Lillian
Duncan, thanks for stopping by.
INTERVIEW:
First,
tell us a little about yourself.
I’m 64, happily married, and live in a small town in
Ohio. I worked as a school speech pathologist for 34 years. Most of those years
were in a large urban school district where I mostly worked with deaf and
hard-of-hearing students.
Were you an avid reader as a child? What did you
read?
Oh my, yes! I never went anywhere without a book.
Fishing—took a book. Relatives—took a book. In the car—took a book. So yes, I
was an avid reader. The library was my favorite place to go. I read anything I
could find.
Why do you write?
Wow. That’s a good question. There’s so many
different ways I could answer that. I could say I write because I have these
stories that rattle around in my brain. I could say I write because I love
books and stories. But the real reason I write is that I believe God created me
to write.
I used to not have the nerve to say that! In 2012, I
was diagnosed with brain tumors—benign but not benign. They were non-cancerous
but they still wreaked havoc on me and my life. One of the results is a “fuzzy”
brain or some people call it brain fog. Either way, my brain doesn’t work quite
the same as it did before the brain tumors.
But miracle of miracles, when I write something
happens. The fuzziness goes away for a while, I can remember the details I need
to for the story to make sense, and I can write! And that’s why I believe God
created me to write.
Tell us about your latest book.
THE DAVID YEARS is the sequel to PUZZLE HOUSE. In
Puzzle House at the age of fifteen, Nia was anointed to become a healer.
Overwhelmed by the thought, Nia’s auntie tells her about King David and how
even though he was anointed at a young age, he didn’t become king for many
years. Those years were his learning years and now she has her learning years
ahead of her—her David Years.
Most of
this story takes place after Nia graduates from high school as she struggles to
find her place in the world. Impatient to begin her life as a healer, Nia tries
to make it happen in her own timing. But God will not be rushed and whether Nia
likes it or not, she’s still in her David Years. I’m sure you’ve heard the
saying, ‘we learn from our mistakes.’ Well, Nia learns a lot that year, meaning
she makes a lot of mistakes.
What inspired you to write this particular book?
We first meet Nia in Puzzle House which was intended
to be a stand-alone novel. But I couldn’t stop wondering about what happened to
Nia after Puzzle House. And so that inspired me to write The David Years. Even
though Nia is a college student, the truth is we all struggle to find our place
in the world—no matter what age we are. Nia’s lessons may just help someone
else struggling to find their way in the world.
Where do you get ideas for your books?
Anywhere and everywhere! In the case of Puzzle House
and subsequently The David Years, I was diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors
and a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 2 or NF2 for short in
2012. Puzzle House features a character with the same condition.
How do you get to know your characters?
I get to know my characters as the book progress,
which is why I always do several drafts before I even think about submitting it
to my publisher. Each draft, I learn more and more about my characters.
What themes do you write about?
Forgiveness seems to be a recurrent theme in many of
my stories. But another theme seems to be emerging which is how crucial God’s
Word is to all of our life journeys. I already mentioned I have brain tumors
that have affected my health. But God’s Word gives me the wisdom and the
strength I need to have peace and joy in spite of my struggles. I want other
people to know that God doesn’t leave us alone in our battles, he’s given us
His Word so that we can be victorious in spite of our circumstances.
What is your writing schedule and where do you
write?
I mostly write in the morning after I workout. I
work in my office surrounded by a mess! My husband just shakes his head when he
ventures into my office.
Do you have to juggle writing with a job, family
responsibilities or other obligations? How do you balance it?
I retired several years ago so I’m blessed to be
able to write when I want for as long as I want. My husband is very supportive
of my writing so he doesn’t usually complain when I need to spend time writing.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?'
Definitely a pantser. I have no idea what’s going to
happen in my stories until it happens. When I start getting bored with a story,
I know it’s time to shock my characters and my readers!
Does your faith affect your writing? How?
I hope it does! I like to think of myself as a
parable writer. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly message. Even my
suspense stories have a heavenly message.
Do you put yourself in your books?
Of course! It’s not a conscious thing but it happens.
Sometimes it’s a snippet of a real-life event that happened to me or someone I
know, but more often it shows up in other sneaky ways without me being aware of
it—until I read it back. Then I have to decide whether to leave it in or take
it out.
What are you working on right now?
I have another book releasing at the end of
September—TRAPPED. It’s completely different from THE DAVID YEARS. It’s
romantic suspense with lots of action and a little romance. Along with that I’m
also working on the third Puzzle House novel—SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN.
First,
don’t worry about being perfect—just write. Once the story’s finished, then you
can go back and fix your mistakes.
Second,
write every day—even if it’s for only ten minutes. This will make writing a habit
that will help you become a writer and it will help keep you sane when life
gets crazy.
What
would you be doing if you weren’t writing?
Not
a whole lot! I’m retired from my job as a school speech pathologist so my life
isn’t about being busy. It’s about enjoying my husband and family and friends.
And writing, of course!
What
is the coolest, wackiest, most risk-taking thing you’ve ever done?
Uh…I’m
not much of a risk taker. But I have been to 48 states and three continents. So
I guess that’s sort of cool, isn’t it?
How
can readers connect with you?
My
blog is Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com.
I also have a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.
I’m on Facebook as well.
BLURB:
Nia
looked at her aunt and asked, “So what am I ‘spose to do now?”
“Have
you ever heard of King David from the Bible?”
“I
guess.”
“There were a lot of years between the time
David was anointed as the king and he actually became the king. It’s a time for
you to grow in your relationship with God.”
“And
then later I get to be king?” Nia giggled.
“I
meant that figuratively not literally but these are your David Years.”
“My
David Years. I like that.”
Nia
Johnson has spent the past four years developing a closer relationship to God.
She wants to believe she’s still anointed to become a healer at Puzzle House
but as each year passes, she has more and more doubts.
Now
that she’s graduated from high school and is an adult she is sure it’s time to
take the mantle of healing Rachel passed to her so many years before. But the
harder she tries, the more it eludes her.
MY
BIO:
Lillian
Duncan… turning faith into fiction.
For years, my tagline has been “stories of faith mingled
with murder & mayhem” since I wrote Christian suspense and mystery novels.
In 2012, I heard the words, “you have brain tumors.”
When life changes for a writer, their writing changes as
well. So I wanted my tagline to reflect the new me. I still
love to write suspense and mystery novels but also have branched out into other
genres, including non-fiction and women’s fiction.
In spite of being diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors and a
rare genetic disease (Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), God continues to
strengthen me and give me peace and joy as well as the blessing to be able to
write my stories.
I’m a multi-published author who lives in the middle of Ohio Amish
country with my husband and a menagerie of pets. After more than 30 years
working as a speech pathologist for children, I
believe in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.
My goal is to write stories that entertain but also
demonstrate God’s love for all of us. To
learn more about me, visit www.lillian-duncan.com. I also have a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.
1 comment:
Thanks for having me, Laura.
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