book release) and in large print. We've also given approval for Library For the Blind to offer audio versions.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

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

Both The Prayer Box and Wildwood Creek deal with women, children, and families recovering from abuse.   Wildwood Creek is brand new, but The Prayer Box is already being used in bibliotherapy, as is the concept of prayer boxes, themselves. The act of taking time to write prayers on paper, put them in a prayer box, and close the lid is symbolic (and therapeutic) as a means of releasing those things to God.  Prayer boxes can go pretty much anywhere a greeting card can go. They're useful for bereavement, new marriages, and family communication, among other things, and can be life-changing.


Bio:

Lisa Wingate is a journalist, inspirational speaker, reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, and the author of over twenty novels.  Her novels combine elements of history, romance, mystery, and women's fiction with nuggets of Southern culture, from the sublime to the humorous. She is a seven-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Christianity Today Book Award nominee, an Inspy Award nominee, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her works have been selected for Booklist’s Top Ten List in 2012 and in 2013. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

Links:

My website: www.Lisawingate.com

Twitter:   http://twitter.com/#!/lisawingate

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Wingate-Readers-Circle/132187520154779

Pinterest:  https://pinterest.com/lisawingatebook/

http://us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com/http://www.youtube.com/lisawingate

Thank you, Lisa, for agreeing to answer these questions! And congrats to Lisa for The Prayer Box being a finalist for ECPA Christian book awards!

Giveaway: This week we'll be giving away winners choice of any of Lisa's books, including her new releases (choice of format, international winners--ebook only.) Lisa has graciously added a signed copy of her paperback Firefly Island (USA only) to our giveaway this week! 

Are you sensitive?  How has God given you grace?

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The Sensitive Child – Gifted? To Overcome or Not, By Carrie Fancett Pagels

The Sensitive Child – Gifted?


Linore shared in her interview earlier in the week that she was a sensitive child. She grew up in a large family.  More opportunities for sibling rivalry and teasing, too, I imagine! Sensitivity can stem from many different sources.  A common cause is from a dysfunctional home life where criticism, or worse, takes place.  There are also conditions, such as Asperger's (next week is Autism Awareness Week, by the way) which cause the child to be more sensitive yet at the same time the child may appear unaware or at times even nonreactive to social slights. But one source is from being highly gifted.


Among those who work with gifted children, it is commonly noticed that there is heightened sensitivity within this group. It is so common that among educators of the gifted, it is “expected” rather than seen as something unusual.  For someone like Linore, a gifted writer, who graduated with honors from the City University of New York, wouldn’t it be nice to have a time travel machine and go back and make those hurts from sensitivity go away?  That would be the temptation if there was such a device.  But God knows best.  The sensitive nature of a gifted writer would make them pay attention both to the internal thoughts and feelings of people, which translates into their characters being more fully developed.  And that heightened awareness of the things around oneself can’t help but bring vibrant details to a novelist’s writing.


Overcoming sensitivity – I’m not sure that would be such a good thing for the gifted writer!  What do you think? Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted http://www.sengifted.org/ SENG might see this as one characteristic of an extremely gifted child.

Linore writes: Carrie has posed an interesting question. If I could go back and temper my sensitivity with a bit of mature wisdom, it would certainly relieve a great deal of pain that I endured, much of which, I'm sure, stemmed from misunderstanding the cues of others. The sensitive child takes everything personally. In my case, I needed verbal reassurance, a lot of it, and this was utterly lacking in my busy, stressed-out family. My mother did tell me I was sensitive, but the message was that this was burdensome to her and at that time it told me nothing other than that. (I was burdensome.) NEVER imagined sensitivity was a gift.  My mom wasn't trying to be mean, but telling me I was sensitive and leaving it at that never translated to me into "Maybe I'm magnifying things." Or, "Maybe this person's anger has nothing to do with me." And so on.


As for overcoming sensitivity and writing: I never want to forget what it's like to be highly sensitive. I think, now, it is a gift. But I HAVE overcome the general "it's all about ME" baggage that comeswith that sensitivity (maybe not for everyone, but often this is the case). It's difficult for a super-sensitive person to see that sometimes their sensitivity is a form of selfishness! They have trouble letting go of their cherished illusions of intentional grievances, when in fact, people are much more often thoughtless and INsensitive without any real malice whatsoever.

I'm all for the healing of the hurting hearts that sensitivity can result in. But being empathetic is also sensitivity, and that's never a bad thing, be we writers, teachers, parents or friends. I do think it has strengthened my writing immeasurably. 


GIVEAWAY:  Our contest ends today.  Leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win a copy of one of Linore's books, your choice of format.