Hello, readers! What a joy to introduce my friend, author and speaker, Julie Coleman! Julie’s new book, Unexpected Love: God’s Heart Revealed in Jesus’ Conversations with Women, is a book after my own heart. As I told Julie, went on a personal search to study Jesus’ relationships with women and it was quite an eye-opener. But the difference is, Julie wrote a book about it. I didn’t. 
I know you’re going to love reading about Julie’s writing journey and her process for writing Unexpected Love. And if you leave a comment, you’ll be in the drawing for copy of Julie’s book! But be sure to return next week to see if you’re the winner.
So let’s don’t waste another minute. Let’s get started! First of all, Julie, the question all writers are interested in: What inspired you to begin writing?
Since I can remember, my obvious spiritual gift and passion has been for teaching the Word of God. While I always enjoyed teaching, authoring a book wasn’t even on my radar screen! That all changed when I was named Teacher of the Year for Anne Arundel County. It created several speaking opportunities for me. At one of them, a table mate loved my presentation. “You should speak for a living,” she enthused. I confided that it was my secret dream to do exactly that. But how could I expand my speaking ministry enough to make it full time? “You need to write a book,” she told me.
A book? I was a fifth grade teacher. I couldn’t even imagine accomplishing such a herculean task. But she got me wondering. I went home that day and pulled out a retreat I had given a few months earlier, and decided to try my hand at writing. I turned the content of each session into a chapter. I had a blast doing it. God had planted a seed in my heart. Writing quickly became an obsession.
How did you get from there to being a published author?
It didn’t happen overnight, I can assure you! The Lord continued to guide one step at a time. Feeling a need to go deeper in my content, my husband and I decided that seminary training would move me toward that goal. So I quit teaching and went back to school. Learning how to dig deep for truth in the Word was invaluable.
Even while earning my degree, I kept writing. I published articles in several magazines. I began to blog and started an email devotional newsletter, The Dogwood Digest, with an initial audience of about fifty friends. I also began attending conferences for writers and speakers. Each was an important opportunity to network and learn the publishing business. For years I submitted and was rejected. The acquisition editors liked my writing and often passed my proposals onto the publishing board. But each attempt ended in the same comment: I needed a larger platform.
Platforms take time to build. I just kept plugging away, writing my newsletter, collecting email addresses at every speaking event, and building relationships with editors and other authors. I do not believe God wasted a single minute. He used the time to mature my Scriptural understanding and develop my writing craft. (My husband once asked a missionary who had given a particularly inspiring message how long it had taken him to prepare. His answer: “About forty-five years and a half-hour.”) God had His plan. But He needed time to develop His servant.
My big break finally came at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference at an appointment with Kathi Macias, who was meeting with writers as a representative of New Hope Publishers. She loved the manuscript I was pitching, and eventually helped me find an agent. Through his efforts, we received an offer from Thomas Nelson Publishers. God had finally brought the vision he had given me to fruition. It was nine years from the first time I sat down at the computer to write to the moment I held my published book in my hands.
It sounds like you and I were on similar publication paths. It was 10 years from my first writing to actually holding my first published book. So if nothing else, I hope our readers grasp the fact that it’s rarely a quick hop, skip, and jump from writing to publishing. Okay, now I’m interested in knowing how you chose your topic in writing Unexpected Love.
I was raised in a very conservative denomination, where women’s role in the church was extremely limited. It made me wonder if God thought of women as second class citizens in His kingdom. I set out to discover what He revealed about His heart for women in the Scriptures. Looking at the conversations that Jesus had with women in the gospels seemed a good place to start.
At first I found more questions than answers. It wasn’t an easy study; Jesus said a whole lot of things in those encounters that took me aback! In fact, the first working title of my book was “Why Did He Say That?” He seemed so disrespectful to His mother at the Wedding at Cana. When the Syro-Phoenician woman begged Him to heal her daughter, He called her a dog under the table. He forced the hemorrhaging woman to reveal her shameful ailment to the entire town. Where was the loving Savior in these and other puzzling interactions?
But as I worked through the text, slowly finding answers, God revealed a Jesus who very personally interacted with each woman he met. He started with where they were, with what they believed and what they thought they needed. And he moved them forward into an eternal relationship with Him. He did so much more than cure what physically ailed them. He made them whole. With every story, I fell in love with Jesus more and more.
How has your book been received?
Unexpected Love was released in February, and initial sales are encouraging. Many Bible study groups have used it across the country and have been enthusiastic about the quality of discussion it has prompted. Free resources are offered for readers and study leaders, including handouts, lesson plans, and supplemental articles at unexpectedlove.org. My hope is that the book will not just present good, meaty content, but that it will inspire women to dig deep into God’s Word for themselves. It’s been wonderfully affirming as I Skype with groups who have done the book and hear how God is using it to draw them into intimacy with Him. He has been faithful to complete what He started.
Yes, He will complete what He started, if we’re faithful to continue to do our part. Thank you for the encouraging reminder.
And friends, don’t forget to leave a comment for Julie and you’ll automatically be in the drawing for a free copy of her book. And if you want to be sure to have a copy, you can order Unexpected Love: God’s Heart Revealed in Jesus’ Conversations with Women here!
BIO: Julie Coleman dedicates herself to helping others understand and know an unexpected God. Her book, Unexpected Love: God’s Heart Revealed through Jesus’ Conversations with Women, was released by Thomas Nelson Publishers in February. You can find out more about her ministry at unexpectedgod.com.
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Photo courtesy of Cyn Rogalski
Who Won Cyn Rogalski’s Writer’s Blocks?
Thanks to all who read, shared, and responded to last week’s post, Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling as Image Macros, by Twisted Sifter. As promised, we have a winner of artist Cyn Rogalski’s creation, Writer’s Blocks. And the winner is…
Debra L. Butterfield! Debra, be sure to Contact Me with your mailing address and your Writer’s Blocks will be on their way!
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Are Your Working Toward a Possible $100 Win?
Writers, don’t forget to continue working toward your MoGo7000 Writing Challenge this month. You have only have October, November, and December to get in your entries. Don’t miss the chance to win $100!
