Behind the Scenes Core Values: Love by Rebekah Robinson & Anne Hamilton

Today we go 'behind the scenes' as Jeanette (Jenny) O'Hagan interviews the fabulous Rebekah Robinson, co-author of Core Values: Love with Annie Hamilton.

Jenny: Congratulations on the new release Core Values: Love. Is having a new release as exciting as it was the first time?

Rebekah: Yes, absolutely! There’s nothing like holding your new book in your hands. With your first book there’s a sort of impostor sensation – ‘Wow, I’m an author now!’ and with the second it’s more of an eyebrow-waggling, ‘Now there are TWO, and I’m a SERIOUS author now!’

Jenny: It's a joy that doesn't get old. Tell us more about Core Values: Love. What is it about, who do you think will read it, and impact do you hope it will have?

Rebekah: Core Values: Love was born out of one of those revelations that seems momentous and blindingly obvious at the same time. If the Bible talks about the fruit of the Spirit … then the fruit must come from the Spirit … which would mean that the fruit is part of His nature, the way an apple comes from an apple tree! So this volume explores what it must mean for God to be Love, and how that works itself out in His children.

I think this book will appeal to people who want to go a little deeper in their understanding of what God is like. We’ve made it lovely to look through, as well as (I hope) intriguing to read. I’m a graphic designer by trade, so I’m a big fan of diagrams and infographics, and making things beautiful as well as functional. I hope that readers will find their spirits lifting in worship to the Lord as they read.

Jenny:  Wow, that sounds awesome. I believe understanding the heart of God's love is transformative and foundational. You co-authorised this book with Annie Hamilton, a prolific award-winning author with a strong following. How did the idea of working together come about? What have been the joys and challenges of the process.

Rebekah: My mother in New Zealand recommended The Singing Silence, and when I read it I was blown away and wrote to tell Annie so. It turned out we lived on the same side of town, so we ended up meeting for coffee and becoming friends. She hired me (in my graphic design hat) to work on her books. Since they touch on similar subjects, I asked if she would be willing to chime in on mine, and she generously agreed. Annie is a joy to work with. She’s walked me through the industry and helped me look at things from completely new angles and find treasures in the Word. I’ve found it a challenge to have to ‘kill off’ the occasional ‘darling’ phrase, of course, but it’s made my writing stronger.

Jenny: It sounds like God's timing. Your first published book, Someone to Look Up To, is also a non-fiction Christian book. Can you tell us what it is about and what inspired you to write it?

Rebekah: It’s about Christian leadership, written from the point of view of a non-leader. So much leadership theory comes to us from people who are providing it, rather than those of us who are living under it. It’s a friendly and helpful look at how some of these practices and teachings impact the church, and what we might then take into consideration. Since it’s geared toward students and fans of leadership, it also has a Study Notebook for use in classes or small groups.

Jenny: An interesting and helpful perspective. Who are your favourite authors and genres to read and why?

Rebekah: I rip through novels like there’s no tomorrow, but non-fiction takes me a great deal longer, because you have to really chew it as you go. I love speculative fiction & fantasy. My favourite secular author is Lois McMaster Bujold. I adore her space opera series because the characters are so deep and round that it’s hard to believe they aren’t real people, flying around out there. And I love Stephen Lawhead’s fantasy books because the cultural worldbuilding and storytelling is so immersive. Patrick Carr’s books are absolutely brilliant. These are just three names from a huge field of talented realms people.

My favourite Christian writer is Adrian Plass. I find his books an emotional workout, from laughing hysterically to crying unashamedly. They help me un-knot myself when I’m overthinking, and get me back in touch with my Saviour’s love in a complicated world. And I’m a big fan of Michael Frost. He thinks outside the box, and challenges me to live a truer Christianity.

Jenny: Some great authors. I concur, Michael Frost is a modern day prophet as in forth-telling. And as a big spec fic fan, I also love Lawhead and have enjoy Carr's books. I'll have to check out Lois McMaster Bujold.

So far your books have been expositional non-fiction aimed at encouraging people in aspects of the faith and ministry. Have you ever felt the urge to write fiction? And if so what would genre would you explore.

Rebekah: I wrote nothing but fiction and free verse in my youth, but got distracted by songwriting for several decades. I started my first novel years ago with a strong theme but gave up when the plot didn’t come and the characters were all ME! Recently I’ve seen a gap in Christian fiction – or an unmet thirst, if you like – and I think maybe I’m being called to fill that gap myself. So, currently I have three fantasy novel outlines percolating in my head & hard drive. It’s a steep learning curve, because every writing field involves the development of niche skills. My blog and non-fiction books have all been about answering questions, and they come more easily because all you do is explore the Word with God and share your heart in a structured manner.

Jenny: Novel writing is a great deal more complicated than most people realise. I look forward to reading your fantasy fiction in due course :) The hyphenated title of the Core Values: Love suggests that this is book 1 in a series on Core Values? Am I right and if so, what other books can we expect in the future? Do you have any other book ideas bubbling away? 

Rebekah: Core Values: Love is the first volume in an 8-part series on the fruit of the Spirit as the DNA of God. So, there are seven more volumes all at various stages of completion. Originally it was going to be one book, but it became too unwieldy. There are two other books I’m percolating for the Someone series – one on marriage and one on the music ministry – and, of course, the three nascent fantasy novels, which will be very loosely linked and will take some time.

Jenny. So many great title to anticipate. Thank you, Rebekah for taking the time to share about your books and experiences. We wish you and Annie God’s blessing on your new release.

Rebekah: Thank you so much!

Rebekah Robinson loves God and people, and writes about Christian living. A missionaries’ daughter, she was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and two young adult children. Freelancing as a graphic designer, she enjoys singing, songwriting and worship leading, and may have a slight digital scrapbooking addiction.

Rebhekah's Website & Facebook Author Page

You can purchase her books here:

Core Values: Love

Someone to Look Up To

Some to Look Up To - Study Notebook

Member Interview - Lynn Fowler

Each Thursday in 2018 we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today interview Lynn Fowler

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

As well as being a writer, I’m a Christian preacher, and independent publisher. I currently live in a small country town in Gippsland, Victoria, but I have previously lived in NSW and Queensland (I moved down here from the Gold Coast 13 years ago - quite a culture shock!) 

One of my visitors when I moved to Victoria

I have two adult sons, and five grandchildren ranging in ages from 23 down to 11, but unfortunately my older son and his family live outside of Sydney and my younger son and his family live on the Gold Coast, so I don’t get to see them very often.

Keynote Speaker at Asian Christian Workers Seminar 2013

I’ve been a preacher since 1975, starting 6 months after I was born again. I’ve pastored small churches and travelled around eastern Australia ministering, and over the last 30 years have done short term missions trips to 15 different countries. Between 2005 and 2015 I led an international ministry based here in Gippsland. 

The publishing began with me self-publishing my own books, but who I am means that nothing I do ever remains just about me for long, so it soon expanded and I began running regular writing competitions and publishing the best entries in anthologies. (The current competition can be found at http://birdcatcherbooks.com/competitions/.) This year I hope to be publishing my first stand-alone book for another author. Why is my publishing business called Birdcatcher Books? Because my name is Fowler, and a fowler is a bird catcher.

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc). What do you write and why?

My Dad was a writer, and I couldn’t escape the gene pool. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write, but I never wanted to “be a writer.” Through what was a difficult teenage and young adulthood I wrote poetry as a means of expressing the turmoil inside me, and rather to my surprise had some of it published. In my early 20s I landed a job in the publicity department of a TV studio. It was a great training ground for writing. Every week I had to produce a TV magazine of eight to ten articles. I also had to write the on-air promo for it (and, if I couldn’t con anyone else into the job, appear in the promo.) There were also other on-air promos for both TV and radio, press releases, and both in-house and client newsletters that were my responsibility. It taught me to write quickly and in a variety of styles.

In my mid 20s I was saved and called immediately into ministry, and from that point on much of my writing was an extension of my ministry. I had numerous articles and some poems published in Christian magazines in Australia, and a couple overseas. More recently I have self-published 3 Christian books: Called to Battle is a basic spiritual warfare manual, and is now only available as an e-book for my newsletter subscribers; Real, Radicaland Revolutionary is a challenge to the Church to be all that God has called us to be; and My Little Chats With God is a collection of brief, informal Bible meditations. I also have a book of my poems, Sonshine and Shadows, which is about half and half Christian and secular.

In 1990 I had a children’s picture book, A Crazy Alphabet, published through traditional publishers here in Australia and in the USA. It did quite well, but I found the whole process extremely frustrating, which is why I decided to self-publish my other books.

Over the years I have also written a small amount of fiction, and I had had the idea for a novel running around in my head for several years, so I finally sat down and put it together, and published Next Year in Huntsville last year, under the pen name of Grace L. Sutherland to distinguish it from my Christian non-fiction. At the same time, I released a small book of my short stories, Just Grace.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

A number of pastors and leaders have read Real, Radical and Revolutionary and My Little Chats With God, and given them great reviews. I work a small circuit of Saturday markets with my books, and it is always a thrill when someone comes along and says, “I bought your book last time, and I loved it.” Who would I like to read my books? Lots and lots and lots and lots of people. In fact, everybody!

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

I am probably the most undisciplined writer on earth, possibly because, even with seven books and stacks of articles behind me, I still don’t really think of myself as a writer. Much of my writing process, if it can be called that, takes place in my head: and idea comes, it tumbles around in there for weeks, months or years, all the while gathering other ideas to itself like an unruly snowball, and eventually lands on paper. 

That said, I do use “mind mapping” to help me plot out the chapters of a book, and in the case of Next Year in Huntsville, because it was covering a period of 48 years and I wanted to get all the historical facts in the right places, I had a spreadsheet listing every year of the story and with columns for each of the main characters as well as world and Australian events. 

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

Like other members, I love Story Genius by Lisa Cron. I find people endlessly fascinating, and want to be able to explore that fascination in my fiction.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Jenny O’Hagan. I have been privileged to review two of her books, Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal, both of which I enjoyed immensely and which opened up to me a genre which I would not otherwise have considered reading. 

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?

I have ideas for three Christian books and a novel running around in my brain at the moment. Which, if any, of them will come together and land on paper before year’s end? I don’t know. I guess my primary writing goal for 2018 is to actually make time to do some. So far, I am not making much progress toward reaching this goal. 

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

My Christian non-fiction and some of my poetry are directly shaped by my faith, but because my relationship with God encompasses all of my life, even my secular writing is influenced by my faith. Next Year In Huntsville, for example, though not a specifically Christian novel, has a subtle undercurrent of the search for faith and meaning.

Lynn Fowler had a children’s book traditionally published in 1990, under her then name of Lynn Cox. She has self-published three Christian non-fiction books and a book of poetry under her own name, plus a novel and a book of short stories as Grace L. Sutherland. Through her publishing business, Birdcatcher Books, she runs regular writing competitions and has published three anthologies of stories for adults and one of stories for children. 

Lynn can be found at http://lynnbfowler.com,

Grace at http://gracelsutherland.com 

and Birdcatcher Books at http://birdcatcherbooks.com