Author Renee Ryan Gives Away an autographed copy of her Latest-Open for comments to win through Sunday!
My guest today is Author Renee Ryan who speaks about her personal faith journey and her latest book. Please let Renee know what you think of her journey into a deeper trust of our Lord and her venture into writing a WWII historical. Here’s Renee:
“Thank you, Lyn, for inviting me to participate in your blog today. Although I write about strong, brave women, I’m not always that way myself, especially when it comes to my writing ministry. Even though I consider myself a conservative evangelical Christian, I sold my first manuscript to the secular market. At the time, I didn’t see a contradiction in my faith versus my career. I was proud of the fact that I was following Jesus’ command to “go out and make disciples of all nations.”
That first sale brought lots of validation. All my hard work had finally paid off. I’d arrived. I was doing something important. I was God’s vessel. I was woefully misleading myself.
Within months of that first book hitting the shelves I was released by my publisher. Enter a very long, very frustrating dry spell. For months I rationalized why I couldn’t make another book sale. It was everyone else’s fault, of course. Westerns were dead, the market was shrinking, the editors didn’t like people with the first name Renee.
Long story short, the pursuit of publishing my second novel became my obsession. No, it became my idol. When I realized this, I knew something had to change–me. So I started working on my relationship with the Lord, something I had let lag to a dangerous level of indifference. I began studying the Word on a deeper level and turning to God for answers, rather than myself.
It was around this same time that I decided, hey, if I was going to collect rejections I might as well swing for the fences and stop playing it safe. I was going to write what I wanted to write, not what people said would sell. Enter WWII, a taboo time period for romance writers.
The resulting book was my first attempt at writing Inspirational romance. By the time I wrote “the end” I’d found my home. Writing isn’t any easier, but knowing that I’m the quill and the Lord is the Great Author brings unspeakable joy (and peace).
That WWII story is my next release. DANGEROUS ALLIES is a romantic spy thriller set in 1939 Nazi Germany. The hero is an American officer on loan to the British government. The Brits sends him into enemy territory to photograph the blueprints of a Nazi secret weapon that is having unprecedented success. Because this book is an Inspirational, the main characters happy ending includes a return to a life of strong faith (something I myself had to learn).
So what’s the point in all this? Simple. Swing for the fences in everything you do, never play it safe and always put the Lord first. The rest will work itself out in time.
I’ll be giving away a copy of DANGEROUS ALLIES today. All you have to do is leave a comment and you’ll be entered in the drawing.
Renee Ryan writes for Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Historical and Love Inspired line. Her fabulous editor is Melissa Endlich. For more information, visit Renee at www.reneeryan.com
