Spotlight Saturday: Author Interview with C.C. Urie

C.C. Urie is a Multi-Genre Christian Author who lives in Michigan. Her whole world revolves around her family, and her favorite time of year is when the leaves start to change. She’s always had a love for reading and enjoys sharing her stories with others. Her true calling in life is using her books to help spread the Good Word and show others how God has changed her life for the better.

Happy Saturday, Reader Room! Please help me welcome C.C. Urie 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, C.C.! We’re writer friends online, so it’s great to be able to share your work with others on the blog today. Let’s get to know a little about you as a person first. What hobbies do you have? Do you ever write about them in your books?

So far the only hobby that has made it into any books are being obsessed with reading and singing. I love being on Praise Team and singing for the Lord. My other hobbies are puzzles, diamond art, knitting and crocheting, and obviously writing. I do plan on adding in these hobbies later on, but right now the books I’m working on feature characters who don’t have time for that.

Writing does have a tendency to take over! On that topic, which part of the book creation process do you like best–brainstorming, writing, editing, or marketing?

Brainstorming and writing are the same thing for me. I found out long ago that my favorite part of writing is figuring out where all the pieces went. I have several completed outlines for books that I haven’t done anything with because they just aren’t exciting anymore. I love that adrenaline rush of sitting at your computer and glaring at your screen and suddenly figuring out how the scene is supposed to work. It’s the kind of writing where you’re knocking out a couple thousand words over a few hours and it only feels like five minutes. The one where the only way to rejuvenate yourself is to take a long mental rest and eat a sweet treat. It’s the best feeling ever.

I love that feeling, when you’re ‘in the zone’! It is the best feeling ever. Moving on to writing, what do you love about the genre in which you write (or better put, “genres”, because it sounds like you write in multiple genres)?

I love different things about different genres. Since I’m a multi-genre author, I could literally sit here all day typing and still need more time. The Speculative Fiction I write is so easy because if I need something, I can just make up an item that does it for me. There’s also the cool weapons I get to create like swords, axes, or even guns with exploding bullets. And for the General Fiction, I love how easy it is to relate to the character’s daily struggles. You can do that in other genres too, but the lost princess of a fantasy novel isn’t going to have a panic attack when she finds out her family has been hoarding laundry and has to figure out how to do fourteen loads in one day. Plus it’s easier to reference the Bible in General Fiction. Bibles already exist and you don’t have to figure out a fantasy-esque name for it.

I understand that! I have several friends who write in the speculative realm, and there are definitely added challenges. Speaking of challenges, we all have projects that are a real bear! Which book of yours was the toughest to write? Why?

Vanquisher. It’s the third book of my Divine Courage Trilogy and it felt impossible to get through. At the time, the Lord was helping me get through a messy divorce. Thankfully all is well now, but I was on a deadline to finish Vanquisher and I already had to push it back twice. I was a victim of narcissistic abuse, so writing one of the villains left me drained for sometimes days at a time. Not only that, but I couldn’t write the romantic sub genre of the book in a way that I was happy with. My bitterness was coming out on the page and it was so hard not to beat myself up. Only with God’s help did I finish the book and the moment I saw someone on Goodreads say that my trilogy was “everything that the Hunger Games should have been”, I knew that God had been faithful in His promises.

He is always faithful, and what a wonderful way to hear His voice through a reader. It can also be a comfort to cling to God’s Word in challenging circumstances. In the Bible, do you have a “life verse” that’s significant to you? Do you find yourself exploring this theme often in your work?

My Life Verse is Psalms 51:17. “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” I love this verse because I often don’t feel like I’m doing enough, or giving enough, or writing enough, or selling enough. I struggle with knowing that God chose me and trying to earn that love. This verse reminds me in my time of stress and doubt that I already have everything He wants. My ugly, broken, and battered heart is the only thing I need to bring before Him. And that does spill over into my writing a lot. I’m a big believer in supporting mental and emotional health, and this is something that my characters often remind each other of. That being said, I also try to find theme verses for my individual books. I always put them on the page between the dedication and Chapter 1 so everyone knows EXACTLY what kind of book it’s going to be.