Please welcome my friend, author and speaker, Linda W. Rooks. Linda is the author of Broken Heart on Hold, Surviving Separation. Together with her husband, she ministers to those in marital crisis. Linda's credits include Chicken Soup for the Beach Lover's Soul, Focus on the Family, HomeLife, Light and Life, The Lookout and many other national and local publications. She writes regularly for Tapestry, a Walk Thru the Bible devotional magazine and will soon be featured in Today's Christian Woman. Linda is listed in Who's Who and has participated in numerous TV and radio shows across the nation.
I can tell you that you need a copy of Linda's book, regardless of your marriage situation. We all know of friends who could benefit from Linda's experience and encouragement. Don't forget to leave a comment and you'll be in the drawing for an autographed copy! Okay, let's get started!
Vonda: First of all, Linda, tell us how you came to write Broken Heart on Hold.
Linda: For three years between 1995 and 1998 my husband and I were separated. It was an extremely difficult time, a time of confusion and crazy emotions. I needed something to hold me up and keep me strong, but when I went to Christian bookstores looking for a devotional book that could help me, I found nothing deep and gutsy enough to meet that need. Consequently, since I myself am a writer, when I experienced a particular issue, I sat at my computer and wrote until God brought me to a place of peace. I did this again and again throughout that three-year period. One day, after my husband and I reconciled, I looked at what I had written and saw that I had made at least 40 of these entries. I wondered if they might help someone else so I showed them to some published writers, who encouraged me to put them into a book. When I showed them to my husband, he saw them as a way to allow God to use those terrible three years for something good. He called it a Romans 8:28 experience: "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."
Vonda: So, what was your purpose when you decided to write the book? How did you expect it would help someone else?
Linda: I felt it could help people become stronger emotionally and spiritually by meeting them in the midst of their pain and turbulent emotions and then lifting them to God. And because I'd gone through this myself, I envisioned the book being a friend to the reader. Because it's such a gentle book, I also saw it as a book someone could give a friend in marital crisis to be supportive without being intrusive.
Vonda: And I'd say you achieved that goal! In Pat Morley's endorsement, he applauds your vulnerability and courage. How were you able to go back and dredge up all those emotions and write with such vulnerability?
Linda: Much of what is in the book has its roots in writings I actually did during our separation so the emotions are very authentic. It's what I was really experiencing at the time. For those I wrote later, I actually had to allow myself to go back there, to not just remember in my head, but to allow the hurt to return and sit in my heart. It was not easy to do, but it was necessary to connect with my reader.
Vonda: Oh, that must have been so hard, but sometimes that's what authors have to do to write the message God has given them. So is your book intended to simply lend emotional support or is it intended to help reconcile a marriage?
Linda: It's actually intended to do both. Often, when people are separated or in marital crisis, they feel things are hopeless. Broken Heart on Hold helps the reader get stronger emotionally and spiritually so she not only finds hope, but also begins to see new ways to approach things to bring healing to her marriage.
Vonda: I noticed that the selections are very short, almost like devotions. Would you say it's written in a devotional format?
Linda: When I was first shopping the book around, I called it a devotional book, but editors corrected me, saying it didn't have the conventional devotional format. Instead, it's kind of a hodge-podge of different length selections written in different styles. There are even some stories and poems thrown in without scriptures.
Vonda: So why did you go ahead and write it in this unconventional way?
Linda: Because women reading the book are going through an unconventional time in their lives. Their minds are jumbled, and it's hard to concentrate on long chapters presented in pat formats. Mixing things up helps them connect and stay focused. I really wanted the reader to feel she was with a friend rather than a book. It seemed a better way to meet her emotional needs.
Vonda: What kind of response have you had from readers?
Linda: In the e-mails I receive, readers typically tell me I'm the ‘only one' who understands how they feel. They tell me the book has been a friend to them, that they read it two or three times. Some carry it around with them everywhere they go. Some sleep with it. In the past two years, I've heard from hundreds of readers. Because a person in marital crisis feels so terribly alone, the book seems to meet a real need.
Vonda: Have you been surprised by any reader comments?
Linda: Yes, I've been surprised by the number of men who read the book and tell me how much it has helped them even though the book is directed toward women. Also, since the book was written with reconciliation in mind, I've been surprised that divorce recovery groups recommend it as a resource to help the divorced work through their emotions and find closure.
Vonda: Well, it's obvious that God planned for your experience to be an encouragement and guide to others. I often say I'm glad God can take my messes and use them for His glory. You demonstrate that concept so well with your book, Broken Heart on Hold. Thank you for sharing your reconciliation journey with those who need it…and thank you for sharing your writing journey with us.
And readers, I hope you'll visit Linda at her website where you'll be able to learn more about her writing and speaking ministry. You can get your
own copy of Broken Heart on Hold here. And don't forget to leave a comment for Linda or me. You could be a winner of a free book! Be sure to check back next week for the announcement.
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Writing Opportunities for YOU!
- Call-Out to Military Moms: Linda Jewel is looking for stories, advice, tips and resources for a book she's writing for and about military moms. For more information, please e-mail at .
- Jo Rae Johnson has sent another call-out from the Chicken Soup line. Lots of opportunities with various deadlines. Check out the needs here. Thanks again, Jo Rae!
- Don't forget the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition. Some of our readers/writers have placed in the past. This could be YOUR year! Deadline May 15, 2009, so everyone has time to get something ready.
- DaySpring cards is looking for previously-published writers.
- Holiness Today Magazine will send writer's guidelines on request.
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Serious About Writing?
Then you'll want to attend a writer's conference this year. I'll be teaching at these conferences and would love to see you there! 
- Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Ridgecrest, NC, May 17-22. Scholarships available!
- Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival, Ridgecrest, NC, May 31-June 4.
- St. David's Christian Writers' Conference, Grove City, PA, June 22-27.
- North Texas Christian Writer's Conference, Keller, TX, September 11-12.
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Writing Classes
Tim Davis, homeschooler, illustrator, and author of the popular Mice of the Herring Bone and Dust River Gulch series of books, is offering writing and illustrating classes for adults in the Greeenville, SC area. (Greenville Technical College and Furman University) For more information, visit Tim's website, or contact him at .
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I want to thank each of your for your prayers and words of encouragement as we continue to care for my sister, Gail. The days and nights are hard, but I'm so thankful to have this opportunity to share the love and grace of our Savior with her. We are strengthened every day by the promise of our Lord:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
I pray God's blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts,
Vonda
