Margie Wood’s heart is to help others find their way to forgiveness. She infuses this passion into her fiction novels, where her characters live imperfect lives and experience God’s truth and freedom.
In 2019, Margie published her first novel, The Second Story Window: The Rose Haven Journals, Book 1. Other publishing credits include devotionals in Gary Chapman’s Love is a Verb, as well as Mark Littleton’s God Still
Meets Needs (both under the name Margie Christenson). She actively participates in the American Christian Fiction Writers Colorado Springs group and has been writing fiction for eighteen years.
A long-time Colorado resident, Margie nurtures a love for Victorian mansions and the Rocky Mountains. Margie’s happy places are sipping tea in Victorian dresses and hats with good friends, and writing retreats in the serenity of the majestic mountains.
Happy Saturday, Reader Room! Please help me welcome Margie Wood to the blog. I know you’re going to enjoy this interview with her. Keep reading to get a sneak peek into this author’s life and work:
Welcome to the blog, Margie! It’s a joy to have you here with us today. Let’s start off with a few questions about reading. What’s the last book that had a significant emotional impact on you? It might be a story that made you cry or one that had you delirious with laughter. Why do think it had that impact?
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers has been my favorite since I read it many years ago. The story brings me to tears when I think of Michael Hosea’s unconditional love for Angel. As many times as she ran away, he always looked for her, forgave her and welcomed her home. I love the correlation to my relationship with God. When I’m stubborn, rebellious and try to run away, God’s gentle spirit always pursues me and woos me back to Him with unconditional love and compassion.
Redeeming Love is certainly an impactful book, and it was an emotional one for me to read as well. How wonderful, to be reminded of God’s great, transformative love for us! What books are on your nightstand (or in a Kindle queue) right now?
A Stranger’s Game by Colleen Coble
Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor
Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyer
After a Fashion by Jen Turano
A Light Through the Cave by Gordon Saunders
Kindle
The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
40 Day Social Media Fast by Wendy Speake
To Starve an Ember by Lisa Hatfield
There are some great books in that list (and a few that I think I need to add to my own TBR pile!). I love that you have a nice mix of fiction and nonfiction. I usually have both in my nightstand stack as well and find it’s refreshing to be able to switch gears between left brain/right brain sometimes. Moving on to questions related to the writing life, do you have a day job other than being a writer? If you do, does that job help or hinder your creativity?
My day job greatly influenced the creation of my protagonist Matthew Chandler in my first novel, The Second Story Window: The Rose Haven Journals, Book 1. At work I assist in assigning a large queue of people to speak to our Christian counselors. It’s amazing to see how many sweet souls want to talk about hurts and wounds in relationships with their parents. This sparked an idea to create a successful businessman who’s buried a very serious father wound of rejection most of his life. And to help him experience God’s power of truth and forgiveness. In my second novel, Escaping the Tunnel: The Rose Haven Journals, Book 2, the protagonist, Amelia Richardson, is dealing with PTSD. I’d been thinking and praying about how to research this subject and write a story that would touch/help readers. One day at work, while keying a benevolent resource to send one of our callers, I was thrilled to see the title “Understanding and Loving a Person With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” by Stephen Arterburn and Becky Johnson. So grateful that God answers prayers in such cool ways!
That is amazing when we receive providential moments like those! It’s like confirmation that we’re on the right track in our creative journey. Speaking of the creative journey, do you keep a diary or journal? Do you find this practice helps you be a better writer or process character emotions more deeply?
At a writers conference I attended a few years ago, one of the instructors gave each participant a journal. She encouraged us to “interview” our characters. At first it seemed a little silly but as I continued and pressed deeper, I learned more about my characters. It was really an awesome way to let my imagination flow and figure out their backstory and then create their strengths, flaws and deepest needs.
Journaling really is a great tool to have in our writer’s arsenal. I find out so much more about my characters when I talk to them on the page first! I’m glad to hear it’s been useful for you, too. All right, time for one more question. If you could compare your latest novel to a tv show/movie, what would it be?
The Second Story Window: The Rose Haven Journals, Book 1 may have some familiar elements of a Hallmark movie. But the story and characters definitely go deeper with more twists and turns that the reader doesn’t see coming!
Sounds like an intriguing read to me! Care to tell us a little more about this book?
Why would a man want nothing to do with his family and historic home? How could a feisty real estate agent challenge his most deeply held beliefs? Could a journal written by a decades-dead relative change anyone’s mind? Can a legacy of healing overcome a lifetime of rejection?
An unsolicited FedEx envelope arrives on Matthew Chandler’s desk. It’s about his family’s ancestral home, Rose Haven, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. It’s his now. Whether he likes it or not. Amelia Richardson loves the charming historical home. Matthew can’t wait to get rid of it. He hopes to erase childhood memories of ghosts and dysfunction. And why should some annoying realtor whom he has never met have anything to say about what he does with his house?
Hobbling around his great-grandfather’s study at Rose Haven after a freak skiing accident, lifting old newspapers, moving books off shelves, Matthew stumbles upon something that finally catches his attention. It’s a journal. The writings of his great-grandfather. Matthew flops into a chair, starts reading.
And his life begins to change.
If you’d like to purchase a copy of The Second Story Window, click through for all the info!
Thanks so much for joining us today, Margie. It’s been wonderful to have you on the blog! Thanks so much for sharing about your book series. If readers want to find you online, where should they look?
Website: www.margiewoodwrites.com
Contact Me: margie@margiewoodwrites.com
Newsletter sign up link: http://margiewoodwrites.com/contact/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Margiewoodwrites
Linked In: linkedin.com/in/margie-wood-150a8356
And Readers, if the first book in Margie’s series sounds interesting, be watching for the second book which will be releasing this year! Here’s a teaser to tide you over:
There’s no doubt in Amelia Richardson’s mind that she loves Matthew Chandler. But can she truly forgive him?
Keep reading!
Shaen
*Featured image from Pexels.
2 comments
Shaen, I’ve learned so much from your blog and I’m glad to find this source for just the right kind of authors for me.
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the blog, Lisa! Stop by anytime 🙂
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