Writer THURSDAY! Guest author Joy Avery Melville – and a giveaway!

I’m so excited to share Joy Avery Melville’s LAUNCH DAY for her newest book, Sown in Peace!

Welcome, Joy!

What inspired you to write, initially, and what encouraged you to continue?

The English teacher I had in 8^th grade. Mrs. Brown was my teacher for only six weeks since we’d moved to the small village so close to the end of the year. She assigned me a different year-end exam from the rest of the class. I was to write a short story. I received an ‘A’ for the story and was asked to come in after school the day she gave it back to me.

Her enthusiasm for what I thought was a simple project, astonished me. Her advice was to seek out any and all writing-related courses I could take. That weekend there was a visiting speaker at our church. His theme? Using the gifts and talents God places within us to their fullest, developing them to their max in order to better honor and glorify the Lord.

Another teacher I had for five writing courses through high school, Mrs. Broker, encouraged me to write as often and about as many things as I could. She was my Journalism instructor, and she told me one reason she was glad I took her class was that a good writer has to observe happenings and those things around them more specifically than a non-writer.

After my first Women’s Fiction book was written, I ran into Mrs. Broker (we’re talking decades after she’d been my teacher) and over lunch one afternoon, she agreed to go through Meant For Her (book 1 of the Intended For Her Series that published November 2019.) She became my grammar queen, and we spent hours together, pouring over the book and revisions I’d made. When the book released, she got a signed copy, and after she’d read the entire thing again, I got a note in the mail… yes, a snail-mail note… and her words made me cry. The many, many encouraging promptings she gave me as a teacher, and then as a mentor of sorts, resulted in me becoming a published author. Those two women definitely were prompted by God to encourage me.

My fourth-grade teacher is one of my biggest fans! Teachers need to know what an impact they have on their students!

Do you look on your writing as a “calling?”

Most definitely! Since that assignment in 8^th grade to this very day, God has connected so many of the dot-to-dot plans He’s had for my life. I’ve detoured more often than I care to admit, but He’s always prompted me back on the path for the journey He’s set before me.

You know, Regina, I’ve had hobbies that have come and gone… spending way too much money on them in the process. I’ve had ministries that were for a season, but I have never been ‘allowed’ to totally put aside this calling to write and to write a genre, I had never intended or desired to write. God has a way of patiently nudging us then affirming us in the way we should go, even despite my initial stubbornness with each idea He plants… ideas I’m so sure I can never make into story-form. His strength is made known over and over in my weakness when it comes to writing Christian Contemporary Women’s Fiction… and He’s even allowed me sigh-worthy… hope-filled endings besides.

After all, He’s the one we’re writing for!!

What is one story from real life that you’ve included in one of your books?

Easy peasy answer! I’m so glad you asked, Regina. In Meant For Her the catalyst that God used to get me to write that genre I hadn’t wanted to write, was actually a TV news report I overheard as I washed dishes one August evening. Then, even though I was preparing a Historical Romance novel to pitch to agents and editors at the upcoming September ACFW NATIONAL WRITER’S CONFERENCE, there was a nudge within that shook my heart.

Throughout the next six weeks, God wouldn’t allow me to forget that report, and He even had me asking “What if the girl… what if they found… what if…” Then, when one of the agents at the conference asked me why I didn’t write Contemporary, I could only say, “Because, I love reading Historical Romance.” My novel wasn’t quite historical enough to meet the criteria, and she encouraged me to write that same story as a Contemporary, rather than taking it back in time. I came home, tried to reset the story, but it just wasn’t fitting correctly for the needed tension and conflict. In the meantime, that newscast would not let me go. I told God, “I’m really not the one to write that, You know.” Does anyone really ever win an argument with the Lord? Not me… and as hard as it is to humble myself and spill this to you… I have had lots of opportunities to see if I could, and I definitely am old enough to know better.

In Sown In Peace, there are some real-life events in there as well. Things that my wounded warriors faced or did that became part of the actual novel when I thought God only gave them to me to use for technical information and logistics. Oh, no. Those men’s hearts are woven into the novel, and the following books in the series, in ways I never expected The Lord to use.

Isn’t it awesome how God gives us stories in our research that turn out to be so important?

Sandwich or Salad?

Lol – I have to say, it depends on the day. Breads are my comfort food, so there are days I see the need for a sandwich, but my doctor highly recommends I stick with salads. I love salads, so it’s not a hardship, unless I’m in the middle of some tense issue with a story or in edits, then I prefer a less time-consuming meal, as far as preparation and ease of eating is concerned. I grab the sandwich.

I’m a sandwich girl! I seriously love them – but they don’t love me! LOL Too many carbs!

What is your favorite Bible verse, and why?

Psalm 46:10 – New American Standard says it so very clear. “Cease striving and know I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” I tend to want to work everything, facing me, out for myself. Often, forgetting God knows the beginning from the end, and I should be consulting Him about whatever it is. I was an adult before this particular verse was made clear to me by the Lord Himself. It is now my ‘life’ verse. He reminds me of it… when I seem to need it most.

It’s easy to forget that God really doesn’t NEED us to work – He can do all the work without us! Striving is somethink I tend to struggle with, too!

Is there someone, alive or dead, who had a major influence on our writing life, or on your life in general?

I’ve mentioned the two teachers who encouraged me so much, they would certainly fit here, but my dad, Cleon E. Avery was a huge influence in both my life and my writing. His outlook on life as someone who’d seen so much of it… all too often experiencing the pain associated with living a fully surrendered life, while doing so in the way God directed him… a faith-walk unlike any I’ve witnessed before or since. He exemplified the “We walk by faith, not by sight” scripture so well, and he lived with a debilitating disease far longer than I was privileged to know him, doing so with such grace and dignity. He was self-sacrificing in his love for his family, always putting others before himself, and he loved so many people to Christ. He encouraged me to write what God laid on my heart, not what was expected to earn me money.

Daddy is living in Heaven now, but his example of trusting and obeying the Lord, regardless of the world’s logic, is something that I’m reminded of every single time I’m tempted to put my computer away, because it’s not making my bank account swell. My dad didn’t leave behind much besides his Bible when he was taken Home to be with Mom… by the world’s standards, but the legacy of his faith is by far a richer inheritance than any amount of monetary goods he could have possessed.

A writer (still living), Ane Mulligan, once told me, “Joy, you’re trying too hard. You’re trying to force it to happen. Don’t rush the process. You need to slow down, and enjoy the journey. She was oh, so right! I’ve gone on to share that with writers I’ve been privileged to mentor.

Ane is also the one who brainstormed my tag/brand with me. Fictional journeys to joy by Joy. Each one of my books holds a character or characters who think they have their journey mapped out… plans for how they’re going to reach the joy they’re looking for. Something detours them along the way… often tragedy, but while working through the pain of the detour, they find a much richer joy at the end of that journey.

Right up my alley, Joy!! Ane is inspiring, isn’t she? I love reading her blog posts on various websites!

Thank you for the interview, Joy!

About Sown in Peace

How much can one wounded soul take?

Victoria (Tori) Archer has the heart of a soldier. Taken down by an IED during her fourth deployment, she’s permanently separated from her military career and left with physical scars as well as PTSD. Moving back to her hometown of Three Rivers, Michigan, she’s forced by circumstances to live with an irascible and unsympathetic aunt. Tori’s battle with pain, horrific memories, and loss of independence creates a deep yearning for peace. Will God grant her even a small measure of it?

Retired Military Dog Handler Griffin (Griff) McKay turns to training dogs at his farm for wounded warrior therapy, desiring to bring former military men and women emotional and mental healing. Implementing his plan proves to be more difficult than visualized with the arrival of one stubborn soldier. Why has God placed that particular warrior in his path?

You can purchase Sown in Peace on Amazon HERE!

About Joy

Joy Avery Melville’s heart’s desire is to be the author God has called her to be by sharing Him with readers in such a way they long to have a deeply committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord.

Fully intending to write Historical Romance—had in fact— she had no plans to deviate from that. God had something else in mind for that ‘call’ He’d made on her life back in 1967. A mere eighth grader at the time, she had no clue about the topics she’d be drawn to write about.

Surrendering to the genre God placed on her heart has given Joy new insight into the hearts and lives of those who too often hurt in silence.

The settings of Joy’s books are near where she lives in Schoolcraft, Michigan with her husband of nearly 47 + years and their 21 mo-old Yorkie, Is-A-Bella Bindi, (Is-a-beautiful little girl) who thinks she’s a much larger breed with tomboy tendencies.

Joy loves to hear from readers and will respond!

Connect with Joy!

Email       joyjournaling@gmail.com

Twitter    https://twitter.com/Journeystojoy 

Website  https://www.joyaverymelville.com

Blog        https://www.journeystojoy.net

Facebook Author Page http://facebook.com/jamauthor

Facebook Personal Page http://facebook.com/joy.averymelville

Amazon:         https://www.amazon.com/author/joyaverymelville

Goodreads:     https://www.goodreads.com/joyjournalinggmailcom

Bookbub:      https://www.bookbub.com/profile/joy-avery-melville

The Giveaway!

Joy has graciously agreed to send (US only!) a signed paperback copy of Sown in Peace to one of our commenters! Please leave a comment below!

Have a great rest of the week!