Fabulous Friday Feature-Nancy Mehl

Today I welcome author: 

Nancy Mehl

To win a copy
of 
Gathering Shadows

Scroll to the end of the post 
to see how to get your copy.

I met Nancy at the conference this year. I mean the in-person, Nancy. I've enjoyed her posts on FB and getting to know the online Nancy, but the live, breathing, dressed up in her gala-gorgeous-blue-dress Nancy was so sweet and wonderful to meet!  I asked her to share with us how God has led her on her writing journey. This is what she said:

Doing It for the One

Usually writers start out with a clear direction. We know what we want to write, and we know what kind of readers we want to reach. Unfortunately, once we sell a book, things can change. Suddenly we’re faced with editors who have their own ideas and reviewers whose words can sometimes shake our confidence. Many authors wind up confused, no longer knowing why they’re writing or who they’re writing for.

My advice is two-fold. First of all, put each book in God’s hands and dedicate it to Him. I’ve found that if you do this, and mean it, you’ll get ideas and inspiration that can only come from Him.

Secondly, make your audience small. I mean, really small. Reduce it down to one person.

I once had a friend who ran a mission for homeless men. So many of his clients seemed doomed to failure, and there didn’t appear to be many success stories that resulted from his endeavors. One day, during a conversation, I asked him, “Out of one hundred men, how many have you actually helped? How many lives have actually changed for the better?”

He thought seriously for a moment. Then he answered, “Maybe one.”

I was flabbergasted. “How do you do this every day? What keeps you from giving up?”

He smiled and said, “I do it for the one.”

Writing is a gift. For many Christian writers, it becomes something more. It becomes a ministry. But how do we effectively reach out through our books and touch people for Him? We know that if we try to stuff our stories with too many spiritual insights, we can actually end up diluting the message we want to convey. Readers will call our work “too preachy.”

After remembering my friend’s inspirational statement, I made a change. Now, I “do it for the one.” In other words, before I start a novel, I ask God to show me the person he wants to reach. Is it someone who didn’t have a father growing up and has a hard time trusting Father God? Or is it someone being abused, who needs to know there is a way out? Who is the person God wants to touch through this book? Doing this helps me to keep my focus and makes my main theme much clearer.

For me, “doing it for the one,” is the way I can use my writing to really “do it for the One.”

Aiden

Nancy Mehl lives in Festus, Missouri, with her husband, Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. Her favorite past-time is babysitting her 21 month old grandson, Aidan. She’s authored twenty books and just finished a new series for Bethany House Publishing. The first book in her Finding Sanctuary series, “Gathering Shadows” was released on May 6^th.  The second book, “Deadly Echoes” will come out in February of 2015.


All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

You can connect with her on: 

Facebook: Nancy Mehl

Website http://www.nancynehl.com.
The Suspense Sisters: http://www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com

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Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn't take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can't pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station's photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary.

Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town's handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family's past hides in the shadows, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she's searching for hidden forever--even if the cost is Wynter's very life.

CLICK HERE to get your copy of Gathering Shadows

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other books by Nancy Mehl:

New Release - This coming January, 2015!

After years of upheaval, Sarah Miller's life is finally settled with all echoes of the past stilled and silent at last. She spends her time teaching the children of Sanctuary, a town she is happy to call home. 

When the sister Sarah hasn't seen in years reappears, it stirs up hard memories of the past and their parents' murder. Even so, Sarah's joy at being reunited with Hannah and meeting the niece she didn't know she had is too soon interrupted when Deputy Sheriff Paul Gleason informs Sarah her sister has been killed. 

As Sarah learns more about Hannah's death, the circumstances seem eerily similar to her parents' death. She enlists Paul's help in digging deeper into these murders the police are dismissing as burglaries gone wrong. Paul's concern encourages Sarah's growing feelings for him, but as their investigation peels back the layers of lies almost twenty years old, they get close to uncovering the truth one man will do anything to hide--even if he must do away with the last remaining members of the Miller family.

CLICK HERE to get your copy of Deadly Echoes

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Nancy Mehl's book: "Gathering Shadows"

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Don't forget to comment!

Reader, Wow! Nancy left us with such good words. I think often we do our job for the many. Has this helped you today? I hope so.

If you don't have an answer, that's okay, just say howdy-do in the comment section. I love chatting with you.

Thanks so much for joining our chat today.