Bio: Renae Brumbaugh Green is an ECPA Bestselling Author,
award-winning humor columnist, and wannabe superhero. She lives in Texas with her handsome,
country-boy husband, four nearly-perfect children and one nearly-perfect
son-in-law, and far too many animals. When she’s not writing, Renae teaches
online classes and tries to be rugged without chipping her nail polish.
Welcome back, Renae. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you
see on the horizon?
I don’t know. I’ve reached a point where traditional success
doesn’t matter as much to me as it once did. I just want to please God and use
whatever gifts He’s given me to point others to Him. I’ve had some unique,
unexpected opportunities in the last year, such as writing articles for a
mental health newsletter and teaching writing to college students, and I can
see God’s hand in each of those. As for books, I’ll keep writing more stories
until He tells me to stop.
Tell us a little about your family.
I am married to the most wonderful man. He’s kind, hard
working, and a total hunk! We are a blended family, and together we have four
children. Hannah, 26, is married to Kyle, and works with people with special
needs. Nick is 25, has autism, and knows all the words to every Disney song.
Charis, 23, teaches first grade, and Foster, 18, plans to enter the military.
They are each so different, and I am blessed to get to be part of their lives.
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
It’s harder to just enjoy a book anymore. I find myself
making each book I read into a writing textbook. I highlight beautiful passages
and make notes in the margin about things I’d like to imitate in my own
writing. I also think I have less tolerance for mediocre writing, simply
because I want to improve as a writer. The way to improve is to study writers
who are better than you.
What are you working on right now?
I’m still in the beginning stages of book two in The
Stratton Legacy. I also have my weekly humor column, and I write about six
articles a month for that mental health and wellness newsletter I mentioned
earlier. Plus, I teach, and that takes a lot of time. I love it, though!
What outside interests do you have?
I actually started out as a music (voice) major in college.
I love to sing, and I enjoy singing in church choirs and on praise teams as I
have the opportunity. For the past couple of summers, I’ve gotten to lead
worship at the SoCal Christian Writers Conference, and each time it was a
highlight of my year.
How do you choose your settings for each book?
Even though I write historical, I try to choose settings I’m
familiar with. Most of my books are set in Texas, because I’ve lived here all my life.
I can describe the landscape because I know it as well as I know my own heart.
I’ve toyed with writing a regency romance one day, but I haven’t been to London. One of these
days, I hope to make that trip, and perhaps a book will follow.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person,
who would it be and why?
Jesus Christ. He’s already my best friend… I’d love to look
in his face and hear his voice. My second choice would be C. S. Lewis, because
I love his books and his writing. I think he’d be a fun dinner companion!
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you
started writing novels?
I’m not sure. If I had known how hard fiction writing is, I
probably wouldn’t have tried… so I guess I’m glad I didn’t know that.
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?
He’s teaching me to trust Him. I’m actually going through a
pretty deep valley, a pretty hot fire right now, but it’s one I have no control
over. Some days, I have to trust Him just to get me through the next minute,
the next hour. It’s not a fun season. But I know from experience that every
season will pass, and with God’s help and guidance, I will be stronger for the
storms. Many days I say to God, “I don’t know what You’re doing. I don’t like
it. But I trust You.” Other days, I breathe these simple words as a constant
prayer, a constant reminder: “I love You. I trust You. I know You are good.”
I went through a season like that from November 2018 through March 2020, so I understand. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to
do to be successful?
1. Write every day. 2. Read beautifully-written books, and
use them as textbooks. 3. When you finish a writing draft, step away from it
for a few days or a week before revising and editing. When you read back
through it, you’ll find all those areas you can improve or tighten. If you
revise too soon, you’ll see what you think you wrote instead of what you
actually wrote.
Tell us about the featured book.
In 2008, my dear friend and writing mentor, Chip Ricks,
shared a book idea with me. Loosely based on her own family history, she wanted
to write a story about two brothers—one who chose to live for Christ, the other
who didn’t. She wanted to follow that family through the generations, to show
the impact of that one choice, on the people who came behind.
She just had one problem. Chip was a brilliant writer, but
she wasn’t a fiction writer. “Will you help me write this book?”
Now, Chip was in her 80s at the time. She was a mother, a
grandmother to me in the faith. If she’d asked me to paint the moon pink, I’d have
given it my best shot. For several years, Chip and I worked together on several
versions of the book. We only ever got through the first few chapters, and we’d
change our minds about the characters or the situations. Finally, one
day she smiled at me. She said, “You know, Renae. This is your book. I know I
whispered the idea to you, but I always wanted you to be the one to write it.
I’m getting too old to work on this...please take it. It’s your story.”
Soon after, she moved across the country to live with her
daughter. We stayed connected via phone calls and Facebook, until eventually,
she stopped responding. We lost touch. I continued to write the book—Chip’s
book. Now my book. I’d work on it a while, then put it away for several months,
even a few years at one point. In 2017, I finished what would become the first
final draft. I fiddled with it more, here and there, but I hung onto it until I
met Misty Beller, my publisher at Wild Heart.
I submitted the book to her, and she accepted it, right
away! Then the editor got hold of it. God bless Erin Taylor Young! She was
brutal, in the best possible way. I spent weeks (months?) making the suggested
changes, and each one made the book so much better. The day I turned in those
final edits to my publisher, I opened up Facebook. There, on Chip’s FB page, was
a note to all her friends.
From one of her children.
She’d gone to see her Heavenly Father.
I sat there, frozen, looking at my screen, big fat tears
tracking my cheeks. How was it possible that on the day the book was complete,
I learned of her death? She was so instrumental in my walk of faith, and in my
path as a writer. It was almost like the Holy Spirit wanted me to know...this
particular journey was now complete.
Please give us the first page of the book.
Nineteen-year-old Emma Monroe watched the rain, like tears,
make tiny splashes on the toe of her boot. Fascinating, wet patterns
formed on the leather and offered a welcome distraction from the day’s events.
At least the February rain hid the fact that she’d shed no tears...not a single
one since Ma left them early yesterday morning. If she let one teardrop loose,
she’d never stop the torrent that would follow.
The preacher droned words of comfort. Empty, bitter-tasting
words, for there was no comfort to be had. Ma was dead. Yes, she knew Ma was in a
better place. But
she didn’t want her mother in a better place. She wanted her here. Now.
After several hours or minutes, she really couldn’t tell
which, the small group of mourners dispersed in a rising flood of black lace
veils and good intentions. Emma nodded and thanked each person with duty-bound
politeness, but she just wanted them all to go away. To leave her and Pa and
Lyndel alone with the mound of dirt under which Ma lay buried.
An expensive-looking pair of shoes stepped in front of her.
All this mud would ruin that hand-tooled, imported leather. She knew the owner
of those shoes even before looking up into Riley Stratton’s warm brown eyes.
She’d heard he was back in town.
Instead of taking her hands, though, Riley wrapped his
muscular arms around her and drew her into a tight embrace. He didn’t say a
word, just held her against him, and it felt so good. For just that moment, she
didn’t have to be the strong one. For just that moment, she could lean the
weight of her emotions on someone else.
After a long time, Riley let her go, cupping her face in one
hand before stepping away, invoking memories of a school-girl crush that best
lay buried with the other dead things in this graveyard.
That's powerful! How can readers find you on the Internet?
Connect with me on Facebook – Renae Brumbaugh Green. I also
have a website: www.RenaeBrumbaugh.com,
but I’m horrible about updating it. If you really want to connect, send me a FB
Friend Request and tell me you’re a reader. I will accept!
***Thank you, Lena, for
hosting me! I’m honored to be featured on your blog.
--Renae
It’s my pleasure. Thank you for sharing your book with my
blog readers and me.
Book Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089MFPDT2/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/legacy-of-honor-2
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legacy-of-honor-renae-brumbaugh-green/1137127130?ean=2940164312879
https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1516676517
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