The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction: Meet Abigail Kay Harris, Debut Author

Today we welcome Abigail Kay Harris to the mine. I love it when readers like Abigail become authors. Her first novella arrives in just a few days (on Memorial Day). More about that later!

About the Author

Abigail Kay Harris is a daughter of the King with a personal degree in book-nerdiness. A sister to seven, her passionate love of the written word and deeper meanings hidden in normal things leads her to spend her time reading, writing, using sarcasm, and defining obscure words. When she's not chasing words, she enjoys watching shows, classic romance movies, tea, sunrises, and the outdoors, especially mountains, beaches, and forests.

Connect with Abigail:

SW: Welcome, Abigail, we're elated to have you join us this week. Congratulations on your upcoming novella.

Let's play a quick round of "Would You Rather" as an ice breaker.

Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button on your life?

AKH: A pause button, I wouldn’t want to rewind anything as I would lose the lessons I’ve learned in the past and I would prefer to know what I know now and see the mistakes and achievements I made in the past.

SW: Excellent answer! Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak all foreign languages?

AKH: Oooh, this one is hard only because I would love to be able to speak to animals. They show you so much but that’s still not knowing what an animal is going through. However, I would pick to be able to speak all foreign languages, or at least be able to read them. I can read slight bits of Latin, German, and Dutch but have mostly forgotten what I played around with when in school.

SW: I'm waiver on that answer too, and it changes on any given day. Ok, one more: Would you rather be without internet for a week or without your phone?

AKH: This one hurts. I actually don’t have internet right now as my brother (family tech know-it-all) has been working on upgrades the past week, thankfully his laptop has internet and he’s kindly allowed for me to borrow it. Quite honestly, I would prefer not to have my phone for a week! I’ve done that many times as I seem to lose my phone often. The internet is a pain, and I am not so in love with the lack of ability to do everything I need to do to get ready to launch my book. It’s been fun and gut-wrenching for sure with several publishing deadlines! ;)

SW: Yeah, we do rely on both pretty regularly.

Ok, let's go deeper. Tell us a little about yourself? Family? Hobbies?

AKH: I’m the oldest of eight kids, we’re the kids of a homeschooling stay at home small business owner mom, and an Air Force veteran dad. I’m a blogger and writer of nearly five years, a proud owner

of a hedgie, and lover of randomness. I love reading, writing, and especially love sharing books with others! I also love to be outside when it isn’t melting hot out. I’m normally reading or writing in my spare time, what else is needed as a hobby when I can read or write?! Another hobby of mine is researching and teaching myself everything I can learn/find about writing. I’ve always been interested in what goes into publishing a book and I’ve taught myself everything I’ve needed to write and indie publish my own book. The hardest of which was formatting and it turned out to be my second favorite thing about publishing a book. I also love graphic design and dabble in making covers for myself along with mock covers just for fun! I keep some of my favorites here!

SW: There is a plethora of things to learn about writing, for sure. And it changes often.

What drew you to writing?

AKH: I loved the idea of writing a book ever since I stopped hating reading in my preteens, in my midteens I had started a blog and was talking with lots of other writers. I thought it would be fun to publish as a young teen and didn’t really expect it to be hard… Which turned into a big joke when I started wanting to write just because I hadn’t finished a book yet and then I just couldn’t stop writing even when I wanted to give up.

SW: It definitely draws you in. I am acquainted with you from the book blogging world, so what are three books on your current TBR?

AKH: Oooh, I love this question because it has to do with books and I don’t have to answer an insane

question like what’s my favorite book. ;) I have some VERY different books on my TBR pile but right now my top next reads are In a Far-Off Land by Stephanie Landsem set around the Great Depression, a young adult spy-thriller called Deadlock by P.D. Atkerson, and finally a Marine romance by Jess Mastorakos A Match for the Marine is the first book in her series First Come Love.

SW: Yeah, I dislike that "What's your favorite book" question because I'm constantly adding favorites to my list. Can you share a little about your writing routine.

AKH: I don’t have a set time to write lately. I mostly write every spare minute of the day I get! However, when I start a new story I take about two to four days to write out a VERY short draft around 2,000 words long by hand and then I break it up and put it in a doc to go back over each part making chapter breaks. I set it aside a while, around a week to a month, then I format it so I can make lots of notes, print it, do another round of rewrites, and do another write as I read my paper copy and type it into my laptop from anywhere to a week to a month depending on what other projects I do.

SW: Ah, another author who writes longhand to start. What have you learned while writing your first series?

AKH: That my writing style is weirdly different from any other writers and that that’s okay. I found my way of writing a story and it’s my way and that’s okay.

SW: Different is good! Tell us more about your Oh, the Brave series.

AKH: Ah, my current favorite subject. Haha, anyway, the Oh, The Brave series features four main books, one being my novella releasing on the 31st, followed by three novels each releasing on a holiday notable to military, military families, and Americans! Oh, The Lamented will release on November 11th (2021) in honor of Veterans’ Day, Oh, The Dwindling will release on the Fourth of July (2022) in honor of the 4th, and Oh, The Slain will release on September 11th (2022) in honor of 9/11. There are also going to be some shorter stories along the way or after the main novels are out because I can’t seem to leave these characters alone. The series was born out of a very short little flash fiction I wrote a while ago and I couldn’t be happier with how it is turning out.

SW: Readers have lots to look forward to from you over the next couple of days.

I saved the most important question for last. How can we pray for you?

AKH: That I would write what God wants me to and not be discouraged by the setbacks that happen sometimes, and that I would clearly show my passion for the subjects I’m writing about in a way that glorifies God.

SW: Thank you for taking the time to share with us, Abigail and the best of luck with your series. Readers, please tell us in the comments what intrigues you about the Oh, the Brave series or welcome Abigail. And now, let's here's the promised information about Oh, the Fallen, releasing this Memorial Day (5/31/21). You can pre-order the ebook for $0.99.

About the Book

In the cause of freedom, some will give their all.

When Matt Renicker joins the Army, he's determined to give his best for his country and his Lord, even if it means risking everything he loves most. But when tragedy strikes on a routine patrol, more than one heart is left shattered and lamenting.

In the wake of a terrible loss, will those left behind find the strength to go on? Or will the faith, family, and freedom Matt fought to preserve be broken beyond repair?

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