Dear Friends,

It’s my absolute pleasure to welcome Lisa J. Lickel back to my blog. Lisa is a wonderful person, and she’s just published another book! Everything About You is the 5^th novella in Prism Book Group’s “Love Is…” series. Everything About You was released on Friday, March 25^th. I’m so happy for Lisa, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to talk with her again.

Danele: Hello, Lisa! I’m so glad to have you back on my blog!

Lisa: I’m delighted to return. Thank you, Danele, for being such a gracious hostess.

Danele: I’m so excited to have the chance to learn more about you! Can you tell us the circumstances surrounding your decision to give your heart to Christ?

Lisa: I went to church camp in junior high school and met some wonderful adult role models.

Danele: Is that when you made your decision to follow Christ?

Lisa: No, when I was in high school, I explored a number of religions. I was unsatisfied and questioning what kind of religion would have a crazy man like Jesus for a God, and the whole Trinity thing was beyond me. Later, I was invited to a Christian fellowship youth group meeting. That’s when I finally allowed Christ into my heart. I was listening to some praise music, and the incredible joy, and the indescribable encounter with the Spirit, still makes me shiver as He came in to dwell.

Danele: Wow! That’s wonderful, Lisa! You mentioned that you were listening to praise music when you gave your heart to Christ. Praise music can be so powerful! Is there a specific song or hymn that you particularly love?

Lisa: I was introduced to the modern hymn In Christ Alone by my son. It spoke to me, blending the old and new. Matt Redman became a favorite songwriter and singer of mine. This was one of the last songs I learned while at my former church. I used to play guitar once a month or so, even though I’m dreadful at it and have about one note where I’m actually in key when I sing. The hymn, In Christ Alone is the Gospel message in a nutshell. It is plain and simple with a haunting melodyy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENtL_li4GbE

Danele: Thank you so much for the link! In Christ Alone really is a beautiful song! Music can indeed be powerful! Now, here’s another question for you. How has being a Christian influenced your writing?

Lisa: When I first began writing, I didn’t know there was a Christian market and a mainstream market. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Christian fiction until my husband’s grandmother starting giving me Janette Oke’s books for Christmas. So…I planned to be a Christian who happened to write fiction. I soon learned that the Christian publishers had a lot of “rules,” and I learned to follow them while writing for Barbour publishing. Since that first contract, however, I have been published by several smaller publishers and some of them aren’t faith-based—but I still have Christian characters living their inspired and flawed lives, doing the best they can, and I don’t apologize for it. After all, who do we want to reach with the work we’ve been commissioned to perform? I belong to a writer’s group of eclectic authors and hope I’m a positive influence.

Danele: I’m sure you’re a very positive influence! I know you’ve touched many lives! Lisa, there are so many people who are hurting in this world. What would you like to say to them?

Lisa: As I’m writing this now, today, a young couple from church are saying hello and farewell to their second child. They are friends of my son and colleagues of my husband. It is so unfair. There’s no other way think about it. It’s horrible and no one should have to go through that experience. I feel like I’m losing a grandchild, and I’m not related by anything but love and Christ. There are no words, and believe me I have used words in the past that would have been a comfort to me, but were the absolute worst thing to say to another. It’s really, really hard to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Prayers of comfort, certainly. And a hug.

Danele: I’m so sorry, Lisa. My heart goes out to that family. Tragedy can be so difficult to understand.

Lisa: My thoughts are that most of the things that happen aren’t because of what we’ve done, or because God hates us, or wants a good laugh, or doesn’t care. Most of the things that happen to us are not even about us, but for someone else who will need the example of what we’ve gone through at some point. How we react is much more important than the event. We are temporary. We are grass in the wind who long for our true home in heaven.

Danele: That’s truly beautiful, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us! Now, before I let you go, I’d love for you to tell us a little about your new book release.

Lisa: Everything About You, is a novella that’s part of the “Love Is…” series based on 1 Corinthians 13. It’s the fifth book in the series and based on the concept that love is not proud.

Danele: How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Lisa: Wisconsin has hosted several major motion picture shoots, and I played around with the idea of using a movie set with a reverse Pygmalion theme. And, voila!

Danele: What a fun idea! Can you give us the back cover blurb and a purchasing link?

Lisa: Sure! She needs a movie set miracle, he needs cash…can a farmer morph into a movie star in five days? If Shelly has her way, Danny will become America’s next heartthrob and she’ll get her own promotions company. He’s already gorgeous, a little naive, and needs to work on that accent. To Danny, Shelly is on the pompous side, but holds the key to his real dreams…if he can figure out all the rules, say the right things for the daily blog session, keep his heartstrings in place, dodge Shelly’s vicious former boyfriend and the movie star diva. Shelly’s about to lose a lot more than her heart if she can’t get a handle on her wounded pride and learn who to trust. http://amzn.to/1PSSuk6

Danele: Lisa, I wish you all the best with your new release! Thank you so much for talking with us today!

Lisa: You’re very welcome. It’s an honor, and thank you for allowing me to share my stories with your audience.

 

Friends, Lisa is a terrific person! If you would like to learn more about her or her books, please follow the links below. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Web: www.lisalickel.com

Blog: http://livingourfaithoutloud.blogspot.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/lisalickel

Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/author/lisalickel

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@lisajlickel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlisalickel/