I recently discovered Cynthia Ruchti through her new novel As Waters Gone By. Litfuse Publicity and Abingdon Press sent me a copy to review. I fell in love instantly with the characters, the setting, and the hope that poured from the pages. I wanted to sit at the Wild Iris Inn, sample the brie and apricot jam, read the books on their shelves, and explore the island. Usually when reading fiction, it feels like fiction. As Waters Gone By painted a vivid picture of friendships I desire, a military spouse who I could relate to, and healing that we all need. I was transported to a world that made me want to pack my bags and go find Emmalyn, Boozie, and Cora to mend my own soul. So when Litfuse offered to let me review her next book Tattered and Mended I jumped at the chance. I can’t wait to share it with you! (come back July 17 for that review).

I decided to do something different for the month of July. Instead of sharing one book a week with you I really wanted to dive into Ruchti’s books, to savor the messages and the characters within. Every Friday in July we will be digging into As Waters Gone By and Tattered and Mended and discovering the hope found in their pages. So grab a copy of the books (or enter to win As Waters Gone By below) and get ready for some great discussion.

Today I’m fan-girling it with an interview and a giveaway. I want to know the inspiration behind the books and the author who penned them. Cynthia Ruchti graciously gave me a chance to interview her and a copy of her book to giveaway.

Interview with Cynthia Ruchti speaker and award-winning author of 16 books. Cynthia draws from 33 years writing and producing a daily radio broadcast to tell stories hemmed in hope.

Hi Cynthia! First I just want to say thank you for this interview. Your book As Waters Gone By really touched me and I’m looking forward to hearing the inspiration behind it.

• First I wanted to ask you about the characters. Personally, as a military spouse, Cora really touched me. For one she was very believable in her strengths and weaknesses. What was your inspiration behind creating Cora? Is she modeled after someone you know?

Cora was inspired by many women I know, women who step up to any role required of them, whose talents are profuse and challenges at least as profuse. They’re women who face difficulties they call life, and do so with both grace and tenacity. I also patterned some of the details about Cora’s multi-functions in the community on a young woman who actually serves as a librarian and volunteer First Responder and half a dozen other roles on Madeline Island. Conversation with her was invaluable in writing the library scene.

Same with Boozie. She is so eccentric that she almost has to be real. Where did you find the inspiration to create her?

A young woman on our worship team at church has a beautifully eclectic fashion sense. We’ll compliment her on her skirt and she’ll respond, “It’s three skirts layered on top of one another.” Her heart for the things of God is strong. Boozie is much more outgoing than my friend from church, but they share a common grace. I told my friend she inspired a character. After she read a little about Boozie she said, “I see what you mean.” She was one of the first to get an autographed copy.

One of the themes I see in your books is that of hope and healing. You speak to so many topics (grief, abuse, suicide, troubled marriages, friendship, foster car, cancer, etc.). Do you have a personal motto or message behind all of your books?

At one time, my tagline for my writing was hope-that-glows-in-the-dark, because I’m all too conscious of the fact that hope often shows up best against a dark backdrop. But I sometimes had to explain what it meant. Over the years, my publisher and I have tweaked it to stories hemmed in hope. Whether nonfiction or fiction, speaking engagements or devotions, everything hinges on the idea of being hemmed in hope. I long for readers and listeners to emerge from the reading experience or the speaking event with the confidence to say, “I can’t unravel. I’m hemmed in hope.” Hope has been a theme and a comfort since I first began writing for radio more than three decades ago.

The food described in As Waters Gone By sounds exquisite. At any point are you planning on sharing some of Emmalyn’s recipes with us?

Oh, yes! We may even convince her to create a mini-version of a Wild Iris Inn cookbook. Wouldn’t that be fun?

As an author who is just starting out I have to ask, what advice would you give the rest of us on the process of writing?

I won’t change what I usually say, which is:

• Write with grace.
• Wait with grace.

Both are so important. But I’ll also add that it’s very difficult to make strides in the publishing industry these days without the benefit of attending writers’ conferences where agents and editors gather. I also advise writers just starting out to read the kinds of books they want to write, but also read books with a more literary feel. It helps a writer fall in love with the way ordinary words can become extraordinary stories.

The majority of my readers are military spouses, not unlike Cora. If you could speak to them in the midst of a deployment what would you say?

My first sentence would be, “Thank you!” The military spouse’s sacrifice is no less significant than the one deployed. Surviving a long-distance marriage that also has a natural element of concern for the one standing in harm’s way for the sake of others, for their country, for us, takes such fortitude and intentionality. Maintaining a healthy marriage relationship isn’t a given. So many forces work against a long-distance marriage—pride, resentment, loneliness, fear, the imposed independence that starts to feel normal but is upended when the spouse returns. But please hear Boozie’s words to Emmalyn as it applies to deployment. “Hope lives here. Even here.”

Can you share with us a little about your next book Tattered and Mended: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul and your reason for writing it?

One day a couple of years ago, I saw someone with super-ragged jeans and wondered how much he’d paid to have his intact jeans shredded. From that, an idea congealed.

People are tattered. The world says, “Then let’s make tattered fashionable.”

But God invites us to mend.

Tattered and Mended uses both modern and ancient mending or restoration techniques to help show that God is truly making a work of art when He heals us. He doesn’t kiss the boo-boo’s and send us on our way when our soul is shattered. He takes the tiniest, most broken shards and makes art.

I heard something about a cruise. Where and how do we sign up!

I’m one of the speakers for the More To Life Women’s Cruise April 9-14, 2016, along with Carol Kent and Kathi Lipp. Have you started packing? We’re traveling by cruise ship from Tampa to Key West, and then to Cozumel, Mexico and back. Here’s where women can find more information. What a great idea to put on your Christmas wish list! But watch for the deadlines for registration. The sooner you register, the earlier we can begin celebrating together! http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/more-to-life-womens-cruise-2016#eotours

GIVEAWAY

This week I am giving away a copy of As Waters Gone By. Come back next week to read about Learning to Mend. We are all broken in one way or another and need to heal. Of course you can always pick up your own copy of any of Cynthia Ruchti's books on Amazon.