Do you like author interviews?
I’ve been interviewed about my writing before, but it’s always been audio-only.
I got to do a Story Chat recently, though, with Valerie Comer, Narelle Atkins, and Elizabeth Maddrey where they asked me questions about my latest release, Olive.
I built the whole thing up in my head as something kind of terrifying. It was on video, after all, and, well…once it’s out there, it’s out there forever. It’s hard to hide from the evidence when they have your voice *and* your face. But it ended up not being scary at all, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything hugely embarrassing. Probably. Which, let’s face it, was a huge relief. Nobody wants to walk away from an interview thinking that it was one of the top five worst experiences of their life.
Whew!
So, kudos to the story chat team for not being too terribly frightening. Or, you know, for being warm, friendly, gracious, welcoming, etc. 😊
That whole experience got me to thinking, though, about the things that we build up in our minds in different ways – for good or for bad. If I was going to write about something like this, I think…hm…
- She’s going to her high school reunion. Nobody even noticed her in high school. She was invisible. But she’s done something spectacular with her life. Maybe she runs her own mega company, is an award-winning artist, or has served overseas on humanitarian missions and has become a major spokesperson for helping the underprivileged. Anyway – she goes to her reunion thinking she’ll finally get the recognition she craved growing up, only…she doesn’t. Nobody really remembers her or cares about what she’s done, and it’s a complete letdown. As she’s leaving, she finally accepts the fact that other people’s praise is never going to satisfy her and reaches that point where she’s ready to rest in Christ, to accept that His acknowledgement is all she needs, and that He is enough for her. Then, as she waits for the ride share to pick her up and take her back to her hotel… Obviously, this is where she runs into the guy. 😉
- She dated him in college, and he was a complete jerk. She had thought she could change him, but he kept playing the field. Even though he told her she was his one and only, she kept hearing stories about him with other women. As far as she’s concerned, he’s a first-class ogre (in personality, not looks – this is romance after all, not fantasy). Then she runs into him one day years later. Maybe at a wedding. That would be fun, right? The only thing is, he’s nothing like she remembers, and all her dreams of throwing a drink in his face and stomping off in her stiletto heels go up in flames. He’s decent and kind and doesn’t seem to have any idea what she’s talking about when she hints at his infidelity. Hm. Something weird is definitely going on here. What’s a girl to do when the monster ex turns out like he might be a guy-next-door nice guy?
- It’s her first day at the new job. She’s worked hard her whole life to get here. It might not be glamorous or somebody else’s idea of a dream job, but it’s what she’s always wanted to do. Her first day is going to be perfect – quiet, ordinary, and what most people would consider boring. To her, though? Pure bliss. Only, in the cafeteria for lunch on that perfectly ordinary first day, she bumps into somebody, and the chicken salad from her sandwich ends up on the front of his bespoke suit. And that’s just the start of the tailspin her life dives into at the new job she expected to be commonplace and a little bit dull.
Obviously, those are all fictional ideas.
What about you, though? Have you ever built something up to be a certain way in your mind only for it to turn out completely differently? Was it different in a good way or a hard way? Or maybe both? Tell me in the comments below. One commenter will be randomly selected to receive an Amazon gift card.
And if you’d like to check out my Story Chats interview about Olive, you can find it here. Like I said, it was fun. I might even do something like that again sometime – hopefully with less hyperventilating ahead of time. 🤪
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
firstly congrats on Storychats. I do enjoy watching them.
Number 1 is interesting as in high school (actually all school) I was in the uncool group. Then in the paper they had some photos from the reunion and 5 of us who were there got our photo in the local paper As my friend said we were the uncool ones and we get the biggest photo in the paper.
I had my life planned out leave school find mr right and get married with several kids 4 – 6. I got the leave school down right but never found Mr right, got married or had kids.
Ha! I’m pretty sure I slept, ate, and breathed “uncool” during school. Then I grew up a wee bit and realized that the things I once thought were cool really weren’t. What’s that saying? All that glitters isn’t gold? Or is it platinum now? Anyway…eventually I realized that I just needed to be who God had made me to be. Once I got that figured out, I became comfortable in my own skin, and the whole cool/uncool thing didn’t seem to matter as much. Thank goodness! Nobody should have to deal with high school angst for their entire life! ^_^
Sometimes God takes us on paths that are different than the ones we would choose for ourselves. It’s not always easy, but it does demand that we rely on and trust Him not just with the big things like our salvation but also with the day-to-day. I hope your relationship with God has been strengthened as He’s walked with you down a path that is so different than the one you envisioned for your future back when you were in high school.
when I was in high school, I was the only person who played the Alto Sax. my senior year we had a large concert. turns out the band teacher wanted me to play solos during it. whatttt?????? NO NO NO NO but I was not the kind of person to say NO to an adult like this. oh for two weeks I fretted and sweated and complained at home. finally three days before the concert my mom took me aside and asked to hear the pieces that I was supposed to play solo with. so I sucked it up and played the six pieces that were solo. when I was done, she asked me what I did wrong. I frowned and looked at the paper and as I was going through it all, I realized I had hit each note right on the head. then mom asked me to play the pieces without the music. WHAT??? her encouragement and belief that I could do it, gave me confidence. so I did my best. I was nervous I would mess up so of course I messed up. then mom asked me what the best place and event was that I could think of. oh being on the ranch riding my horse and walking my cow were the best. then she asked me to close my eyes and think of those as I am playing, putting the music to those thoughts. oh my goodness it worked like a charm. those few days I was reliving living on the ranch as I played my solo parts. when it came time to play in the concert we all got seated on stage and when the curtains opened up and I saw all the people I almost had a fainting spell. I spotted mom and dad and my siblings and sure enough mom had a sign that said RANCH. we all played beautifully. when my times for the solo came up I would stand up and close my eyes and play my heart out. the wisest mom ever
Whenever I’m nervous about doing something I tend to build it up into a mountain as large as one of the Himalayas. However, much like your experience with being on Story Chats it never ends up being as terrifying as I think. You’d think I would have learned not to build things up so much, but that’s still a work in progress for me.
I’d like to read books with both of those scenarios!! My life didn’t turn out as I’d planned, for sure. However, it’s the life God had for me, and I’ve been content and fulfilled. He dropped my dream job in my lap in January of 2020, one I never even put into words except one time to Mom. Now, it’s taking off along with my other job I never dreamed of having, and He’s provided clients for both, so I can continue to work from home and support myself, and He set it all up before Mom passed, so I didn’t need to worry about other things as I grieved for her and adjusted to the “new normal” after being her full time caregiver for 9 years.
I do this a lot with life situations. I’m slowly learning that if even if something doesn’t live up to my expectations, which to be honest things rarely do, it can still be good and fun. I think its human to build something up and then feel slightly disappointed when its not all we imagined it to be.
That is AWESOME! Your mom sounds amazing. All that fretting and stress, and it turned out okay. How often do we do that to ourselves over things that seem like a really big deal to us in the moment but that, in retrospect (maybe years later), aren’t as big as we made them out to be? Your life would have still been perfectly okay if you’d messed up one of your solos, but even so – your mom’s wisdom saved you from having to deal with that kind of emotional fallout. And you learned that you could do things you might have otherwise thought impossible! What a fabulous lesson!
And for the record, I love listening to the alto sax. ^_^
Right!? Obviously, it’s still a work in progress for me, too. LOL.
I’ve found that if I allow myself too much time to dwell on something that’s coming up, my mountain gets bigger and bigger. If I don’t let myself dwell, I don’t have time to grow the mountain very much. Like you said – a work in progress. Eventually, by God’s grace, we’ll get to that place where we instinctively trust God and rest in Him rather than building mountains. :-)
Hi, yes, I enjoy reading author interviews. Your new idea for your book sounds great, I would purchase it in a heart beat! When I was in HS I was very shy , I would spend my lunch time in the library. Sometimes I think that is one thing I would change, but then I think , nope I have done just fine having been shy in HS cause who knows what would and could have happened . I was also called an old maid, I got married when I was 22 which is fine with me, my husband and I will be married 45 yrs this month and have 2 wonderful adult children and 3 grandchildren, so I am Thankful that God had the right person for me. Have a great weekend and stay safe. I enjoyed reading your post, thank you.
Isn’t God good? I know, I know. All the time. It’s beautiful, though, when we look at hard paths we’ve walked and see His presence and provision throughout. And amen to being able to support yourself and enjoying what you’re doing!! Liking your job seems like a little thing, but when it’s the thing you have to do week after week, year after year, it becomes a really big thing. Hugs!!
Ah, yes. That whole being human thing. Who could have figured it would have such an impact on our lives? ^_^ (If only Adam and Eve had figured this out, right?) Great insight! Thank you for sharing.
I can’t think of any specific things but I think I do that with milestone events: remember when you were a kid and thought adulthood would be constant fun or when you’re in high school you thought college would be be so fu. For me, not so much when I think about it. Yes, There are great times but not all the time:)
can’t think of anything
I do tend to build things up in my mind at times. The reality is usually much easier then first thought.
Yes, I have had both experiences. One as a child. I was reminded of this a few years back. Prior to going to kindergarden, I was able to one of a few children on a television program called Romper Room. As all parents tell their children go to the bathroom first because you cannot go once you are on the set. Well…. there was a restroom on the set. I had to be the child who brought that up. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
I build up stuff in my mind all the time, and like you, mostly worse than it really turns out to be…lol! I think somethings going to turn out one way and it turns out so much different…sometimes good & sometimes not. I tend to always think the worst though and I shouldn’t.
Most things turn out to be way better than I think & I tell myself “that wasn’t so bad now was it”? LOL!
I haven’t really got a chance to listen to interview unless there options to listen later then the time it’s played. My dream came true in a good way. I knew Mr. Right which is true love since a young child camping & we dated then had our child & got married. It was really a happy true love & it’s always a happy day seeing them everyday.
I have not got to listen to interviews. My life became a good one by being with my wife & having our child & puppy. It couldn’t be better.
I enjoyed your story chat interview it was good.
So interesting how times change! I got married at 21, and people wondered why we were in such a rush. You got married at 22, and people thought you were an old maid. It all comes down to God’s timing, right? And his timing is perfect. I’ll trust it any day over my own timing or sense of when things should happen. ^_^
Amen to that! And somewhere along the way we learn that joy can be had even in the not-so-great times. We learn that we’re not defined by the goals, the circumstances, or the situation we’re currently in. That lesson takes longer for some than others. I remember dreaming of the day I could go to college, mostly because I saw it as a stepping stone on the path to my dream career. The only problem was, it took me an extra 20 years or so to get to that career – so it’s a good thing I didn’t put all my hopes and dreams into that one goal, or I’d have been devestated.
Thank you for stopping by the blog!
Except for exercise – which I always think is going to be easier than it actually turns out to be – I totally agree! ^_^
Hahahaha! That sounds priceless!
I got to be on a TV show when I was in kindergarten. I don’t remember the name of the show, but our whole class was filmed as someone came in and showed us…snakes and spiders. Yes. Snakes and spiders. It was an educational thing, and we were the “live” audience. I don’t honestly remember if I was horrified or fascinated…but I do remember that I wore my favorite dress that day. ^_^
Those are the good ones – when things turn out better than expected. It’s always so much harder to adjust when something ends up worse (or more challenging) than we prepared ourselves for. One things for sure, though – life is never, ever boring!
You can always watch the StoryChats videos later. They’re available anytime on YouTube. You can also listen to them at your convenience at https://www.inspyromance.com/storychats/ – easy peasy. ^_^
It sounds like you’ve had a wonderful and blessed life. Thank you for sharing with us!!
It’s the simple things that make the everyday parts of life so enjoyable, isn’t it? Family, puppy, the works. Thank you for stopping by the blog!
I think it happened to me once with an interview too, though mine wasn’t on video (though it was an episode for a podcast, just like yours). Anyway, the interviewer was nice, so that was different than what I’d imagined, but I still think I’d like to change a couple of things (if I could), so I guess it was both good and not so good at the same time, lol.
Oh, and I’ll be checking your video soon. It sounds fun! :)
That whole “learning experience” thing is always a bit of a mixed bag, isn’t it? I’m glad your podcast interview was a better experience than you expected, and I hope the things you wish you could have done differently will help you do better (and feel more confident!) next time. ^_^
There have been many things that did not turn out as expected hahaha I spent a large part of my adolescence studying at home as a result of having suffered bullying all my childhood the idea of having friends, going to a bachelor’s dance with a pretty pink dress, shoes a birthday with friends I never had it. At 17 I entered a school for my senior year just hoping not to stand out too much having a couple of friends and not being bothered by anyone.
My mom prayed for me, that year I made a great group of friends, I won an academic excellence award, for some reason I was considered one of the prettiest girls in the grade and I was able to have my 18th birthday with a pretty princess tiara and many friends. I also had that pink dress for the dance and all my friends’ dresses matched ivan from red through all shades of pink to white. It was as if God in my last year of school allowed me to live everything I never had.
Studying medicine turned out not to be what I expected…I ended up studying law and changing universities, both things worked out for the best in the end, although the process was painful!
Thank you!! :-)
I’m so glad your senior year turned out as well as it did! That’s definitely a time when expectations weren’t met that turned out for the better. It’s hard to deal with emotional trauma and then to put yourself out there again. I have no doubt that having a praying Mom helped tremendously. :-)
As for the other – medical school to law school. Wow! Those two degree programs use almost entirely different parts of the brain. One is tactile (at least in its later stages) and very science/math based. The other is almost entirely about language. (I know I’m oversimplifying.) You must have a broad skillset and a well-developed and well-rounded thought process in order to even consider both. And while I imagine that transitions was extremely difficult, I’m glad you ended up where God wanted you. Sometimes we learn as much (if not more) in the process of getting somewhere than we do when we’ve actually arrived.