Great question. I consider my official debut into professional writing to be Mercy Will Follow Me, the first book of the Mercy series. However, I was writing for over a decade before that book baby saw the light of day. I wrote my first novel when I was seventeen. I didn’t know it then, but I had so much to learn. The three novels I wrote before Mercy were my hobby novels. I snatched pockets of time during my children’s naptimes as well as late at night. Something in me had to write, but I never saw it as end-game for me. I wrote because I couldn’t not write, but I never called myself an author. I was a children’s ministry director and a homeschool mom who wrote on the side.
My mindset changed when I got sick and those other roles were stripped from me. Though still a mom of many, I had to send them to school, and I needed help caring for them. (You can learn a lot about my battle with POTS from my novel Fall Back and Find Me.)
During
this season, I couldn’t function much, so I read. Then I began to write. I
emerged from my cocoon as a writer with stories to tell. Mercy Will Follow
Me was the first, and it took me three years. I wrote only on Saturdays at
the library. The next books came more quickly as I found my footing and grew
healthy enough to attend writers' conferences and grow in the craft.
All of my books save Braving Strange Waters are
split-time novels that have dual timelines. The Mercy Series has two (or in the
case of the 3rd book three) storyline in present day and one in a
historical time period. Awakened to Life has several contemporary POV
characters intertwined with a Biblical fiction storyline. A Battle Worth
Fighting and Fall Back and Find Me have contemporary storylines and
each have a historical storyline featuring a secret female Civil War soldier. Braving
Strange Waters is my first actual timeslip or time travel novel in which a
character travels from the contemporary time period to the past. People confuse
the terms split-time, timeslip, and dual timeline all the time and even
different people in the industry define them differently. Most people don’t
mind what each is called, but some do. Way to make things ultra confusing, huh?
For my part, the same amount of research went into my split-time books as did my timeslip. It did help that I’d already done a ton of research on Bloody Kansas for Fall Back and Find Me as well as on steamboats and slavery for the Mercy series. Researching for me is a love/hate relationship. I enjoy discovering new things, but I’m always itching to write already, so holding myself back is the hard part. I search the library for as many books as I can find on the subject, utilizing inter-library loans and all of their resources. I try to get a variety, but I need at least one or two great first-person sources. A diary, a collection of letters, a journal. Something.
Once I get a pile as high as my house, I go through them and figure out which
ones truly include information that will be useful to my book. I buy those
books used on Amazon so I can write in them and mark them up with highlighters,
so the weeding process is important to avoid bankruptcy. I also utilize documentaries, YouTube videos,
podcasts, etc. I also try to visit historical places whenever possible. When
it’s not possible, I take virtual tours.
As you can imagine, it’s a lot of work, and so much of what I learn never makes it directly into the book. However, it all comes together to flavor the work and to give me confidence as I write. Nothing is wasted. It is helpful to write in the same time period or about the same subject for several books, though, to get the most bang for my research buck.
I knew from the beginning that the story I wanted to tell in the Mercy series could not be contained in only one book. Pain that is so complex and layered must be dealt with delicately lest it appear trite. For Natassa’s story, this meant I needed to show the ebb and flow of her healing. Otherwise, I ran the risk of treating victims of sexual assault as if they just needed to forgive and get over it—not my heart. The Sister in Arms books are considered a collection, not a series, which means they have a common thread but can be read as stand-alones. There will be more Time Sailor books containing some of the same beloved characters. With thse, it will work best to read them in order, but one won’t have to to enjoy the story.
You are a recipient of the Angel Awards for your writing and a previous guest speaker at their Faith and Fellowship Book Festival. How did you first hear about them? What is it like being on both sides of the awards program.
I’m not positive, but I probably first heard about the Faith and Fellowship Book Festival from fellow author and ray-of-sunshine, Joy Mehlville. She’s an Angel Award recipient herself and a huge proponent of the festival. I’ve participated in the festival as a panelist for a few years now and have won three Angel Book Awards. The festival is always an uplifting and encouraging time to connect with other authors and readers, and it was such an honor to receive the Angel Book Awards
What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
That’s a hard one. I absolutely love hearing testimonies from readers. Never underestimate the power of writing a review or sending an email to an author to let them know how a book impacted you. I received a lot of feedback from readers of my novel Fall Back and Find Me saying they have started putting into practice what the main character in that book does. In the novel, Amber asks the Lord for a word about her identity each day and writes it down. It is so exciting to me to get comments and emails stating readers have started going to Jesus for their identity and it’s changing the game for them. People who have struggled with their self-worth are being set free by the power of Jesus’ love! How thrilling that my little book could play a part in something so life-changing. It makes every hard writing session worth it.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
That’s a bit of a trick question. In a way, I kind of wish I would have attended writing conferences and attended classes/workshops sooner. I was a hobby writer for over a decade before I started taking myself seriously. But truly, I believe everything happened as it was supposed to. In the right season, the Lord showed me what I needed to know and led me to the people I needed to walk with during the journey.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
I’d say to just write and not worry about perfection. Get that first draft down. Worry about making it pretty later. I can be such a perfectionist and fear of putting something less-than-stellar on paper can paralyze me. Realizing that even the greats aren’t great on their first pass helps take the pressure off.
Everyone needs an editor. Every author
needs an extra set of eyes. None of us can do this alone … so I shouldn’t try
to. I can ask for help when I need it. Help brainstorming, help problem-solving,
help with critiquing. That doesn’t make me a weak writer; It makes me a smart
one.
Find your people. Writing can be an isolating profession, but it
doesn’t have to be. Seek out community. It’s there. Be intentional to nurture
it. And then … write!
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
My next release, New Creations, comes out on August 16th. I wrote it to honor my grandpa, who is a legend in all the family stories. A good bit of it is based on his true shenanigans, and it’ll be one that runs the gamut of emotions, making you laugh and cry.
Here’s the blurb:
Floyd Douglass is a blundering barber who faces retirement wondering if the past sixty years of his life has been a waste. When he's presented with the opportunity to go on a mission trip, it seems like the answer to his prayers and a way to finally make his life count for something. Now with a series of obstacles standing in the way of his newfound dream, he must decide whether to push through or find contentment in being the faithful family man he's always been.
Floyd Douglass is a blundering barber who faces retirement wondering if the past sixty years of his life has been a waste. When he's presented with the opportunity to go on a mission trip, it seems like the answer to his prayers and a way to finally make his life count for something. Now with a series of obstacles standing in the way of his newfound dream, he must decide whether to push through or find contentment in being the faithful family man he's always been.
Emira has always looked up to her grandpa, especially when her parents’ marriage fractured and left her foundations shaken. Now, she scrambles to assure the man who taught her how to love what a deeply meaningful life he’s lived.
Purchase Braving Strange Waters on Amazon here.
Website: www.sarah-hanks.com
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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sarah-Hanks/author/B08SC2GPF7
And here's a tip for my readers... Go to her website and check out the freebies that are available to you to read at no cost. https://sarah-hanks.com/freebies/ and https://sarah-hanks.com/prayer-guide/
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