I recently met author Siri Mitchell at this year’s 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers conference in Minneapolis. I discovered her latest release A Constant Heart in the Spring 2009 Catalog from Baker Books (which also featured my first book Michal). At the conference I discovered that Siri is also a critique partner to one of my favorite authors and friend Maureen Lang. Small world! Maureen is a great novelist in her own right.

Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.

But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When she edits her manuscripts, she laughs at the funny parts. And cries at the sad parts. And sometimes she even talks to her characters.

Siri’s latest book, A Constant Heart released from Bethany House this year. Here’s the blurb:

In the court of Queen Elizabeth beauty is a curse, friendship is bought and sold, and true love is the unpardonable sin. Will Marget risk everything for the man who’s captured her heart?

This is a great story! Highly recommended!

A Constant Heart is available at the following online bookstores:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and CBD.

I asked Siri to tell us about herself and her writing ~

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

Siri: It was probably in junior high school when my history teacher told me he thought I had a future in writing. For a long time after that, I assumed that ‘writing’ meant journalism, but it only took one course in college for me to realize that newspaper writing was not for me.

Jill: Can you share with me some of the highlights of your writing journey – something particularly memorable or humorous?

Siri: I was so honored that the book of my heart, Chateau of Echoes, was a finalist for a Christy Award and that The Cubicle Next Door was also a Christy finalist in the first-ever Lits category.

Jill: Tell me a bit about what you write now and what you hope/plan to write in the future. Do you have a favorite genre?

Siri: I’ve just made a switch to historicals and I’m having the time of my writing life! I get to read history – for work! As much and as often as I want to!! I signed a contract with Bethany House for three historicals. The first, A Constant Heart, released in October. The second, Love’s Pursuit, will release in June 2009. The third, a Victorian romance, will release in 2010. Beyond that, who knows! I would love to keep writing historicals.

Jill: Me too! I love writing (and reading) historicals!

Do you consider your writing the work God has given you to do for a lifetime or for a season of your life? If you could pursue anything else, what would it be?

Siri: I’m hoping it’s a lifetime calling. Writing is hard work! I don’t think I could brave the emotional intensities and the ups and downs of the industry if I thought it was only supposed to be for a season. What else would I do? Work on my golf game? Go back to school for a teaching certificate? I don’t know.

Jill: Are there people in your life who encouraged you, who are responsible for you becoming a published author?

Siri: My husband is my biggest fan and greatest encourager. In the long ten-year stretch before my writing was contracted, he let me cry on his shoulder, bought me pints of Ben & Jerry’s and kept saying, ‘You know, maybe you’re right, maybe you should give it up’ (knowing all the time, of course, that reverse psychology actually works on me!). I also have some friends who are avid supporters and some readers I’ve developed close friendships with. When I write, I keep all of them in mind.

Jill: Can you share one struggle that entered your life as a result of writing and how God helped you to overcome it, to make you more like Christ?

Siri: Juggling family and writing. I did a horrible job of balancing my priorities until just recently. God really spoke to me about my primary responsibilities. I had to realize that it wasn’t all about me or my books. That there are relationships and people in my life that have a greater call on my time and energies than writing does. Once I was able to see my life in the right perspective, I’ve found that my quality of life as whole has greatly improved.

Jill: I know what you mean – so true!

Likewise, is there a particular joy in this writing business/ministry that God has used to remind you that He is, in fact, using your words to His glory?

Siri: When readers comment, ‘Your book really made me think about…,’ it makes it all worthwhile. That’s why I write. To make people think. And it’s a special joy to me when a story makes a reader consider something they hadn’t thought about before or realize something new about themselves.

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?

Siri: Yes. I love speaking to women’s groups. I’ve especially enjoyed talking about ‘how to be the best at being yourself’. That seems to be a repeating theme in my books. I feel that the only person we can be the best at being is the person God made us to be. As women, and especially as Christians, we take on so many different roles and place such high expectations on ourselves. I’d love for women to understand that they don’t have to be perfect. That it pleases God most when they can simply be themselves.

Jill: Thanks, Siri!

Love’s Pursuit – will release in June 2009. A classic love story set in Puritan New England, Susannah discovers the great lengths to which God will go in order to pursue her heart.

Coming in 2010 a Victorian romance – When marriage is an obligation and the social season in New York City is only a few months long, what’s a little rivalry between friends?

If you want to learn more about Siri or her books, check out her website.

Thanks Siri, for joining us this month on Spotlight!