Today I welcome Michelle Weidenbenner to The Diamond Mine!As well as the author of many books, she's a lecturer and a coach, and an encourager! Today, the focus will be on her book, Fractured Not Broken. It's described as a true story of loss, faith, and a rare love that only happens in nonfiction. Leave a comment after the interview for a chance to win a free copy of this fine book.
Hello Michelle and welcome! You’re a speaker, coach, and encourager as well as a writer.
Do you have a favorite among those roles?
The most
favorite part of who I am is an encourager, because that’s something I can
share in my writing, speaking and coaching.
I used to
think that encouraging others was no big deal, but in helping others find their
giftedness, I’ve discovered that God gave me the ability to know how to
encourage others. Sometimes our most undervalued ‘magic’ has the biggest impact
on other people.
Think of
the last time someone complimented you or encouraged you to do something.
Didn’t you think of that comment more than once afterward? Maybe it motivated
you to do something.
That's so true! As believers, we're told to encourage and edify each other, so it's a very important action to encourage another! And you've made it a practice to do that for others. Good for you!
This is my first time interviewing someone who has written a
non-fiction book. Fractured Not Broken is
touching everyone who reads it. It must be very gratifying to Kelly Schaefer to
have you present her story so that others can be inspired. What has writing her
story meant to you?
In 2004, a literary
agent told me not to waste my time writing Kelly’s story. He said it would
never sell, and to write it as an article. I thought he was wrong, but at the
time, I didn’t know how to self-publish a book. I hadn’t published a book yet,
and I didn’t know where to start, so I surrounded myself with successful
self-published authors who were winning awards.
I learned the craft and
went on to self-publish six books. They became best-sellers and award-winning.
I went back to Kelly
and said, “We don’t need anyone now. Let’s go write and publish that book.”
Wow! What determination you showed. That's pretty awesome!
What was the part of Kelly’s story that you most wanted to be
sure to tell thoroughly?
Kelly wanted to show
that with faith, anything was possible.
When she signs her
books she includes this Bible Verse: Phillipians 4:13.
“I can do all this
through him who gives me strength.”
That verse is a big one for me, too. A great help and comfort.What do you and Kelly think about all the positive reaction
from readers?
We find encouragement
when we read reviews. Sometimes I cry because of the positive way the book has
impacted lives and given people hope.
However, sometimes
Kelly feels like readers are wrong. They think she’s so strong, but there are
many days that she doesn’t feel the strength she needs. She feels weak. When
readers compliment her on her faith, she wants to say, “It’s not easy. I have
dark days too.”
I think most readers probably know that she must have dark days. That doesn't make her story any less inspiring, though. I hope she knows that. :)
Writing someone else’s story must be an interesting
experience. What was the most difficult aspect of it for you?
First of all, Kelly and
I live five hours apart, so we had to communicate via texts and emails.
Even more challenging
was the fact that Kelly is a quadriplegic, so she types with a mouth stick.
It’s a slow process, so she would speak to text. Sometimes her answers didn’t
make sense, and we’d laugh at what the audio interpreted.
Finally, Kelly keeps
her emotions in check. I had to ask her bizarre questions like, “Describe a
memory of a popsicle,” in order to find the story. For instance, asking that
question opened up a powerful scene in the book that I wouldn’t have known had
I not asked that question.
Kelly had to trust my
opinion on where to start the story, too. She wanted to start the story at the
beginning of her life. Instead, I arranged her story like it was fiction – with
a hook, in the middle of the action, and shortly aftward inserted the inciting
incident and obstacles that kept her from reaching her goal.
Sounds like a true collaborative effort for both of you! And it's worked out so well!
I'm curious, when did you first decide to become a writer, and why?
In 1997, after we
adopted our daughter, Olivia, from a Russian orphanage, I decided not to go
back to work. I wanted to stay home with her to tighten our bond.
My parents had often
told me that I was a great writer, so I began my journey to write for
magazines. I thought, “How hard could that be?”
Hahaha! It’s super
tough to break into magazines. I’m a competive person with a fierce desire to
grow and learn every day, so I studied the craft of writing and became hooked
on achieving writing success in fiction and nonfiction.
You certainly have a lot of drive and perseverance! Well done!
So, of all the fiction books you’ve written, do you have a
favorite?
Yes. The first book I
wrote (but not the first book I published) was Scattered Links. (Originally the title was Love is Just a Word, but someone told me
that sounded like a romance novel, so I changed the title after it was
complete.)
I wrote this in first
person, present tense, which might be my favorite. I felt closer to the
emotion.
This book is about a
teen orphan who has RAD – reactive attachment disorder. Many foster children
and post-institutionalized children have this disorder. I wanted to bring
awareness to this problem by showing a fictionalized story of a girl.
That sounds like a really interesting book. And I think your reason for writing it is admirable.
Do you prefer writing fiction or non-fiction?
Writing fiction is more
fun, but nonfiction has it’s place, too. It’s a different kind of challenge, and
can motivate readers in a different way.
I’m a John Maxwell Team
member and love to read leadership books. I have a nonfiction book called,
“Develop the Leader Within Your Child,” mapped out in my mind that I hope I
live long enough to write.
To build my marketing
bank, I started writing book descriptions for writers. I’ve found that many
authors can’t hone their stories in a way that ‘sells’ their message to readers,
so I write them. I find writing these descriptions challenging and rewarding!
Oh my, I wish I had that skill! I'm awful at writing short descriptions, but I've gotten better over time. Maybe someday I'll even like it!
Since you have other jobs you do, how much of your time is
spent writing?
Not enough!
I want to learn how to
write a screen play, too. I’d like to write my thriller as a screen play.
I also have many books
in my Scrivener files that are started. I need to finish them.
I just bought a new
MAC. I hope it has a better microphone than my old one. I want to use the speak
to type function. If I ‘write’ my next book by audio-speaking, it will be
faster to get the first draft written. But editing might be a little tougher. Time
will tell.
Writing a book that way would certainly be a new experience. Sounds like you've always got something new going on!What are you working on now?
I’m working on a
marketing plan to launch Glow Girl, a
YA supernatural novel about a girl who denies her giftedness to heal, so she
fits in.
You're certainly full of ideas and projects! I look forward to seeing all that you accomplish. Thanks so much for the interview, Michelle!
Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of Fractured Not Broken!
Here are links to Michelle's social pages so you can learn more about her!
Twitter:
MWeidenbenner1
Amazon author page:
Website
Michelle also has a special offer for writers who want a free copy of the FAST DRAFT - how to write 50K words in 30
days – just go here:
