Featured Author - Delia Latham

First of all, I’m a child of the King. I’m a wife and mother, and “Nanny” to four of the cutest, smartest, most wonderful little rapscallions around. We all live in Bakersfield, California. I was born here and have resided in and around this desert town all my life, except for a few months here and there. As a writer, I enjoy dreaming up tales of inspirational romance, with the help and guidance of my Father, the King!

I’ve always wanted to write something set in Weedpatch. With a name like that, it just cries out to be written, don’t you think? ? This story had been playing, rewinding, and playing again in my head for some before I actually started penning it. To be honest, I discovered it was harder to write than I had expected, largely because Weedpatch is so real to me … so much a part of who I am. I was almost too close to it to separate myself and create a work of fiction.

Goldeneyes has strong elements of what some folks will term “paranormal.” I don’t, because I believe in miracles, and I believe God still performs them. Still, weaving them into this storyline was so much fun, and even kind of eerie, because I didn’t plan for these “otherworldly” events - they just happened. I love those moments in my writing, because I feel strongly that those are the times when I’m really allowing God to take over and just use me as a tool for His communication. I don’t have the kind of imagination it takes to dream up miracles, so I have to give the credit to whom it belongs – the Creator of the Universe.

What do I like least? Well, I had a major episode of writer’s block early on, and pretty much gave up on being able to write this book. As I mentioned earlier, I was just too close to it, in so many ways. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was so frustrating! It took a lot of prayer, and willingness on my part to change some things I didn’t want to change about the story, but God finally allowed me a breakthrough when the time was right. Still, I hope I don’t have to go through anything quite that mentally and emotionally taxing ever again.

Write. Write. And … did I mention they should write? There are so many things, even hidden in the tools we use to help us do what we do, that distract us from actually writing. (The Internet is a prime example.) Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re writing just because you’re sitting in front of your computer. Too many things can keep us from doing the one thing that makes us writers, and that is actually putting two words together, then three, then five and ten and … then fifty thousand or so. Absorb everything you can about the craft. Learn to take constructive criticism and use it to improve your writing skills … and then write.

My earliest exposure to inspirational writing was Grace Livingston Hill, and even though today’s writing styles are a far cry from hers, I still enjoy picking up and re-reading those books now and then. I love that kind of sweet romance, which is why I also enjoy Janette Okes and Lori Wick.

On the other hand ... yikes, I’m sure I’ll lose ground with some people with this admission, but I have to be honest. My favorite two books ever are Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon and The Stand by Stephen King. Both authors have a tremendous descriptive talent, and both of these novels are unforgettable epic tales of good vs. evil.

No matter how shameful the sin, God can and will forgive. And we as human beings, though capable of some unspeakable actions, are incapable of painting our lives into a corner so dark God cannot shine His light of love into it – if we trust Him to do so.

I just finished a novella that’s completely different from Goldeneyes. It’s a contemporary, and it’s far more lighthearted. I’ve just started pitching that one to publishers. I’m also trying to place Yesterday’s Promise, which is a contemporary novel I previously published under another title. My current WIP is surprising me by bringing together elements from Goldeneyes (an historical) and Yesterday’s Promise (contemporary). I hadn’t planned on that, but I guess God has other ideas. And that’s okay … He is, after all, God!

Goldeneyes will be released March 30 by Vintage Romance Publishing. It is set in the Depression era in a place called Weedpatch. Believe it or not, that’s an actual place – it’s a tiny little farming community southwest of Bakersfield, and it’s where I grew up. The story revolves around a heinous crime committed by an alcoholic man desperate to obtain a “fix,” and the ripples of that action over twenty years later in the lives of two families.

There’s more to being an author than writing. Marketing, for instance … I never realized how much an author puts into her book even after it’s published. It’s a lot of work, and I had – and still have – so much to learn. But I believe God uses the works of inspirational authors as a tool to reach readers who might otherwise never be exposed to certain aspects of Christianity. For that reason, I’m glad to do whatever it takes to get the book out there and available to the public.

Goldeneyes has more than one focal character, but for the purpose of brevity, I’ll focus on Juliana Camden.

She’s a writer, too (hmm, imagine that!) and obtains her dream job of writing for a Christian magazine early in the story. (That’s when the fun begins, but I’ll leave that for the book.) I didn’t realize I was doing it at the time, but looking back, I can see that I wrote a lot of myself into this character. She’s a composite of who I am and the genuinely good person I’d like to be.

Developing this character was challenging, because I wanted her to be a true product of the 50s, when women still considered gallantry in men a good thing, and before they insisted on being on an equal footing with the opposite sex in every way. Yet I wanted her to be her own person, with her own definite opinions, strengths and weaknesses – not a wimpy little wallflower, ya know? Most of all, I wanted her to be a strong follower of Christ, and a positive influence in that area on other characters in the book. Ultimately, I think I managed all of those things, with God’s help. I really love Juliana, and I think my readers will, too.