A few months ago, I had the pleasure of connecting with Pamela S. Thibodeaux. Like me, she's an author, though she writes fiction she refers to as “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ In December, I read her sweet, near-death (nde) story, Keri's Christmas Wish. In it, hero Jeremey uses energy healing and faith to help save Keri's life. After reading, I asked Pamela to stop by my blog and tell us a little more about herself and her books. 

How has your faith and intuition led you to be a better writer?

Years and years ago I started writing in 5-subject notebooks. Since I read romance, I wrote romance. Then one day in 1989 I recommitted my life to Christ, committed my writing to Him and I revised my stories to show the characters’ faith.

This was before I had an inkling there was such a thing as a CBA (Christian Book Sellers Association) market.

Once I found out there were Christian publishers, I started submitting only to be rejected time and time again.
I’ll admit I was clueless on how to find the guidelines and submit them back then.

After reading a book on working your rejection letters to improve your craft, I called the editor on my latest rejection letter and asked her the questions outlined in the book. Her response was, “I loved the story, but it doesn’t fit our guidelines.” (This was way back when paper submissions were a thing, and you could actually talk to someone.)

I asked her to send me the guidelines and boy, was I flabbergasted!

CBA books adhere to a very strict set of parameters like, The hero and heroine can not be alone in a house for an extended period of time. The hero never sees the heroine in her pajamas or nightgown. No curse words nor euphemisms like gosh, heck, or darn, which normally are substituted for swear words. And on, and on, and on they went.

For more years than I can count, I rewrote, revised, and resubmitted to no avail. Then one day, I found an e-book publisher who loved the stories, and thus began my publishing career.

The CBA guidelines have relaxed a bit but are still very strict. My books just do not fit the genre. I’ve said before and I’ll reiterate here: “Everything that gives God glory deserves to be praised!”

My writing isn’t better than the Christian fiction out there. Only different.

When did you start adding energy healing into your books, and how has this integrated with your faith?

I believe the first instance of energy healing in one of my books was Keri's Christmas Wish. A very dear friend of mine is an Energy Medicine practitioner and teacher, and I've been fascinated with this since I met her. As for integrating it with my faith, I believe God is delighted with the modern discoveries of science and medicine when it comes to healing the magnificent bodies He created. Learning more about the energy body helps me believe more fully in the spiritual body we're promised at the Coming of Christ or when we get to heaven.

What part of your life motivates you to show your characters reaching for their best life?

Even though I've been widowed nearly thirteen years now, I believe in happy-ever-after and that's what motivates me to help my characters find that in their own lives.

Your characters really show both sides of faith, the trust, the belief, but also the doubt and the quest to find real answers. I love how you weave this throughout your stories. When you write, do you start with a problem you want to resolve for your readers, or does it happen naturally?

I am a 100% seat-of-the-pants writer so I don't always know what problems may arise in my characters' lives, therefore they usually happen naturally within the story. In My Heart Weeps, Melena is widowed which is something I know intimately so writing her journey (which took me eight years to complete!) although not easy emotionally, wasn't hard to put to paper.

What are you working on now?

Right now, while awaiting edits for my next book (working title, Kyleigh's Cowboy, actual title TBD), I'm writing a book/series titled Women of the 9th Circle that explores the spiritual power women have when they come together with the sole purpose to pray for and heal the wounded souls of their sisters.

I'm currently promoting My Heart Weeps, a second chance women’s fiction novel about how love and faith can conquer all. Here's an excerpt: 

“Well, I'm home again. Made it through another agonizing eight hours or so, now to get through another night.”

Gathering every ounce of courage she could summon, she disembarked from her vehicle, retrieved the mail from the box beside the door, and entered the house. She thumbed through the envelopes and advertisements, then laid them on the table and poured a glass of juice. She reached for the bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever and froze.

It would be so easy to end this pain.

Oh, what an enticing thought. Just take a handful of pills and end it all. Would she wake up in heaven? Would Jesus meet her there? Would Jonathan? What about the kids or Mama—would they understand? Or would she destroy them? Where was the faith she claimed to have? Why was it failing her now?

To learn more about Pamela S. Thibodeaux, visit her website, blog, or Facebook profile. Or click on any of the covers below, where you'll find a selection of Pamela's books. Pamela is an award-winning author, the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free short story. 

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