Here's a glimpse from THE THIEF: excerpt
Questions for Stephanie:
Tell us about your
mindset as a contemporary author writing historical fiction. Do you go about
your day, interacting with family and friends, running errands, preparing meals
or snarling at the laundry mountain, in a constant how-would-they-have-done-it
centuries ago?
I love this question
because I’ve always done that. Even when I was a kid I was fascinated by how
every day tasks were done centuries ago— and became even more so as I had
children of my own. I remember one beautiful summer day when I had three little
ones and was pregnant with my fourth. I threw in a load of clothes, put some
dinner in the crockpot and turned on the dishwasher, then took them all out for
a day at the park with friends. I remember thinking, “Wow. That never could
have happened even 100 years ago.” On the other hand, I sometimes envy my
historical characters for their slower-paced lives that seem more family
oriented than what we have today.
Now a multi-published
author of historical fiction set in Biblical times (with THE TOMB releasing in early 2015), how do you see your reading
audience and their reading desires and interests?
I see my readers as my
biggest inspiration. Their encouragement and comments on my books are what
keeps me going. From what I’ve heard from them, I believe my readers want two
things: a good story and to deepen their faith. First, readers love to be
transported into the fictional world and imagine that they are ‘right there’ in
the story. Second, they want to have new insight into their faith. I often hear
that my stories inspire readers to go back to the Bible and read it with fresh
eyes and new understanding. My hope with each book is to deliver both.
In hindsight, what would
you advise the debut author Stephanie Landsem? And projecting ahead with what
you’ve learned so far on this published author’s journey, what type of things
are you on the lookout to avoid in the future?
I’d tell debut author
Stephanie to take a deep breath and keep her eyes on the horizon. It’s so easy
to see the mountain of tasks for each day—word count, editing, marketing—and
forget to raise my eyes up and remember why I’m writing books. I want to always
remember how truly blessed I am to share these stories with my readers.
Has researching your
novels taught you any fascinating wonders you’d like to share?
Yes! More than I can write
about here. As probably any historical novelist would tell you, the amount of
research we do to make our stories accurate is far more than you ever see in
our books. There is so much left in my head that when I have time, I blog about
my historical research on my website in case any readers want to learn about
the cool things I find that didn’t make it into the story.
Other than Jesus
Himself, if you could step back into the time of your novels to interview one
person for research for a novel, whom would you choose? What top 3 questions
might you ask?
That is a hard question!
I just finished edits on my third novel in the series, The Tomb, so I would
have to say that the one person I’d most like to interview would be Lazarus.
I’d love to ask him what it was like to die and how did he feel physically when
he came back to life in the tomb. And then I’d like to know what he was
thinking when he walked out of that tomb and saw Jesus and his sisters.
Do you have a
reoccurring author’s theme in your novels?
The underlying theme of
all the novels in The Living Water series is this: What does it mean to
encounter Jesus, the Incarnation of God?
Whether my characters are a poor Samaritan, a desperate thief, a Roman centurion,
or lifelong friends of Jesus like Martha and Lazarus, each of them faces this
fundamental question. In the end, I think it’s the ultimate question that we
all must ask ourselves.
For fun: if you were
gifted 3 weeks to reread 3 novels, which preteen novels would you gladly pick
up again?
You really do ask some
brutal questions, Elaine! Hmm. I’d go with the classics that bring back great
memories of reading away the summer hours when I was a kid:
Eight Cousins by Louisa
May Alcott (my favorite by Louisa)
The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis (I know it isn’t a single novel but I’m a fast reader)
The Black Stallion by
Walter Farley (I love horses and was sure I was going to be a jockey when I
grew up)
Thanks for having me
Elaine, it is always truly a pleasure to chat with you.
To view Stephanie's previous guest appearance on Everyone's Story, please see Illuminating History Through Fiction
Stephanie's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Get into the mindset of
Biblical fiction characters with author Stephanie Landsem. (Tweet This)
Like #BiblicalFiction?
See what inspires author Stephanie Landsem. #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)
Writing Fun: Everyone’s
Story hosts Stephanie Landsem #ChristianFiction #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)
Author's Bio:
Stephanie
Landsem writes historical fiction because she loves adventure in far-off times
and places. In real life, she’s explored ancient ruins, medieval castles, and
majestic cathedrals around the world. Stephanie is equally happy at home in
Minnesota with her husband, four children, and three fat cats. When she’s not writing, she’s feeding
the ravenous horde, avoiding housework, and dreaming about her next adventure—whether
it be in person or on the page.
Places to connect with Stephanie:
