Today we interview Anusha Atukorala.
Question 1
Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.
Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.
1. I am firstly (and
with deep gratitude) a child of God. My primary calling in life I believe is to
lover of God and to love others. I’m also called to encourage and bless; to build
the body of Christ through my writing and through my life.
2. I come from the
beautiful island of Sri Lanka—a pearl drop in the Indian ocean. I am
fortunate enough to have two places I call home—this
magnificent Land Down Under (thank you for having us, Australia) as well as the
enchanting Land of my birth. What’s more … I have a third place I call home –
the heart of our Father. (Aren’t I blessed?)
3. I’ve been married
for 32 years to an exceptional man, Shan. We are parents to a another
exceptional young man of 28, Asela. All three of us love to read. I’ve just counted
the bookcases in our home—TWELVE! Yes, books are our
friends.
 |
| In Sunny Sri Lanka May 2017 |
Question 2
Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc.).
What do you write and why?
Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc.).
What do you write and why?
I grew up in a family of readers and writers. Mum
was a journalist for seven decades years right until she left for heaven’s
shores at the ripe old age of 89. My Dad was a Director of a Newspaper company
in Sri Lanka. So it seems that writing was in my blood. I write non-fiction mostly
though I’ve had a few short stories published in anthologies. It’s hard for me not to express all God’s done for me, so
non-fiction suits me to a T. I’m looking forward to writing a novel one day,
but for the moment, there’s plenty of non-fiction flowing from my pen and I
can’t stop the tide. J
I’ve had two books published so far (and lots more
in the pipeline).
1. Enjoying the Journey - 75 little God stories. (Back to the Bible Sri Lanka, June 2010)
2. Dancing in the Rain - words of comfort and hope for a sad heart.
(Armour Books, March 2018)
1. Enjoying the Journey - 75 little God stories. (Back to the Bible Sri Lanka, June 2010)
2. Dancing in the Rain - words of comfort and hope for a sad heart.
(Armour Books, March 2018)
Writing is an act of obedience to the One I love.
But of course it’s much more than that. I write because God has been so good to
me that I can’t help but shout it to all the world. I write because my joy
takes flight when I make sense of the world using the power of the written
word. I write to encourage and bless others. I write to share Jesus with those
who have yet to encounter Him. I write because God’s called me to share His
love with His world. I write not because I have to but because I have to!
Question 3
Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?
Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?
The short answer to your question Jenny is that my
books are for ANYONE – of any age and gender.
As
for the long answer …
When I wrote my first book I assumed it would be
mainly women who’d be interested. I was surprised and pleased to discover that many
parents used it as devotionals with their young families. Older people have
expressed their appreciation of the book as well. I received a heart-warming message
one day from a stranger across the seas—a Chinese man who told me how much the
book blessed him. It made me very happy.
My second book was released just over a month ago. Dancing in the Rain was written out of
life’s stormy seasons, to encourage others who needed comfort. I received feedback
from a few readers recently who thanked me for the book, adding that it was exactly
what they needed right now to help them through their difficult situations. I
was so glad to hear it.
About a week ago, I had an email from a stranger
living in Victoria. She said she was very lonely. She had been about to give up
on her faith when she read my website and my latest blog and said they helped
her keep going. That for me is what it is all about. God is good, isn’t He?
Because after all, it’s nothing to do with us. It’s the Holy Spirit who
takes the words we write and uses them to convict, comfort, edify, teach and bless.
All praise to Him.
Question 4
Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face?
What helps you the most?
Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face?
What helps you the most?
Process? Hmmm! I’m not sure I have one.
God prompts me often by what I see around me—so I
carry around a little book (as most of us writers do) to fill in when needed. It
is a most helpful tool.
My biggest challenge is my health. I’ve suffered
from a chronic illness for about 13 years and it has unfortunately affected my
productivity. I find it hard to be creative when my body is screaming in pain
and fatigue. Often when I have a day free to write—my body doesn’t co-corporate
so I can’t get much done. Having said that, I have to add that I have gleaned plenty
of golden writing nuggets by journeying through fields of adversity—so I shall
not complain. Life is good. And better yet, God is good.
The Holy Spirit is my Helper. I love the editing
process. For me, getting the first draft
is the hardest part of writing. Once that is done—I really relish the task of going
over my manuscripts over and over again in my attempts to reach perfection!
Question 5
What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?
What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?
I hang my head in shame. I don’t have one. I’ve been
borrowing books from the library over the years and continue to learn the craft
through them, but no one book stands out.
But
… perhaps I can lift my head after all? I do have a favourite Writing Book.
The Bible! The more I read it, the more treasures I glean from it. So even as I acknowledge that it’s not a craft book on writing—I can honestly say it IS the base of my writing journey. What I learn in His Word shapes me as a Christian writer, apart from the treasures of poetry, history, stories and adventure I discover in its pages. And with the Holy Spirit, the Word is my Guide in my writing adventures.
The Bible! The more I read it, the more treasures I glean from it. So even as I acknowledge that it’s not a craft book on writing—I can honestly say it IS the base of my writing journey. What I learn in His Word shapes me as a Christian writer, apart from the treasures of poetry, history, stories and adventure I discover in its pages. And with the Holy Spirit, the Word is my Guide in my writing adventures.
Question 6
If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?
If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?
Thanks for the opportunity to do so, Jenny. The
Bible points to 7 as a perfect number so let me acknowledge and
thank 7 fabulous authors today!
1. Nola
Passmore – You are not only an experienced, gifted writer but you also never
fail to encourage and help many of us on our writing journeys with your brilliant
expertise and friendship. Thank you so much Nola. You are a trooper!
2. Jeanette
O’Hagan - You’ve used your gifts and skills to produce many lovely books (congratulations
Jenny) – but that does not keep you from using those same gifts to expend much
time and energy to help other writers. Thank you Jenny.
3. Penelope
McCowen – You have been a wonderful blessing in my writing journey and in my life.
Thank you Friend. I appreciate you deeply.
4. Jenny
Glazebrook – Jenny, your blogs are always inspirational as are your talks. I’ve
really enjoyed your books. I appreciate your passionate spirit and your lovely gift
of encouragement. God bless you dear special friend.
5. Elaine
Frazer – You have always inspired and encouraged me by your excellent writing
and your caring friendship. I love catching up with you at conference! I
appreciate you.
6. Paula
Vince – You are a gifted writer and I’ve loved your books. It’s been so good to
work with you on CWD and I look forward to reading your latest work.
7. Anne
Hamilton – You are a gifted writer with many published books that teach,
inspire and bless the body of Christ. Thank you. A special thank you Annie for
publishing Dancing in the Rain
through Armour Books. It’s been great working with you and I am very grateful.
I’d also like to thank Jeanette Grant-Thompson, Rhonda Pooley, Melinda Jensen, Jo’Anne Griffin, Lesley Turner, Jo Wanmer, Adele Jones, Mazzy
Adams, Pamela Heemskerk and Janelle Moore for the special encouragement you have
been on my writing journey. Thank you ladies. I appreciate you all.
 |
| Omega Conference Sydney 2016 |
Question 7
What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?
What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?
As you know Jenny, we’ve spent the last 10 months on
a challenging, exhausting, relentless rollercoaster ride of moving house so my
writing had to be on the backburner during that time. But now, at last … I’m free
to dream and to write again. Hooray!
So these are my goals for 2018:
1. To Launch—my latest book ‘Dancing in the Rain’ on the 12th of May 2018.
1. To Launch—my latest book ‘Dancing in the Rain’ on the 12th of May 2018.
I
hope to see many of you there!
2. To
Write/Put Together 2 books –
a. Blessings on the Journey
– A book created from my blogs.
b.
The Way that He
loves
– birthed out of our eventful house move and a God who surprised, led and
blessed us way beyond all expectations. My faith muscles have been stretched and
strengthened in the process and I have a story to tell of His faithfulness. He
truly is an awesome God!
3.
To
Find the right Publishers for two of my books –
a.
A Frog by any
other Name
– (A Children’s Chapter Book)
b.
Little Lulu’s Lullaby – (A Children’s
Picture Book)
How will I achieve them? I’m thrilled that God’s
blessed me with a little den in our new home. I love it. Love it. LOVE IT! I’ve
been writing in our family room for the past eleven years with too much
noise and distraction around me (never can write with noise), and now I have a perfect
quiet retreat to escape to! Yay! How blessed I am.
This new season, God has been calling me to:
1. Pray lots
2. Write lots
May I be faithful.
2. Write lots
May I be faithful.
Question 8
How does your faith impact and shape
your writing?
I write because God has been good to me. Faith is
the bedrock under the swirling oceans of my writing life. Everything I pen is a
reflection of the amazing God who created me, loved me, saved me and gave me a
new song to sing for all eternity. Need I
say more?
Thank you Jenny for your interview and thank you my
fellow writers for your support and prayers as we work together as Christian
Writers to bring God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
God bless you and (your writing) richly and always.
Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. Please stop by at her website to say G’day to her. She’d love to see you there. Dancing in the Rain
God bless you and (your writing) richly and always.
Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. Please stop by at her website to say G’day to her. She’d love to see you there. Dancing in the Rain
