Angela Elwell Hunt

Angela Elwell Hunt Answers The Faithful Fifteen

September 2007


Angela Hunt is the Christy Award-winning author of BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT, as well as the bestselling novels THE TALE OF THREE TREES, THE DEBT, THE NOTE and THE NATIVITY STORY. In this Faithful Fifteen interview, Hunt describes her latest title, DOESN'T SHE LOOK NATURAL?, and discusses the role her faith plays in both her professional and personal lives. She also shares some touching experiences she has had meeting readers and imparts words of advice to fellow Christians about interacting with non-believers.


Writing

FaithfulReader.com: Could you give a brief summary of your latest book?

Angela Hunt: Jennifer Graham, the no-nonsense chief of staff for a Virginia senator, quits her job after her divorce --- and finds herself an unemployed single mom. Forced to live with her mother until she can find work on Capitol Hill that does not involve her gregarious ex-husband, her efforts are stymied until she learns that she has inherited a funeral home in picturesque Mt. Dora. Jennifer journeys to the small Florida town with her two sons and her mother, never dreaming that within a mortuary she will uncover mysteries of love and life.

FR: What role does faith have in the book? What inspired you to write it?

AH: Jennifer, my protagonist, is a believer in Christ, so of course her faith plays a role in her story. And a few years ago I read HEAVEN by Randy Alcorn and naturally began to think about the life to come. I’ve also lost several friends over the last couple of years, and I’ve come to realize that death, for the believer, is not to be feared. I thought a series about a funeral home might be a good way to address issues affecting the living and those who are facing death. The story would have to be thoroughly entertaining, however, to overcome the natural aversion many people feel toward death.

FR: What do you feel your calling is as a writer?

AH: My calling as a writer is the same as my calling as a person --- simply to listen to the voice of God and obey it. Love and obey God --- isn’t that the calling of every Christian?

FR: Who are your favorite authors and mentors? How have they influenced your work?

AH: I have way too many favorite authors to name --- I read a lot of different books because I learn from all of them in some way. But I have many author friends who have been guiding influences in my life even when they’re not writing: James Scott Bell, Terri Blackstock, B. J. Hoff, Bill Myers, Francine Rivers, Randy Alcorn, Liz Curtis Higgs, Robin Lee Hatcher and Nancy Rue, just to name a few.

FR: Do you have any favorite stories of encounters with readers?

AH: I introduced myself to one woman who promptly burst into tears --- not sure what that says about the encounter! But another stands out on a personal level. I wrote one novel, AFTON OF MARGATE CASTLE, that was a bit ahead of its time for Christian fiction --- very dark and gritty. I received some criticism for that book, though it was a realistic portrayal of life in the Dark Ages, and I was thinking of myself as having failed somehow for having written it. But years later, at a conference, a woman came up to me and thanked me for writing that book. She had been raped, she told me, and in that book she found the understanding and comfort to begin the healing process. God was so good to allow that chance encounter.

Spirituality

FR: Tell us about your personal faith journey.

AH: I accepted Christ as Savior and Lord when I was six years old. I was raised in a Christian home and just grew up knowing and loving the Savior. I count that as one of God’s most tender mercies to me.

FR: Who are your spiritual mentors?

AH: John Piper, Randy Alcorn and Norman L. Geisler.

FR: What is your current church community involvement?

AH: As of 2007, I’ve been married to a middle-school youth pastor for 27 years. I’ve always thought it a bit odd that I have never belonged to an adult Sunday school class.... In fact, I’m not quite sure I’d know how to behave in one!

FR: What are your Scripture reading habits? Prayer habits?

AH: I have a personal time of Bible study and prayer every morning, right before I hit the treadmill. I also read the Bible through every year or so --- in 2006 I read the Bible through in 90 days. In 2007-2008, I’m reading it through in two years and enjoying the slower pace. It gives me more time to savor the Scriptures.

FR: If you had one message for Christians today, what would it be?

AH: GET OUT OF THE BUBBLE! Too often Christians (and I’ve been guilty of this) only associate with other believers. How can we be salt and light to the world unless we are in it? Who are your non-believing friends? How are you exhibiting Christ’s love to them?

Life

FR: Tell us about your family. Spouse? Kids?

AH: One spouse, two kids, two mastiffs. All peacefully co-existing at the moment.

FR: Do you and your family have any special traditions?

AH: At Thanksgiving, we get together with our extended family --- aunts, uncle, cousins. Families live so far apart these days, I’m grateful for at least one opportunity to do that.

FR: What are some of your favorite hobbies and activities?

AH: I go through phases --- went through a quilting phase, a cross-stitch phase, a mastiff phase (still in that one), a restoring-my-antique-car phase. These days I have little time for hobbies, though I think I’m entering a travel-the-world phase. Empty nest approaching, you see.

FR: What are your media habits? Television? Movies? Music? Etc?

AH: Don’t have much time for TV, though I do watch "GMA" every morning while I eat breakfast and read the paper. I love movies of all kinds, and usually watch a DVD after work if I’ve been a good girl and accomplished my daily goal.

FR: What excites you about life?

AH: Its incredible potentiality! Take one person, plant them in the world, and almost anything can happen! I am continually finding myself in “pinch me” moments! (Did I tell you about the time my dog was on "Live with Regis and Kelly"?...)

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Angela Elwell Hunt Answers The Faithful Fifteen

June 2004


FR: What kind of testimony to your faith are you demonstrating in this book? If you are writing fiction, do you write fiction that is based upon your faith, or that has a message for the reader? Is your goal to demonstrate your faith in your writing?

AH: My mission is to tell parables with a faith message for those who have spiritual eyes and ears. The message of THE AWAKENING is that God will woo us and use whatever it takes to reach us.

FR: When did you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus? Where are you today in your walk? Is your faith an important part of what you do?

AH: I surrendered my life to Jesus when I was only six years old. I had no concept of the full depth of that commitment, but as the years have passed I have fallen more and more in love with --- and dependent on --- Jesus. I don't think I could write without my faith because it fuels my writing.

FR: Tell us about your church experiences, how you grew up (or maybe didn't grow up) in the church, where you attend now, your involvement in your local assembly, etc.

AH: I'm a youth pastor's wife (have been since 1980!) and so I'm very much a part of a local church. We attend a Baptist church in Largo, Florida.

FR: Tell us about your current church family/fellowship. How does it influence your work?

AH: Our church is a mega-church, so within its body I have a few close friends who don't see me as a writer but simply as "Angie." They will be honest with me, which is a gift. Sometimes they read works in progress, and their honesty is invaluable.

FR: Who are your spiritual mentors? Your professional mentors?

AH: I have had three spiritual mentors in my life: Derric Johnson, Jim Whitmire and Gordon Luff, all of whom guided me through major decision points of my life. Today my spiritual mentors are more likely to be ancient saints --- I've been studying church history and learning about the church fathers. Professional mentors? Too many authors to name --- I love to read good books because they inspire me to keep learning and improving the craft of story-fashioning.

FR: Discuss your calling/mission --- as a writer and as a Christian.

AH: As a Christian, my calling is simple --- to listen for and obey the voice of God. As a writer, as I have already mentioned, it is to tell parables that work on one level as good stories; they work on another level as spiritual illustrations.

FR: What are your Scripture reading habits?

AH: I read the Bible through at least every other year, so I do my daily Bible reading each morning.

FR: What books have most influenced your work?

AH: As a child, I read and loved historical novels --- JANE EYRE, GONE WITH THE WIND, etc., but the book I loved the most was THE NUN'S STORY. It took me to a world I didn't know, and I was fascinated by the religious discipline depicted there. Again, obedience is a key theme.

FR: Do you read secular fiction at all? If so, who are your favorite authors and why?

AH: Yes, I read a lot of secular fiction. I love Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and many, many others.

FR: What are your other media habits --- television, movies, music, etc.?

AH: I rarely watch TV sitcoms but have become addicted to a couple of dramas, namely, "24". I also love music, having been a music major while in college. I love everything from country to opera --- but I'll confess I never got into rap. Maybe I've just been under-exposed.

FR: Do you and your family have any special faith-based traditions?

AH: Hard to say --- when you have a spouse who's a minister, your entire life tends to revolve around the church. We have the usual Christian holiday traditions.

FR: Tell us about your prayer life and habits.

AH: I pray during my quiet time each morning and try to literally walk through each day with my ear cocked to hear the voice of God --- what I laughingly refer to as "WVOG." When under stress or facing a decision, I will often journal my prayers and just write them out, letting the feelings flow.

FR: Describe what you believe the role of writing in religion is.

AH: Writing, of course, is communication, so it is one of the most powerful ways to convey truth --- and falsehood. As a Christian writer, I believe this is my heaviest responsibility --- to make sure each word in my books is Truth. The stories are fictional, but the principles are true.

FR: Tell us about one or more of your favorite encounters with readers.

AH: I'll turn the question around and tell you about my experience as a reader. I've already mentioned that I loved the book THE NUN'S STORY. Many years ago I was working in an office and a Religious News Service report came through about the death of Kathryn Hulme, the author of THE NUN'S STORY. The report mentioned that at the time of her death, Kathryn had been living with Marie Louise Habets, the woman upon whom THE NUN'S STORY was based. Amazed, I wrote Ms. Habets and told her what the book --- and her story --- had meant to me. I wasn't even sure she'd get the card (I sent it in care of a major publisher), but a few weeks later I received a card in return. The message was short and sweet: "Kathryn would have loved you," she wrote.

FR: Would you share a story about someone you've brought to Christ or share how your writing has helped someone?

AH: I don't know that my writing is strictly evangelistic (though the Spirit can certainly use anything), but I wrote a book called THE DEBT out of my own desire to escape from the "Christian bubble" in which I found myself. As a minister's wife and Christian writer, it's easy to spend all my time in my own little sanitized Christian world. Since then, I've been making efforts to become involved in my neighborhood and my community, and I've received letters from readers who are trying to do the same. The world doesn't want our programs, our procedures, or our petitions against sin. The thing they hunger for is love. And that's what we have to demonstrate.

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Bibliography

Picture Books

THE SLEEPING ROSE (Tommy Nelson)
HOWIE HUGEMOUTH (Standard Publishing)
PRETZELS BY THE DOZEN (Zondervan Publishing)
THE TRUE PRINCESS (D.C. Cook, 1992)
THE SINGING SHEPHERD (Lion Publishing)
CALICO BEAR (Tyndale House, 1991)
A GIFT FOR GRANDPA (D.C. Cook)
THE TALE OF THREE TREES (Lion Publishing)
IF I HAD LONG, LONG HAIR (Abingdon Press)


Middle Grade Titles

The Young Believers series, with Stephen Arterburn (Tyndale House Publishers):
JOSIAH, book one
LIANE, book two
NOAH, book three
PAIGE, book four
SHANE, book five
TAZ, book six

The Colonial Captives (Tyndale House):
Books 1 and 2: KIMBERLY AND THE CAPTIVES (1996)
Books 3 and 4: THE DEADLY CHASE (1996)

CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS ACTIVITY PACK, text (Tyndale House, 1996)

WHEN YOUR PARENTS PULL APART (Tyndale House)

WHERE DRAGONS DANCE (Wendy Pye Ltd.)

BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE OUT, BECOMING THE BEST YOU CAN BE, co-authored with Laura Krauss Calenberg (Thomas Nelson)

The Cassie Perkins Series (Tyndale House):
A FOREVER FRIEND (1991)
A BASKET OF ROSES (1991)
NO MORE BROKEN PROMISES (1991)
A DREAM TO CHERISH (1992)
THE MUCH-ADORED SANDY SHORE (1992)
LOVE BURNING BRIGHT (1992)
STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT (1993)
THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME (1993)
THE GLORY OF LOVE (1993)

IF GOD IS REAL, WHERE ON EARTH IS HE? (Here's Life, 1991)

The Nicki Holland Series (Thomas Nelson):
THE CASE OF THE MYSTERY MARK (1991)
THE CASE OF THE TEENAGE TERMINATOR (1991)
THE CASE OF THE PHANTOM FRIEND (1991)
THE CASE OF THE TERRIFIED TRACK STAR (1992)
THE CASE OF THE COUNTERFEIT CASH (1992)
THE CASE OF THE HAUNTING OF LOWELL LANES (1992)
THE CASE OF THE BIRTHDAY BRACELET (1993)
THE SECRET OF CRAVENHILL CASTLE (1993)
THE RIDDLE OF BABY ROSALIND (1993)

NOW THAT YOU'VE ASKED HER OUT (Here's Life/Thomas Nelson, 1989)

NOW THAT HE'S ASKED YOU OUT (Here's Life/Thomas Nelson, 1989)


Adult Nonfiction

MY LIFE AS A MIDDLE SCHOOL MOM (Servant Books, 2000)

LOVING SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD (Tyndale House, 1992)

THE ADOPTION OPTION (Victor Books, 1989)

TOO OLD TO RIDE, TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE (Here's Life/Thomas Nelson, 1988)

JUST A COUNTRY PREACHER, biography of B.R. Lakin, The Old Time Gospel Hour (1986)


Adult Fiction

DOESN'T SHE LOOK NATURAL? (Tyndale, September 2007)

THE ELEVATOR (Steeple Hill, July 2007)

THE NATIVITY STORY (Tyndale, October 2006)

UNCHARTED (Thomas Nelson, July 2006)

MAGDALENE (Tyndale, April 2006)

A TIME TO MEND (Steeple Hill, March 2006)

THE NOVELIST (WestBow Press, January 2006)

UNSPOKEN (WestBow Press, May 2005)

THE ORACLE (WestBow Press, April 2005)

THE AWAKENING (WestBow Press, July 2004)

THE DEBT (WestBow Press, January 2004)

THE CANOPY (W Publishing Group, July 2003)

THE SHADOW WOMEN (Warner, November 2002)

THE PEARL (W Publishing Group, Spring 2003)

THE JUSTICE (W Publishing Group, January 2002)

The Heavenly Daze series, co-authored with Lori Copeland:
THE ISLAND OF HEAVENLY DAZE (The W Group, December 2000)
GRACE IN AUTUMN (W Publishing Group, 2001)
WARMTH IN WINTER (W Publishing Group, 2002)
A PERFECT LOVE (W Publishing Group, 2002)
HEARTS AT HOME (W Publishing Group, 2003)

THE NOTE (W Publishing Group, in association with Women of Faith, May 2001)

THEN COMES MARRIAGE, with Bill Myers (Zondervan Publishing, Spring 2001)

THE STORY JAR, "The Yellow Sock," a novella in an anthology written with Robin Lee Hatcher and Deborah Bedford (Multnomah, 2001)

THE IMMORTAL (W Publishing Group, June 2000)

THE TRUTH TELLER (Bethany House, May 1999)

FLEE THE DARKNESS, with Grant Jeffrey (W Publishing Group, September 1998)
BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT, with Grant Jeffrey (W Publishing Group, July 1999)
THE SPEAR OF TYRANNY, with Grant Jeffrey (W Publishing Group, 2000)

The Heirs of Cahira O'Connor Series (WaterBrook)
THE SILVER SWORD (January 1998)
THE GOLDEN CROSS (October 1998)
THE VELVET SHADOW (January 1999)
THE EMERALD ISLE (September 1999)

GENTLE TOUCH, Portraits Series (Bethany House, February 1997)

The Keepers of the Ring Series, Historical Fiction (Tyndale House):
ROANOKE: The Lost Colony (1996)
JAMESTOWN (1996)
HARTFORD (1996)
REHOBOTH (1997)
CHARLES TOWNE (1998)

Legacies of the Ancient River, Bethany House:
DREAMERS (January 1996)
BROTHERS (March 1997)
JOURNEY (1997)

THE PROPOSAL, a contemporary medical thriller (Tyndale House, October 1996)

The Theyn Chronicles, adult historical fiction (Tyndale House):
AFTON OF MARGATE CASTLE (1993)
THE TROUBADOUR'S QUEST (1994)
INGRAM OF THE IRISH (1994)


Collaborations - Nonfiction

IDOL EYES: My New Perspective on Faith, Fat & Fame, by Mandisa (Tyndale, 2007)

HEAVENLY CROWNS, with Heather Whitestone McCallum (Zondervan, 2004)

LET GOD SURPRISE YOU, with Heather Whitestone McCallum (Zondervan, 2003)

FLASHPOINTS, with Steve Arterburn (Tyndale House, 2002)

LISTENING WITH MY HEART, with Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995 (Doubleday, June 1997); trade paper edition issued July 1998
ECPA Silver Medallion 1998

THE RISE OF BABYLON, with Charles Dyer (Tyndale, 1991)

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