Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been an eager writer all my life. I began with drawing my ideas on the living room wallpaper as a toddler! Okay, that wasn’t very well received, so I gradually learned how to creatively produce stories without disfavor from parents and others wanting to evaluate my urge to express myself.
I did receive kind words of encouragement about pursuing writing from my teachers, but I didn’t have time to pursue publication while I was busy raising children and helping create income for our family. Sometimes I am totally taken back by how difficult and time-consuming writing was decades before I began producing my manuscripts. I was so optimistic when I could use a typewriter with a tiny screen! I still needed that correction paper, but life was really moving forward at a fast pace. However, I learned that editors were likely to pitch any page that had the white-out/write-over, so a lot of my ideas just had to wait until the children were out of diapers… and then out of school…and then until my husband retired. All that while, though, I’d scribble down ideas and put them away for a revisit later.
I did write for a couple newspapers before I began tackling my first novel (Leaves That Did Not Wither). After my husband retired, he said that I’d helped him with his ministry for forty years, so he’d help me with mine this next forty! It’s nice to have a man carry your books even when you’re past sixty, or now, seventy!
Other books I’ve authored are: Unto All Generations/A Novel Approach to Bible Study, Christmas Musings, Mary’s Journey Back to Bethlehem, and this one that’s currently free, Elizabeth’s Prodigal.
My husband and I co-authored a couple devotionals – Twelve Times Through and Christmas Ponderings.
I should clarify that Christmas Musings has three sections (Christmas in Our Hearts, Last Christmas, and Mary, Meet Dr. Luke). Those sections are available separately as little eBooks, and the one about Mary has been retitled for its softcover (ISBNs are like that) – which I mentioned above (Mary’s Journey Back to Bethlehem).
I want all of my writing to stir my readers’ emotions, but if you are looking for one that will make most readers get at least a lump in the throat, I’d say you’d want …. oh, never mind. I’ll just let you discover it for yourself!
I do hope you’ll enjoy Elizabeth’s Prodigal — I liked following “Albert” in his adventures on his way to manhood.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book would be one I co-authored with my husband. It’s entitled “Christmas Ponderings” and it was inspired by our love for Christmas. We were in ministry for many years and it was so easy to get caught up in the preparations for Christmas, even in a pastor’s family, that there was the danger that special day would be over before our hearts were ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior. This devotional offers us twenty-seven 1-2 page directed readings prior to Christmas so that the holiday doesn’t get past us too quickly.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Usually when I write, I have a small dog right beside me. Until earlier this year, that dog was Izzy, a four and a half pound Yorkie. She would not go to bed until I did, which meant she had some very late hours. Sadly, our hearts broke when her kidneys failed — she had been such a sweet writer’s dog. Now often Lizzy is on the couch or near my chair if I’m writing, but she sets her own bedtime and will leave me if I’m taking too long!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are some books that stir my emotions and memories even years after I encountered them. Way back when, I received “Jack and Judy Go to the Farm.” I could almost recreate those illustrations in my mind 65 years later! It was a sweet and colorful children’s book and I want any children’s books I create to be as memorable. As a young teen, I liked the old Grace Livingston Hill books, dreaming of what life could be like. I found out I even liked Shakespeare when I didn’t have to read it. Skipping ahead, though, I read 1984 in college and many days, its message seems too current. I tried to write a novel entitled 1983 that stirred the interest of an editor or two, but I never finished it before 1983 . . . 🙂 so that idea has come and gone. Other books — I devoured the “Left Behind” series while recovering from a surgery — all thirteen of them helped pass time quickly. I’ve read a few unassigned fiction books and like James Scott Bell for suspenseful stories, and several female Christian authors, but truthfully, most of my adult life had me delving into Bible studies and nonfiction works that I could use for personal devotions or for assistance in teaching my students in Bible studies for a variety of ages. A devotional writer par excellence in my opinion is Chris Tiegreen and another would be the classic, Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest. I try to set aside time each day to read from the Bible and I want all my writing to proclaim Biblical truths in some way.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on several ideas. I’m not sure that’s the best approach, but I decided it’s kind of like being back in college where you get a little bit of time to concentrate on a few topics in depth. For me, that means I’m working on a series of children’s books I’m going to be calling “That Reminds Me,” a book of poetry and short stories my mother wrote but never published, and I’ve scheduled research at a location to learn and write about an outstanding woman who quietly influenced the lives of many children over about a fifty year period. In addition, I’m helping other writers get their work to publication and I have about a dozen other projects that wake me up in the mornings to see if it’s their turn to make it to the computer keyboard. I probably write more than I should, actually! This question has reminded me of a couple other ‘books’ that are waiting!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do appreciate websites that offer to help us authors get out the word that we are writers looking for new readers. Awesomegang has faithfully prodded me to look at what others are offering and I do appreciate their help.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Sometimes we “know” we are to write and I suspect if we don’t and we get to the end of our earth time, we’ll feel like we’ve failed to fulfill all that we were created to do. That said, though, I don’t think “success” necessarily means finagling things so that we are a best-seller. That’s possible if you’re ready to sacrifice money and respect to “make it happen”. It’s unlikely I’ll ever be well-known, but that’s not my reason for writing. Yes, I want my writing to reach those who will benefit from reading it, but that number may stay fairly small. If y/our words make life more meaningful and worthwhile for a few, we were right to write. It seems foolish to get caught up in trends and try to capture the market by betraying our hearts; for me, that means writings consistent with my Christian faith. I caution myself and others about spending too much of “life” in pursuits that can be self-serving. If life ends with our names on a shelf or two of books, but our spouse, children, relatives and friends all wonder who we were and whether we loved them, then is that worth it? Balance is key. Write from the passion of who you are — there’s not enough time to write ‘just cuz’.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself, but I know my best version of “self” requires me to rely upon the Lord’s teachings in ways that lets Him influence my heart, mind, and actions. I agree that God loves each of us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way!
What are you reading now?
We like to read when we’re on long trips, but we set out unexpectedly on the last trip, so we stopped at a Goodwill and picked up a James Scott Bell and Jan Karon book — they were great traveling companions that made the miles disappear. Other than that, I’m reading books of writers hoping to get theirs published in the near future.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Research on a nonfiction book and finishing the first children’s book in “That Reminds Me” series.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible for sure — that’s 66 books under one cover….and some device that would let me download free eBooks to find one that keeps my interest.
Author Websites and Profiles
Margery Warder Website
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