1. Can
you tell us a something interesting that readers may not know about you?
I was born in Iran and lived there the first fourteen years of my life. My
family was nominal Muslim. The first time I had a transformative experience of
Jesus was through a dream when I was in my twenties.
2. Do
you get to read many books and if so do you have a favourite Genre?
I can’t
imagine life without books! My interests vary from the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, and Wilkie Collins to current
historical fiction and even some fantasy and science fiction.
3. How
do you come up with ideas for books?
I usually
start with a character. The central character in my last two books, Sarah, just
invited herself over for dinner one day and refused to leave. From the first
page, Sarah’s spunky personality was larger than life. I ended up creating the
first novel to tell her story, and the sequel, Harvest of Gold, in order to tell the story of her marriage as well
as to recount Nehemiah’s incredible accomplishment in rebuilding the shattered
walls of Jerusalem.
4. In
your latest book did you learn any interesting titbits in your research?
Because the
backdrop of Harvest of Gold is the
rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, I learned a lot about Nehemiah in my
research. It was a life-transforming experience for me. As Christians, we can
learn incredible lessons about overcoming the hardships of life from Nehemiah.
He teaches us how to resist the temptation to cave in, to give up when we are
exhausted and feel hopeless. He teaches us how to overcome.
5. What
does a typical writing day look like?
Setting up
a goal and not meeting it!
6. If
you had one tip for aspiring writers what would it be?
If you love
your characters, so will your readers. There are no throw-away lines, no
throw-away scenes. Make every word count and draw the reader into your world.
7. What
do you hope readers take out of your latest book?
Harvest of Gold is a romance, but it is
also a book about overcoming. How do you respond to the interior and exterior
forces that threaten to destroy you in your daily life? Harvest of Gold tries to answer that question based on the timeless
principles we find in the book of Nehemiah.
8. A couple
of fun questions to end: if you were to come to Australia what would you most
like to see?
I would
love to see some of the spellbinding coastline of Australia. I might even dip
my toes in, if you promise nothing is going to eat me. (jenny here I think you will be safe if there was a problem with say jelly fish there would be an alert out)
9. Do
you have a favourite Ice cream flavour (this interview was composed on a day
where it was over 100 in Australia)?
Cherry
Garcia by Ben and Jerry’s.
10. Finally can you tell us about your current books
and/or any that will be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.
A fun
little tidbit: the book launch for Harvest
of Gold is being sponsored by the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford,
Connecticut, where the beloved author spend a large portion of his life with
his family. On Monday, July 1, 2013, we are hosting a Persian tea with
traditional cookies, pastries, pomegranates, figs, grapes, and other goodies to
approximately two hundred fans and members of the local media as we unveil the
book. For more information on me or my books, please visit me at
tessaafshar.com.
Thanks again for your time and agreeing to be on my
blog.
It’s been a
pleasure to spend time with you and your readers, Jenny! It may be the only way
that I will visit Australia, so I do appreciate it.
