A new friend from the Young Writers Workshop is releasing a new book! She’s written what sounds like a great book about chronic illness. She also let me ask her some questions for an author interview.
About the Book
Are you a teenager trying to navigate faith through chronic illness? I’m here to tell you, you are not alone.
When sickness takes over your life, it’s a never-ending battle to make it through each day. How do you cope? How do you keep fighting? Most of all though, how do you find God in the midst of the suffering?
Through my own journey of sickness, I’ve struggled with the same questions—questions we all think but are afraid to ask. My name is Sara, and I’ve been sick with Lyme disease and more since I was fourteen.
Those questions you’re afraid to ask? I’ve asked them too—as have many others.
This book addresses topics and questions such as:
- Why is there sickness?
- Where is God in sickness?
- Resting in the storm
- How to deal with the way chronic illness changes you
- Joy and despair
- Hope
- Praying through chronic illness
- Relationships in the midst of chronic illness
- And more!
The journey of illness is not an easy one, but hope remains. God hasn’t left us. He hasn’t forgotten us. On the contrary, He’s making diamonds out of us.
Release Date: July 23rd, 2018
Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIsdCCiktvM
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40694143-he-s-making-diamonds?from_search=true
Note: all those who preorder will receive a free bonus content video series with extra content not in the book, they just need to sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/uanAqqwSU7RGB4Ib2
Foreword writer: Jon Steingard, frontman for Hawk Nelson
About the Author
S. G. Willoughby is a seventeen-year-old girl with Lyme disease, toxic mold poisoning, and MCS. Currently, she resides in Arizona with her parents and two siblings. In her spare time she loves to write, read, and have adventures.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/R535Blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r535blog/
Website: http://sgwilloughby.com/
Author Interview
Good morning and welcome to my blog! I’m excited to have you here and hope you have some fun with these questions. Since this blog is about and for writers, most of the questions will be about writing with a few optional, fun questions at the end.
- What is your writing process? Do you outline before you start?
I do outline, but not extensively . . . however, my outline never seems to match what the book eventually ends up being, it just seems to be a place to start.
- Why did you decide to write this book?
The idea originated from a blog I started for my fellow teenagers trying to navigate faith in the midst of chronic or long-term illness. When I started the blog, I thought I was relatively alone. It turns out I was wrong. There are so many others in the same boat I am in. As I began to connect with more and more of us through my blog, I began to see similarities. Not only are we not alone, but we are not alone in our questions either. So many of us has the same questions about faith in chronic illness. I had learned so much through my illness journey and if any of the truth I’d learned could help someone else, I wanted to share. And so the book was born.
- What is your best advice for getting rid of writer’s block?
Two things have helped me the most. First, is to not write. Get up, get away from your computer (or notebook), and go for a walk, or get a snack, or play chess, or watch a movie. Take a few days off if you need to. It helps to refresh your creativity. The second thing is to do a word sprint. Just write. It can be awful. But if you can just put some placeholder words in there for now and get to the next section it can help get you unstuck. And word sprints are great because you can at least try for 15 minutes and with the pressure of knowing others are keeping you accountable, it can be just what you need to make it back the writer’s block.
- If you could share one piece of advice that you wish someone else had told you to an aspiring writer, what would it be?
Your voice is stronger than you think. God’s got you. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself . . . don’t give up, but realize that most of the pressure is coming from yourself, not others.
- What is your favorite genre?
To write? Nonfiction Christian Living. To read? Speculative fiction.
Fun questions:
Pizza or Pasta?
It depends on the day, but I’d say pizza (of course, food sensitives must be taken into account, but yeah!).
Favorite movie?
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Don’t fear the porpoise!
Favorite Bible verse?
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. -2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Coffee, tea, or water?
Tea! Or sparkling water. I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life.
Favorite movie adaptation?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. They followed the books so well in that first one especially. It makes me smile just to think of it.
Tour Schedule
Saturday, July 21st
http://www.entrustedbygod.org/
Sunday, July 22nd
https://tangledupinwriting.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 23rd
https://onamission2read.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLK1fPbBjJ3UZW4dC6xXDEg?view_as=subscriber
https://stargazersforhim.wordpress.com
Http://faithblum.wordpress.com
www.haileyhudson.wordpress.com
https://litaflame.weebly.com/
Tuesday, July 24th
https://wildrosejournal.com/
http://www.jaclynloween.com/
Wednesday, July 25th
http://www.thedifferentgirl.com/
Thursday, July 26th
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMYc9dfoTpaPX3SIq4oD48g
Friday, July 27th
https://youngladiesforchrist.wordpress.com/
https://thenarrowroadforteens.wordpress.com/
https://www.growinginhisgraceblog.com/
https://aaablogfathersjoy.wordpress.com/
Thank you for helping guide me through indie publishing, doing tons of focus sprints, and for being part of my launch team, Faith! 😀
You’re welcome! I’m glad to have helped. I hope it goes well.
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