Interview with Author Deborah Hart
All readers want to know…interview with Author Deborah Hart.
Deborah is a YA fiction writer. Her novels focus on transformational relationships, while exploring unseen worlds. There is a supernatural element to her stories. Supernatural in the sense that life is full of divine mysteries that are beyond our five senses. You can read more about her current project, and other thoughts on her blog.
You can connect with Deborah on instagram, pinterest, and her website.
Tell readers a few things about yourself.
I have a daughter who will be eighteen in January. Since she was 3 1/2 years old, it’s just been the two of us – except for our eclectic animal pack. We have a Pomeranian/Maltese dog, a tortoise-shell cat, and two guinea pigs. We seem to attract animals into our lives with huge personalities!
I became a Christian, entering the Catholic Church, just over five years ago. I saw firsthand, the power of baptism. My dad was baptised ten days before he died. As he lay in his hospital bed, I saw the most beautiful transformation within and around him during those remaining days, as peace and grace surrounded him. He died on Easter Friday, and I was baptised the next day. That sounds like I was baptised because of the transformation I saw, but I had already been going through the RCIA programme at church for nearly a year and my own baptism just happened to be scheduled then. But, I certainly felt blesses at a heartbreaking time, and there was a strong feeling of transcendence during those days.
Also, I’m a children and teens Librarian, and besides being surrounded by books all day (and taking a ridiculous pile of books home each week), I also get to sing and play with babies, tell stories to toddlers, help children to code on computers, work with a group of teens who help me design programs and events, and I interact with lots of different kinds of people.
A Fascinating Place
I live in Tauranga, New Zealand, a coastal town with stunning beaches, just over the hill from Hobbiton – the film set where the Hobbit was filmed. It’s 60km – about 37 miles – away, so perhaps a bit further than one hill. You can go to Hobbit On Tours to see the cute hobbit houses. Although their instagram account is my favourite.
Did you always want to write?
Yes! Although, a lack of confidence and being incredibly shy and socially awkward when I was younger made it very painful to try to do anything with it. I started out writing songs, and was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, performing in bands. This was way before Youtube, and anything remotely online. We played at parties and university events, and a few paid gigs.
I consider myself a late bloomer. For a long time, I worked in jobs below my abilities because I didn’t have much confidence in myself. Now, as a Christian, I know it’s not so much having confidence in myself. I just have to have faith in God. He knows what He’s doing. God gave me a gift for writing. He gave me a voice that can sing. I just have to turn up. And turn to Him for guidance – pray, listen, and do the next step. Also, I discovered that if I focus on others, and find ways to bless them, life becomes a lot more fulfilling, and my sense of joy sky-rockets.
What book or article are you currently working on or just released?
I’m writing a YA novel with an unreliable narrator. Actually, it’s a little unfair to call her that, as she doesn’t even know she’s being unreliable. She just doesn’t know the truth – yet. It’s working title is Carousel. I’ve got a progress bar on my blog page so readers can see how it’s coming along.
Do you write in silence or with background noise/music?
I write in silence, but I create a playlist for each novel I’m working on. I play it in the car or with earbuds while I’m doing housework or gardening. It gets me in the mood and inspires me. As I’m listening to my soundtrack, I start to sync with my story, and can’t wait to write more. Each song I select for the playlist reveals the emotional journey of a character or depicts the overall atmosphere of the story. As I’m listening, I feel myself smiling, or tears swelling up, and I know I’m tapping into the emotion of my story. It’s very powerful.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books/writing?
I want them to feel hope and wonder and to feel encouraged in some way. Also, to start feeling God’s presence (not necessarily in the novel, but in their life. Even if it’s just a nudge that can continue to work in their heart).
To better explain that, I discovered Susan Howatch’s Starbridge Series – her novels about the Church of England in the twentieth century -when I was pregnant with my daughter about 18 years ago. Not a Christian then (although God was nudging me), the characters and their journey with God fascinated me. These characters were flawed, and at times unlikable, but I loved seeing their lives and their faith unfold. The stories went deep into my heart and worked in me. Later, I discovered the Mitford Series by Jan Karon, and had a similar experience with embracing the series, and God quietly working in me.
That’s what I’d like to do within my stories. Give God the space to work in people.
Where do you get your inspiration to write?
The human spirit fascinates me. When you hear of the accounts of people in concentration camps during the Nazi regime, it is heartbreaking to get a glimpse of what people went through. And, then, to see the goodness, the bravery, the Grace, that would rise up amidst such suffering and fear, is incredible. Saying that, my stories don’t necessarily focus on such bleak and painful things. But the love, and courage, and kindness of the human spirit are inspiring forces in my stories.
Helping Young Writers
Did you dream of being a writer when you were young?
I dreamed of being a writer – or a rock star! My favourite book as a teenager was 1984 by George Orwell. An interesting choice, but I loved it. The way the human spirit will fight against oppression and try to find hope and a way to survive was so inspiring. Even if, for poor Winston and Julia, they were ultimately broken. And, I’d have to read it again to see what the author’s intention was, but it was the strength of family, and of love, and hope that I carried away from it (because all those things had been stripped away in the story, so that everyone was living in isolation, fear, and suspicion). That book made me want to be a writer.
What advice do you have for young writers?
Find out what you love to read, and read heaps – it really does help.
There’s a page on my website called Fangirling, where I rave about the different aspects I love in my favourite books. And as I compile it, I discover more and more about the kinds of story lines I prefer, the types of characters, underlying themes, motivations – all the things that make a book an epic read, for me.
By exploring these kinds of ideas in the books that grab you, you can get a much better idea of the books you’d like to write. And, you’ll fall in love with story, and remember why you want to write.
The other piece of advice I’d give, is don’t beat yourself up for writing that doesn’t work; or for procrastinating, or for putting it all to one side for huge stretches. There really is a time for everything, and sometimes we can push too much. Sometimes we have other things to learn or go through first. So, trust the process. Show up, but if it doesn’t seem to be developing at the speed or in the way you thought it should, trust. Show up, and trust God.
What a wonderful interview with Author Deborah Hart, beautiful soul.
I left the spelling of different words. I thought it was interesting and authentic to Deborah and New Zealand (favourite/favorite).
If you’d like to read more author interviews, you’ll find them on my blog, Monday Morning Author Interviews.
