Interview with Sara Davison

I am excited to host Sara Davison here on my blog today! I first came across Sara’s books through Ashberry Lane Publishers. Her books are the kind of stories that keep you reading until the very end.  She has written several books and her latest book, The Morning Star Rises  in the Seven Trilogy came out in October! I hope you will be inspired to check out this awesome series from her.

One of the neat things about today’s world is the opportunity to connect with your favorite authors! I love getting to know more about their interests and day to day life. Today, Sara has sat down and answered some fun questions for me.

Sara: Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for having me on your blog.

Becca: You are very welcome. I’m excited to have you here today. First off, will you tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Sara: I have been married to my husband Michael for twenty years and we have three really great teenagers, two boys and a girl. We are loving this stage of life! I guess something not a lot of people know about me is that I knew the day I met Michael that we were going to get married. We met playing baseball in a church league, and talked pretty much through that entire first game. When I was leaving, he handed me his business card. I have a vivid memory of standing in my parents’ kitchen later that evening, afraid to look at his card in case I didn’t like his last name because I knew it would be mine one day. Thankfully, I did like it, because we dated for ten weeks before getting engaged and were married eleven weeks after that. To this day he is the love of my life, my best friend, and my biggest supporter.

Becca:  That’s a wonderful story about you and your husband. Sounds like this is a fun stage of life for you. It’s almost Christmas, What is one tradition you enjoy with your family?

Sara: Christmas Eve is my favourite part of the holidays. The five of us always go to church together, then come home and have a nice dinner. Afterwards we make hot chocolate and popcorn and watch The Polar Express, the best Christmas movie of them all. Even though the kids are getting older, they still leave a note along with cookies and milk for Santa before we all go to bed. I find the night before Christmas—with the candlelight service that reminds us of the true reason for our celebration, along with time with family, and the great anticipation of the day to come—the real highlight of the season.

Becca: What a great tradition! It’s a wonderful way to spend time with family celebrating Christ’s birth.  So, What is a typical day for you? How long do you spend writing?

Sara: I don’t really have a typical day, other than getting up at 7 each morning to get my kids off to school. Because I work from home, my schedule varies from day to day. I’d love to say I am one of those disciplined writers who sits herself down at her desk at a certain time and doesn’t stop working until she has reached a certain word count, but sadly, I am not. I write as the inspiration (or a deadline) moves me, so some days I write for hours and other days not at all. Since I am a night owl, much of my writing gets done between nine at night and one in the morning. I am also an editor and I do spend time every day editing other people’s work for them. In between those two jobs, I love to go for coffee with friends, window-shop, be involved in church ministry, hang out with family, nap, read, watch movies, and drink coffee.

Becca: That is a busy schedule. I’m glad you have time throughout the day to write & spend time with family and friends.  What is one book that inspired you to start writing?

Sara:  It’s so hard for me to narrow it down to one book, because I read voraciously when I was younger, so there are so many to choose from. Probably my favourite was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. It was so creative and full of objects and worlds and happenings that I had never even imagined. It was one I read over and over as a kid, and most likely the one that had the most profound effect on me, both as a reader and as a writer.

Becca: There are a lot of good books out there. A Wrinkle in Time is definitely a classic.  What drew you to tell the story of Meryn O’Reilly & Captain Jesse Christensen?

Sara: The seeds for the story between Meryn and Jesse were planted during a series on Revelation our pastor taught at church. I was never one to be interested in end times prophecies, movies, or books, and would not have dreamt that I would one day write a romantic suspense series with an ends times kind of feel to it, but God obviously had other ideas. I never made the conscious decision to write a series set a few years in the future depicting what life might be like for Christians based on our current trajectory as a society, but the Revelation series obviously got me thinking, and then the whole story came to me. When that happens, I know it’s from God and that I need to be obedient and get it out there, so that’s where the story came from.

Becca: It’s neat to see how God works! I think the story will impact many readers towards God. I like to be able to picture where a writer writes her stories.  Tell us a little bit about your writing area. Where can we find you writing?

Sara: I have a small bedroom in my house that I have taken over as my office. We just moved a few months ago and there are still a few boxes around, but I’m hoping to get everything put away by the new year. My desk is under a window so I can see trees and sky when I look up, but otherwise it’s a pretty basic room, with walls lined with bookshelves. I also love going to a coffee shop and working, as I find I get a lot more done when I am not feeling the need to go throw in a load of laundry or vacuum the living room when I should be working.

Becca: Both the office and the coffee shop sound like wonderful places to write.  It does make it easier to work when there is less distractions. Before we go, I have one last question.  What is one thing you want your readers to remember after they’ve finished the book?

Sara: Like I said, I never thought I would write an end-times type book. I grew up in an era of terrifying, apocalyptic movies that left me wanting nothing to do with that genre whatsoever. After taking the Revelation course, however, I came to love the book, and the hope and encouragement it contains, hope that, however difficult life becomes, all will be set right in the end. God is sovereign, and life on this planet will unfold and is unfolding completely according to his plan. When God gave me Meryn and Jesse’s story, what I hoped the reader would get most out of it is that, whatever we go through, we are never alone, God is in control and always with us, and when we persevere to the end we have the promise that we will spend all of eternity with him. Many readers have told me The Seven trilogy inspired them to read their Bibles more and to ask themselves if they are ready for what lies ahead, and if the books get those types of discussions going, then they will have served their purpose.

Becca: I hope it will encourage many readers as well. The end times can be scary but doesn’t have to be.  It is encouraging to know that He is indeed in control of every situation whether big or small. It has made me think about the end times and how I can share Christ with others. Thank you Sarah for spending time with me today and answering these questions.  It was fun visiting with you!

Check out Sara’s website here: https://www.saradavison.org

Happy reading!

Becca