I first met Meredith Efken through ACFW – better known as American Christian Fiction Writers. Since that time Meredith has become both a friend and critique partner. She has a grasp of writing and editing that has truly amazed me, and her critiques have helped me beyond what I could have imagined. Did I mention I do a lot of rewriting? (My blog readers will understand.) But beyond writing, Meredith is as sweet in person as she is in her emails. She is energetic and friendly and puts her heart into everything she sets her mind to do.

Meredith has experienced much of what she describes in her debut novel, SAHM I Am. From surviving temper tantrums to being covered in slobbery toddler kisses, Meredith enjoys the life of a stay-at-home mom – despite the challenges. In addition to writing and home schooling, Meredith is a student in the Vineyard Leadership Institute as well as a member of her church worship team. She also co-founded a local writers group and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

She’s been declared by fellow author Randy Ingermanson to be “funnier than Erma Bombeck” which she often questions, but hey, it’s a great quote. You can decide for yourselves if it’s true. Look for the SAHM I Am sequel, @Home For The Holidays, in November 2006 from Steeple Hill Cafe

I’ve had the privilege of reading Meredith’s debut novel SAHM I Am, and learned something new about Meredith’s ability to write. Authors work hard to make each character real, to have their own distinct characteristics, their own flavor, their own voice. Part of creating that uniqueness comes by showing what the character looks like, sounds like, even smells like – how they react to their circumstances, their tone of voice – so many things. But with a story like SAHM I Am, told entirely through emails, Meredith lost the ability to show certain things, like facial expressions and body language – not to mention other physical characteristics because each characters “voice” had to come through in letter format. And Meredith pulled it off AMAZINGLY well!

Here’s the book’s back cover copy, for those who haven’t read it yet:

For the members of a stay-at-home-moms’ e-mail loop, lunch with friends is a sandwich in front of the computer, but where else can they discuss things like…
Success: Her workaholic husband is driving Dulcie Huckleberry around the bend. It’s hard to love someone in sickness and in health when he’s never home!
Art: Let the children express themselves, opines artistic Zelia Muzuwa, and then her son’s head gets stuck inside a kitty scratching post….
Health: Surely aches and pains are normal in an active little boy, yet those of soccer-mom Jocelyn Millard’s son don’t seem to be going away.
Motherhood: Teen-mom-turned-farmer’s-wife Brenna Lindberg can deal with the mud and the chickens, but what about her husband’s desire for a child of his own?
Indiscretions: However youthful, they can come back to haunt you, learns pastor’s wife Phyllis Lorimer.
AMends: These could stand to be made between officious list moderator Rosalyn Ebberly and her pampered sister Veronica. Perhaps the other SAHM I AMers can teach these two something about sisterhood…

You can find SAHM I Am at Amazon or CBD (Christian Book Distributors). Check it out and then

buy this book!

and sit back for a relaxing, humorous read!

I asked Meredith to give us some insight into the calling behind her writing ~

Jill: When and how did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Meredith: I’ve wanted to be a writer practically since I learned to read. I always wrote a variety of stories and poems all the way through school. But I thought you had to be really lucky or “special” to actually BE a writer or get published. It wasn’t until 1999, after learning more about publishing, that I made the decision to “go professional.”

Jill: Tell me a bit about what you write now and what you hope to write in the future.

Meredith: I write comedy fiction mainly about women—moms in particular. We call this “mom-lit.” My first book, SAHM I Am, is a mom-lit about stay-at-home moms that are friends through an email discussion group. The story is told all in their emails to each other. The tone of the book is sassy, laugh-out-loud funny, and very real to life. The sequel, @Home For The Holidays, is due in November 2006. After that, I hope to continue with mom-lit for a while longer. Eventually, I’d like to broaden my scope, but I don’t know for sure what that might look like.

Jill: If and when did you realize your writing was a calling?

Meredith: I was raised with the idea that everything God gives us the ability and opportunity to do is a calling from Him. So for me, it wasn’t a matter so much of feeling called to write. It was more that I had to give myself permission to pursue writing with my whole being, instead of trying to piece myself out to all the abilities and opportunities that I’ve been blessed with. I had never specialized like that, and it was like God put it on my heart that after “dating” all these different gifts, writing was the gift I was supposed to “marry.” And I must say—I’m completely in love with it!

Jill: I’ve never heard the gift put quite like this before, but I can totally relate! For years I tried (dated) all sorts of creative endeavors, but only writing turned out to be the right fit.

Jill: What means did God use to confirm in your heart that this is exactly what He has prepared for you to do for Him?

Meredith: Well, He slammed the door on my teaching career, for one thing! And when we adopted our oldest daughter from China, I had the opportunity to stay home with her, which opened the door for writing. Granted, trying to write and be a stay-at-home mom is a super chaotic door, but it was an OPEN door! Then, in 2000, I received a brochure for the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference. I have no idea how I got on their list, but it must have been a God-thing. I attended, and that conference really confirmed to me that I’d found the world I was created for. It was an amazing feeling—for the first time, I really fit in. I knew nothing and was a total nobody, but I was HOME. That was a very empowering experience for me.

Jill: When and how did you come to realize that writing meant more to you than a means to meet physical monetary needs or fulfill your dreams?

Meredith: For me, the realization that I could actually earn money writing came years after getting bit by the Writing Bug. I’ve always written because I can’t seem to go for more than a few months without writing. I always had a vague dream of “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a book published someday?” But it was always in the same vein as most people fantasize about how nice it would be to win a big sweepstakes. So for most of my life, I’ve written just because the drive is in me to write. It’s been only relatively recently that publishing has seemed like an attainable reality.

Jill: How would you say that God has used writing to change you – to strengthen your faith and to make you more like Christ?

Meredith: About eight years ago, thanks to reading an interview of Francine Rivers, I realized that God wanted me to approach my writing as worship for Him. At that point, things changed from me writing because I wanted to, and became me writing as a way to worship God. Now, my writing is often part of my personal time with Jesus. It’s also a way for me to work through things I struggle with or to express the things I always wish I could say but never can find the speaking words to do so.

Jill: Has writing opened opportunities for you to give your testimony and witness for Christ or minister to fellow believers? If so, can you give one example?

Meredith: I hear from many readers that SAHM I Amhas been an encouragement to them or has helped them understand stay-at-home moms better. Several of them have been touched by particular themes and issues in the book that resonate with their own experiences. Some of the most special comments I’ve received are ones like “I never read a book that had God in it before. I really enjoyed that.” To me, it’s a real privilege to be perhaps the first step in a person’s journey to meeting God themselves.

Jill: As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom myself, I can say that you have caught the flavor of this genre, Meredith. Even moms like me whose kids are nearly grown can still relate, and laugh out loud in shared appreciation!

For a look at Meredith Efken’s books you can visit her website here. Her blog is on the front page of this website.

Coming in November 2006 is @Home For The Holidayssequel to SAHM I Am, Steeple Hill Cafe.

I hope you have enjoyed this interview with author Meredith Efken. Please click on over to one of the above online stores or visit your favorite Christian bookstore and look for SAHM I Am. You won’t be disappointed!