Tamera Alexander is the Christy Award-winning and bestselling author of numerous books, including Colors of Truth, With This Pledge, A Lasting Impression, A Note Yet Unsung, To Whisper Her Name, and more. Her richly drawn characters and thought-provoking plots have earned her devoted readers worldwide.
It’s a special pleasure to host Tamera again on Divine Detour. As young writers (we’re still young!) many years ago, we were both members of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers. Tamera’s successes have multiplied exponentially since then… And she just keeps doing it over and over.
Tamera and her husband make their home in Nashville, where they spend time with their adult children and grandchild, who live nearby. Add two rambunctious, but lovable Australian Terriers to the mix and life for them is full and rich!
If someone asked you to describe yourself with one word, what word would that be?
I’d kindly remind them there’s a reason I write 150,000 word books, then wish them a very good day. 🙂
In this story, your characters experience a number of unexpected detours, which ultimately become blessings. Typically, when you begin writing a book, do you write toward an expected end with all of the character’s twists and turns already in mind? Or does your story sometimes take a turn that surprises even you?
Definitely the latter. One of the best things about writing are those moments that even you didn’t see it coming. When you get to a scene you’ve envisioned for several weeks and yet one of the characters simply will not do what you’d planned. Because they’ve grown through their experiences and therefore wouldn’t make those pre-plotted choices. I love that. Of course, it’s frustrating as all get out and always demands rewriting and replotting, but it’s one of the signs that my story has taken on a life all its own.
Let’s talk about A Million Little Choices (Focus on the Family, November 2023). Please tell us about it.
It’s a story that’s been inside me for over fifteen years. A story about two women from different centuries living in the same house who share strikingly similar journeys. And a story I’m thrilled to have finally put on the page!
Sometimes secrets just won’t stay hidden . . .
Claire Powell’s life is turned upside down when her beloved husband admits to a “near affair.” But when Stephen accepts a partnership with an Atlanta law firm without consulting her and buys a historic Southern home sight-unseen―it pushes their already-fractured marriage to the breaking point. Claire’s world spirals, and she soon finds herself in a marriage she no longer wants, in a house she never asked for.
In 1863, Charlotte Thursmann, pregnant and trapped in a marriage to an abusive husband, struggles to protect her unborn child and the enslaved members of her household. Desperate, she’s determined to right the evils her husband and others like him commit. But how can one woman put an end to such injustice? Especially if her husband makes good on his threat to kill her?
Both Claire and Charlotte discover truths about themselves they never realized, along with secrets long hidden that hold the power to bring God’s restoration―if only they choose to let it.
A few fun questions…
What Bible passage or story best describes your journey of faith?
A passage I’ve clung to for years, that the Holy Spirit consistently brings to mind, is Hebrews 12:1-2a: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
First, God has set a unique race for each of us to run. Our races may look different, but be assured that God is the author of all. And every “no” along the way is really part of His final “Yes!” when His perfect timing is reached.
Secondly, it’s all about Jesus. From beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation…it’s Jesus! You can’t truly understand who Jesus is without understanding His Jewishness and without understanding the history of the Land. To that end, I highly recommend any and all of Lois Tverburg’s books about Rabbi Jesus, and also the recently released Rediscovering Israel by Kristi McLelland (Oct 2023). Life-changing and faith-deepening reads.
Your books also encourage and inspire readers. What most encourages and inspires you?
The Living Word and the Word of God. For years I prayed that God would increase my desire for His Word, and He has. And I’m so grateful.
Who is your writing hero, one you’ve met and one you haven’t met?
I’ve had many “in the flesh” writing mentors through the years along with people whose writing I have studied and greatly learned from, but I’ll choose not to single any one of them out. They know who they are and that I’m so grateful for them. But one “writing hero” I didn’t get to meet this side of eternity that I look forward to knowing in the next, is Catherine Marshall. I’ve read her beloved Christy so many times through the years. And I actually wrote A Note Yet Unsung, a Belmont Mansion novel, with Christy in mind. You might say it was my ode to Christy, a way of honoring Catherine Marshall for her influence in my faith and in my writing. So you can imagine that when A Note Yet Unsung won a Christy, well, it was doubly special.
Thanks, Tamera! It’s nice to have you back at Divine Detour.
Thanks for the kind invitation to join you again. Y’all are a pleasure, and I appreciate all you do for Christian Fiction!
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