A Warm Welcome to Author Jamie Carie!
Please leave your comments and an email address for a chance to read Jamie's book, The Snowflake!
How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?
I don’t know that I “loved” writing all my life, I certainly LOVED reading. Stories got me through a tumultuous childhood and adolescence. The first things I wrote were songs for our band. (I was one of the singers) I also wrote some poetry and a few short stories. The poetry and song lyrics were my worship to God, love letter to Him you might say. Then I went off to college for a Business degree (because I was tired of being broke!) but I ended up getting married and staying home with my little boys. Once again, I turned to books when I felt bored or lonely.
One day I felt God ask me to give up my favorite genre at the time – secular romance novels. That was a hard one! I was really attached to them, but I eventually obeyed. Over the next year I read Christian romances and the classics. I was not finding the kind of books I really wanted to read though, books with a Christian world view but some of the passion that makes us real and human, so I took a leap of faith and started writing
Snow Angel. It took two years to write and another eight to break in to publishing. But that long road is another story!
What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?
I write inspirational, historical romance. There is a Christian world view, set in various historical settings and time periods, with a love story at the heart. I love fairy tales and ‘happily ever after’ and seeing two people fall in love! It’s the story of the cross to me - what love can conquer. I never get tired of it!
How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?
I’m on the slower side compared with some authors. If pressed I can write a chapter a day but I really do better with half that, which is about 1500 words. I try to finish the scene and that might be half a chapter or three quarters or all of a chapter. During the day I reread what I wrote the day before and edit it and then later in the day (I’m not a morning person!) I dive into the next scene. Sometimes, when I’m just not feeling it, I wait and write late at night when it’s dark and the house is quiet and I have my music playing.
You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your books?
My latest release is
The Snowflake, set in Alaska during the gold rush.
It's the story of Ellen Pierce and Buck Lewis. Ellen has been taking care of her mentally ill brother all her life and has never had a story of her own. She lives a pretty lonely existence. Then she meets Buck, the kind of man that folk-lore is made of. The kind of man she hasn't even had the courage to dream about. But Buck isn't going to Alaska for the gold like everyone else. He's going to find his wife's killer so that he can put some closure to the hole in his heart. When he meets Ellen he is torn, conflicted and a little angry with himself that he feels something for another woman. They both have some issues to resolve before they can even think about being together. There’s a “bride for a day” auction and lots of gold miners in the rowdy town of Dawson City. If you liked my first book,
Snow Angel, you’ll probably like this one.
You can find my books at your local Christian bookstore, some Wal-Mart stores, Borders, Barnes & Nobel, Books-A-Million and online at Amazon or CBD.com. There is a list of online sites selling my books on my homepage of my website at
http://www.jamiecarie.com/
What is the spiritual message in your book? What can readers expect to get from reading it?
Most of my books are about God’s great love for us. Ellen is pretty lonely and disillusioned by how her life has turned out but God is there, He loves her and cares what happens to her and has a plan for her life – she just has to wait on His timing and as most of us know, that’s hard to do. God gave me this “Dear Reader Letter” about a snowflake to remind us of how much He loves us:
Dear Reader,
Have you ever considered the snowflake? I have. I have a fascination with them. They say snowflakes are one-of-a-kind, like fingerprints. Can you imagine how many snowflakes are in a handful of snow? A yard full? A city's worth? And that's just in one snow fall. What about a winter's worth of snowflakes across the entire world? What about every snowflake that has or will ever fall? Can you imagine the diversity in each intricate design? The arms that are perfectly symmetrical and appear sparkling glass under a microscope. The bends and twists, the spikes and branches on a piece of floating, fluffy frozen water. Only God has that much imagination, that much creativity, that much timeless knowledge and wisdom. Only God could build a snowflake with each one having its own identity.
We are like the snowflake. Fantastic and unfathomable and fragile. Our lives are a moment in time, but that moment is all ours, there is no one like you ever made nor ever to be made. If God took the effort to make each snowflake with its own unique shape, how much more did he expend on you, his beloved, in His image? We forget, I think, how valuable we are to him. When the snowflake melts, what does it become? Streams and rivers, lakes and oceans. Life giving water. God created one-of-a-kind water droplets for you to drink. I can't fathom such love.
Dear beloved reader, do not sell yourself short. Do not think for a moment that you don't mean everything to Him. Do not let man and Satan, sin and evil, rob you of your worth. After all, He gave His one and only son for you.
Remember that the next time you look in the mirror and see only shortcomings and failures. Remember. It's hard, I know. But I promise, I will try and remember it too.
Do you ever feel like giving up? Most people don’t understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you’ve gone through?
I have had dark moments where I wasn’t sure I could or would continue. I think all authors dream of runaway bestsellers and when that doesn’t happen it can be hard. Even though my books have done well, there is still that pressure to always do better – write better, sell better, figure out what people want and give it to them. I’ve had to let go of all that, to the best of my ability, and rely completely on God to continue. I’ll keep writing as long as He is there writing them with me.
Would you explain how you “chose” (or were chosen by) a publisher? Do you just go “inny, minny, miny, moe?” Now, that you’re published, can you sit back and relax from the success you’ve experienced?
Ha! My road to publication was very difficult. If you’d like to read that long story here is a link to it
http://jamiecarie.com/interview-with-novel-journey
As far as sitting back and relaxing . . . I don’t think any publishing house wants their authors doing too much of that. (grin) Every book takes a great deal of effort on both sides and there is unending work in creating and selling it.
Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel if you could?
(To be released in September, 2011)
I do love to travel with my husband and, sometimes – depending on where we’re going, my boys. I am currently working on my first 3-book series (so excited!!). The first book,
The Guardian Duke, is set in Ireland and Holy Island, England. The second book will be set in Iceland and the third book in Italy. I would love to visit all four locations but I’ll need to sell a lot of books to be able to afford that! God willing, maybe I’ll make it to at least one of them.
Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you’d like to share? Promotional information?
My website is
http://www.jamiecarie.com/ and there are lots of fun book trailers, book blurbs, and even a bad cooking show (my mom and I making sourdough biscuits like Noah made for Elizabeth in
Snow Angel) on the
Snow Angel page. I also blog about once a week and have a newsletter sign up where you can hear the latest going on with me and enter give-aways for free books!
You can follow me on Facebook here
http://www.facebook.com/jamie.carie
My fan page is
http://www.facebook.com/jamie.carie
Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/jamiecarie
Thanks so much, Carole, for the awesome interview!
And thank you, Jamie, for being on my blog!
Readers, your comments and email addresses will give you a chance to win her book!
Blessings!
Congratulations 
We all need to be constantly sharpened. This parable may encourage you to know that you are a special person, with unique God-given talents and abilities. Only you can fulfill the purpose which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot be changed and, like the pencil, always remember that the most important part of who you are, is what's inside of you.
