Kathi Macias: The "Easy Writer" Who Writes Heart-grabbing Stories

Everyone's Story warmly welcomes back author Kathi Macias. Kathi writers powerfully gripping novels about some of the world's more grittier topics, but as you will see, they're stories that instead of focusing on sordid details zero in on a very powerful Love. There's a lot to share this week: a great book giveaway, a blurb and You-tube video, and then an interview with Kathi. And, now I finally "get" where "Easy Writer" comes from!

Everyone's Story runs from Friday to Friday. However, because of the ACFW conference, Kathi's visit with us will extend to Monday, September 24th, followed by a very special visit starting on that Monday--and yes, you're being kept in suspense!

Please enjoy our time with Kathi. She'd enjoy hearing from you.

Book Giveaway:
Kathi is graciously offering the third (and final) book in the Freedom Series, on the topic of human trafficking (specifically, child sex slavery). One randomly chosen commenter will win one copy of THE DELIVERER. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 24th.

A blurb follows, and then a You-Tube video.

The Deliverer picks up just months after Special Delivery leaves off, continuing with the stories of Mara, freed from slavery but still struggling with scars and memories from the past; Jonathan, attending Bible college but strongly drawn to Mara, despite her past; and Lawan, having escaped the brothel in Thailand and miraculously reunited with her younger sister in the US and adopted by the same family. Will Mara be able to move past the pain and hatred that bind her, even if it means traveling back to the place where her parents betrayed her and sold her into sexual slavery? Will she allow The Deliverer to set her free—once and for all?

An Interview with Kathi Macias:

What inspired you to write the Freedom Series?

I was finishing up writing my previous fiction series, The Extreme Devotion Series, about the persecuted Church around the world, when my publisher asked what topic I would like to tackle next. We tossed a couple of ideas back and forth, but when she suggested human trafficking, particularly child sex slavery, I agreed to do some preliminary research and get back to her. I knew human trafficking existed and that it was a terrible thing, but I didn’t believe it existed here, in the US, and I had no idea how prevalent it was worldwide. When I discovered there are approximately 27 million people held in some sort of human trafficking (modern-day slavery) today, with estimates of 100,000 to 300,000 minors in sexual slavery in the United States right now, I was horrified. I was also convinced that I had to do whatever I could to help educate others on this monstrous crime and to call them to get involved in stopping it.

The Freedom Series, published by New Hope Publishers, follows your other notable series, Extreme Devotion. As an author, did you set out to write a series each time or did one story leave you personally hungering to explore more through other character’s viewpoints?

The Extreme Devotion Series was launched with my twenty-year passion to write book one, No Greater Love, set in South Africa in 1989, just before the fall of Apartheid. But as I talked to New Hope about the book (who at that time had never published any fiction), I was encouraged to consider a series in order to better launch their first-ever fiction line, “Fiction with a Mission.” Being a long-time supporter of Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, and other such ministries, I was already familiar with many around the world who paid a huge price for their faith, so it was no problem to come up with more stories to flesh out the series. Unlike The Extreme Devotion Series, however, which consists of four books with four completely different stories/characters/settings, The Freedom Series is three books that follow the main characters throughout the continuation of the same story.

Your stories are not a light-read. Despite being a best-selling and award-winning author, did you worry about how your Freedom or Extreme Devotion novels would be received?

Absolutely! And to be truthful, it’s been an uphill battle to generate interest in such difficult topics. Once I convince someone to try one of the books in either series, they proclaim they’re hooked and can’t wait to read the rest. But so many, when they learn of the topics around which the series are built, decline to read them, saying they prefer something “less dark” when it comes to fiction. I can certainly understand and respect that, but like I always tell anyone who will listen, I don’t write about the darkness; I write about the Light that shines in the darkness!

Please share with us why you cite the scripture of Habakkuk 2:2 on your website. What importance does it hold for you?

Habakkuk 2:2 epitomizes the way I look at a writing ministry. The verse admonishes us to “write the vision” and “make it plain.” That’s a two-part instruction, and writing clear, readable, applicable material is a two-part process. Yes, I believe God inspires us to write on a particular topic or even give us the basic story, but I do not believe He gives us every word. The Canon is closed! It is up to us to write down the vision we believe God has given us—and then to go back and work as hard and long as it takes to polish that written vision so we will honor the One we claim has inspired us to write it in the first place.

You began your writing career not as a novelist but rather as a newspaper columnist and reporter. In hindsight, would you say this helped form your seemingly author’s theme of writing about the ugly truth of what happens in this world?

I can’t give enough credit to my journalism background when it comes to my writing today. Not only did it open my eyes to the often ugly truths that are part of a fallen world, it also helped me learn how to research those ugly truths—and how to write about them cleanly and efficiently, eliminating the need for numerous, in-depth rewrites and edits. That’s not to say I don’t spent the time on the second part of that Habakkuk 2:2 admonition to “make it plain,” but it does mean that my initial draft is relatively clean and well organized, thus requiring less editing and tweaking.

As a Christian, what message do you hope to show in your novels?

As I said earlier, though many of topics I tackle are dark, I don’t write about the darkness; I write about the Light that shines in the darkness. That is such a key for me! After all, if we don’t believe that the Light of Christ is strong enough to penetrate even the most evil darkness, then we have made our God far too small. People in dire situations need to know that there is nothing too hard for God; that He is able to rescue even them; and that He loves them enough to go to any lengths to do so.

And for a fun question: do you and your husband still go biking? What joy does this bring to you?

I must confess that after forty years of Harley-riding, my husband has traded in his bike for a Corvette. I am still known as “Easy Writer,” as we zip through town in that Sunburst Orange sports car, but I don’t have to wear a helmet anymore. When you get to my age (looking 65 in the eyeball!), that’s a welcome change.

Author Bio:

Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com; www.boldfiction.com; www.theTitus2Women.com) is a multi-award-winning author of 40 books, including the Golden Scrolls 2011 Novel of the Year and Carol Award Finalist, Red Ink. A popular speaker at both women’s and writers’ events, Kathi lives in Southern California with her husband, Al.

You can find Kathi on the web at:

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Facebook (author fan page)

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New Hope Digital

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