Authors Supporting Authors: Laura Thomas

What is your name? 
Laura Thomas
www.laurathomasauthor.com

Where are you from?  
I am originally from the UK, but I have lived in Canada for the past 20 years.

What genre are you in?
I have books published in Christian teen fiction and marriage/ relationship non-fiction, and magazine short stories for children of all ages. All my books are published by Dancing With Bear Publishing.

 Please list your books and the year of publication.

Tears to Dancing (2012)

Tears of a Princess (2013)

Pearls for the Bride (2014)

Why are you an Author? 
Being an author is wonderfully unpredictable, a roller coaster of highs and lows, and a lot of monotonous, sheer hard work. But that moment you see your name on a shiny book cover containing words you actually wrote— it’s absolutely priceless. All writing is a joy to me. I love writing for little children, curious middle graders, searching teens, and for adults like myself journeying through life. I love that I can share my faith in written form, to weave it into novels or mold it into good morals in a young child’s short story, or encourage readers in my blog. I was a late bloomer into the world of writing, but I wouldn’t swap it for anything else. I remember the joy I found in reading a book when I was a child, and to be on the giving side of that is quite literally a dream come true.

What inspires you?
As a Christian writer, God definitely inspires me— His Word, the way He has worked in my own life and through others. He gives me a message worth writing about, and there is always so much more to tap into. I also have to say my own children have inspired me so much through the years—when I read with them as little ones, I longed to be able to write my very own stories. Parenting is the very best journey, and I glean so much from watching and walking alongside my own children. Also, my husband has been a huge inspiration, and my biggest cheerleader and supporter, enabling me to actually live my dream!

 
Where and what times during the day do you work best?  
I definitely work best during the day, as my brain tends to turn to mush past 8pm. I love to write in my study at home, and a nice, quiet house with just my English bulldog gently snoring next to me is preferable! In saying that, I’ll write anytime and anywhere under a deadline…

Who is your target audience?
My target audience is as varied as the genres I write— primarily teen girls for my published novels, newlyweds or bride-to-be for my marriage book, and children for my short stories.

How do you want your readers to feel as they read your book? 
I want to engage, challenge, and entertain anyone who reads my books. Most of my writing is faith-based with a Christian message, making it personal and thought provoking, which hopefully causes the reader to believe their time with my book was well spent. Ultimately, I would love them to feel as if the book they are enjoying has been written especially for them.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Gosh, it’s always hard to narrow it down to one piece of advice, but I think I would say to avoid putting yourself in a box. I went into writing desperately wanting to be a picture book author, writing purely for little readers. Largely as a result of taking my writing courses, I tried out writing for all ages, and ended up getting my teen novel published. I now write for every age, and have a blast doing it! Spread the net, without losing who you are as a writer, and you may just be in for a surprise!

Share one thing about yourself that you would like readers to know.
It’s never too late to begin writing… I didn’t even start until I was in my mid-thirties. The idea of being an author was a flash-in-the-pan fantasy I had as a bookworm-y child, and something I didn’t give serious thought to for many, many years. One day, out of the blue, my husband encouraged me to follow my buried dream, and even though I was home-schooling my three children at the time, I took a couple of writing courses with the Children’s Institute of Literature, and began sending short stories and articles to magazines. Many stories and several books later, it is an absolute joy to be able to call myself “A published Christian author with a heart for inspiring and encouraging readers of all ages.”