Today we are visiting with Kimberly Rae Jordan, an
author I met when I downloaded one of her books on my Kindle. I’m so glad she
agreed to do an interview. She has some interesting material and I want to
introduce her to all of you who read my blog.
Q: Hi, Kimberly, it’s so nice that you can visit
today.
A: Thanks so much for having on your blog, Juanita!
Q: Tell us about your life—where you live, your
children, etc.
A: I live in central Canada where we have beautiful
summers and horrible winters! I have four wonderful kids. My oldest daughter is
in university and my youngest son is just getting out of diapers! In between
them are my boy/girl twins who have just entered the teen years! I do have a
“day job” working in the administration department of my brother’s technology
company.
Q: The book you authored that I read was Faith,
Hope and Love and it was about a missionary couple. I noticed that you
are the child of missionary parents. How long did you live in Asia, and did
this book have any connection to your experiences there?
A: My parents took me to the mission field when I
was 18 months old and, aside from furlough years, I was there until I was 18
and graduated from high school. Yes, this book was based on my experiences to
some extent. The missionary center that is introduced in the prologue was based
on the one I grew up. Rural and beautiful with dirt paths running through the grass
and lots of trees to climb! The hostage-taking part of the story was based off
several different incidents. From the time I was around 11, I was aware of
missionaries who had been kidnapped. It is always a possibility for
missionaries serving in foreign lands, but there are definitely countries that
have been more dangerous in this regard than others. As I read the stories of
these men who had been kidnapped, I was always amazed and encouraged that
through it all, they maintained their faith. It led me to wonder what it would
be like if the opposite occurred. A man taken hostage, tortured and
released…having lost his faith. That was the basis of Faith, Hope & Love.
Q: I suppose you left Asia to go to school in the
states. Did you study journalism, or was that something that came later in
life? In other words, I think I’m asking, did you always want to be a writer?
A: I left after high school and came back to
Canada—talk about a shock on several levels! At the time I was planning to go
to college for Business Administration. That didn’t work out so I ended up
working at a few different jobs until I had my first child. It was around then
that I began to dabble a bit in writing. I have always loved reading, and
growing up without a television really helped develop my imagination. I would
tell myself stories to fall asleep at night. Early on I don’t think I was
necessarily writing in pursuit of publication, but more for the enjoyment of
it. So the written word has always been a large part of my life only now I get
to share it with lots of people.
Q: Tell us about your spiritual experience and when
you came to be a child of God. With missionary parents, I’m sure this was an
important part of your life.
A: Yes, growing up as a missionary kid meant that I
was exposed to Christianity at a very young age. It was a large part of my life
through most my school years as well since the schools I attended were all
missionary schools which included Bible teaching along with other subjects.
Having all that exposure does not, however, guarantee that a missionary kid
will “stay the course”, so to speak. As a young adult I found myself just
drifting along in my spiritual life. I spent a lot of time trying to be the
person people expected me to be because of my parents and my background. I went
to church because that was expected of me. I agreed to work in the nursery and
teach children’s Sunday School because it seemed like the right thing to do. I
adhered to the conservative life I’d been raised with for no other reason than
I’d been told to. I struggled a lot for a few years and finally came to a
breaking point where I questioned much about my spiritual life. It was a very
difficult time for me spiritually and emotionally. I never questioned the
reality of God, but just felt lost in my relationship with Him. Eventually I realized
that I needed to have my own personal relationship with God, not my parents’
(grandparents, etc.) relationship with God. My writing has helped me to
continue to build that personal relationship. Often the things my characters
struggle with and learn in the course of the story are based on my own struggles
and what I’ve learned.
Q: How true, Kimberly. We all have to have a face-to-face encounter with God. I call it a "point in time" experience. Something you can always remember.
Tell us a little about your writing journey. How
long did it take after you started writing to get a book published? Or did you
start with free-lance writing for magazines, etc?
A: Once I put my mind to trying to publish, I began
to research publishers and agents. I joined a writers’ organization which lead
me to become part of a couple of critique groups. Those groups were filled with
some wonderful women who helped me polish my writing and offered encouragement
along the way. I originally targeted the Love Inspired line and had several
requests for complete manuscripts, but each time I ended up with a rejection
from them. It was discouraging, but I kept writing and submitting. When I had
my spiritual crisis, I stopped writing. I stopped submitting. I was in a place
where I just couldn’t face any more rejection. I set aside my writing and
focused on other things. A couple of years ago I reconnected with an old
critique partner. She had self-published through Amazon and told me I should
look into it too. My husband also encouraged me to take up my writing again. It
took me awhile to get the nerve up, but eventually I pulled out those old
manuscripts and began to revise (update!) and polish them. At the end of
January 2013, I published Faith, Hope
& Love, and I haven’t looked back!
Q: I so appreciate authors who write Christian
fiction. How long have you been writing and how many books have you published?
A: My writing journey has been kind of fractured,
but I think it’s safe to say I’ve been writing in one form or another (fiction,
journaling etc.) for most my adult life. To date I’ve published six books and
contributed to a devotional for authors.
Q: I notice you have a series about the Karlsson
Brothers. From the reviews I read, this is a popular series. Tell us about
these guys and how you came up with a series about them. How many books are in
the series? Do you plan to write more?
A: To be honest, when I wrote the first book (Waiting for Rachel), I never planned for
it be a series. As the story unfolded and Jace was introduced into the story, I
began to think about writing his story. I had already planned that Damian (the
hero of book 1) would come from a family of three adopted boys, so then I just
needed to flesh out the middle brother, Alex. There will only be three stories
in this series, but I have discovered a love for series books! In writing the
stories of these three brothers, the thing I enjoyed most was not having to say
goodbye to the characters at the end of their book. Well, except when I got to
the end of book 3. Lol! Being able to carry on parts of Damian and Rachel’s
story into Worth the Wait was fun.
And then to be able to revisit the lives of the characters of the first two
books in the third, which takes place a few years in the future, was very
satisfying for me. I hope the readers feel the same way!
Q: What would readers be surprised to know about
you? Tell us an embarrassing situation or an unusual happening, please.
A: This question has me stumped! I try to avoid
embarrassing situations at all costs. Lol In addition to writing, I enjoy
baking. I don’t bake as much as I would like to because baking leads to eating,
and eating sweets and such leads to…well, you know! I was first introduced to
baking by my dad. He helped me bake my first pie! When I was 14 years old, 4
friends and I started up a bakery on our missionary center. Each day we would
take orders and then would bake things like cookies, bread and cinnamon buns.
The name of our bakery was “Dough-Dough’s Bakery” and our slogan (courtesy of
my mom!) was “We knead your dough.” We each made a nice sum of money that
summer. I have sold baking to help raise money for my oldest daughter’s
mission’s trip to Jamaica as well as to supplement our income at varying times.
Q: Kimberly, thank you so much for being with us
today and for your insightful answers. I hope our bloggers will be looking for
your books. Tell us where you can be found—your website and how to reach you on
Facebook or Twitter.
Q: Thanks, and I hope I
get to read more of your wonderful books.
Note from Kimberly: We will hopefully have Faith, Hope and
Love available in print by the end of the year. I would be happy to donate a
book for your winner!
Readers, you will love this book! I read it on my Kindle and had to keep recharging so I could keep reading! Remember to leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.
I'll announce the winner on January 26, but will email the winner on the weekend, January 24 or 25.
