Tiffany's Favorite Links:
Soul Pen
KNB Publications
Write His Answer
Kim On The Web
Eva Marie Everson
Author Interviews
Author and speaker, Eva Marie Everson strongly believes in maintaining intimacy with Jesus Christ. In fact, this is the foundation of her ministry. The author of several books including, The Potluck Club and Sex, Lies, and the Media , Eva Marie's goal is to help her readers have a closer relationship with her Heavenly Father. Throughout her career, Eva Marie has traveled extensively speaking on the ministry of writing at various conferences and events. I had the opportunity of talking with Eva Marie to learn more about her passion for writing and speaking. Her words of wisdom are an invitation for every writer to persist and fulfill their God-given purpose. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
1. Explain how you made the transition from working full-time in the corporate world to writing full-time.
Slowly. I took it from working full time outside of writing to working 35 hours a week, then 30, then 15, and finally about five hours a month. Eventually, I was only working within my ministry. All of that took years.
2. At what point did you get your “big break” with a major publishing company?
Mine is the Cinderella story. I almost hate to tell it. I went to a writers/speakers conference in May of 1999. Then two months later, I walked into CBA's International Convention, approached a few editors (professionally, of course) and 9 days later I received a phone call from one of the editors telling me they'd like to offer me a contract. I've been signing contracts ever since. I pray it continues!
3. How did you begin your ministry as a speaker?
Believe it or not, teaching Sunday school. I was sixteen. Yep. Sixteen. I taught 12 –year-olds. HA! But, I would be remiss if I didn't mention CLASSeminars (go to: CLASServices.com for more information). As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better than that!
4. How often do you write?
Every day. Something every day. May not be much. May not be printable. But something. Even if it's just in my journal.
5. Who is your favorite author and why?
HA! The obvious answer is: God. His book blows me away. But on a more recently published level: I read EVERYTHING by Robert Benson. Honestly, if that man wrote a grocery list, I'd read it. He has somehow slipped into the heartbeat of God. I had the privilege of driving him somewhere one time. We got lost, so apparently he doesn't know EVERYTHING…like where Camp Oklawhaha is. J But, he spoke words to me that weekend that forever changed me. Now I consider him a friend and, in many ways, a writing mentor. He writes out of his heart and God's heart, not out of his head.
6. Describe a time when you've had to write through a crisis. How did God give you strength through your weakness?
Oh, boy. Recently. We've gone through a year of crises. Big ones. I can't really talk about them, forgive me. But all that AND I had several book deadlines. Not one. Several. Sometimes I wondered if my words even made sense. My thoughts were so disjointed, how could I possibly be WRITING with any semblance of sense? But, with God's help, I did.
7. What is your solution to writer's procrastination?
Two things: 1. Do you know how some people say, “Get off your tush and do something?” Well, get ON your tush and WRITE. Once the words start to come, they'll come with passion and they'll come fast. 2. A calendar with a deadline date circled in RED.
8. What type(s) of message(s) do you try to convey through your books?
Find God's heartbeat for your life. When your heart and God's heart finally come together, they WILL beat as one. But first you have to find His heartbeat.
Tiff's Hot Reading Picks
Fiction
He's Fine…But Is He Saved? by Kimberley Brooks
Flame by Stephanie Perry Moore
Crossing Jhordan's River by Kendra Norman-Bellamy
Choose Me by Xenia Ruiz
Non-Fiction
Experiencing God Henry by Blackaby & Claude V. King
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay
Soon To Be a Major Motion Picture by Donna Partow
Eternal Security by Charles Stanley
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren