H. Schussman
interviews Felicia Bridges
Heidi:
So let’s just jump and get to know
you. I’ve been looking forward to this since I heard you write adventure
fiction around the very real adventure of mission work. Having been on mission
trips myself, I know it’s fodder for great stories! What genres do you write?
Felicia:
I’m releasing my first young adult
novel this spring, but I’ve previously published a couple of non-fiction
accounts in anthologies. The novel that launches May 30, 2016, CzechMate, has
been called Action/Adventure, Suspense, and Fantasy depending on the reader’s
perspective. It’s the story of a teen missionary in Prague who must prove her
parents aren’t spies before it’s too late. It’s a little like Amy Carmichael
meets Indiana Jones with a biblical worldview. It also incorporates a touch of
romance and a healthy dose of the supernatural power of God.
Heidi:
When did you start writing?
Felicia:
I’ve been
writing since I was a young Army BRAT learning to enjoy life overseas. At age
twelve, we were deployed to Taegu, South Korea, and it was really difficult
moving to the other side of the world and trying to make friends in a very
different culture. For most of my life, I’ve written to entertain myself, or to
process and cope with circumstances, or simply because a story popped into my
head and wouldn’t leave me alone until I put it on paper. I started
writing with a goal of being published about five years ago.
Heidi:
What are you working on now?
Felicia:
I’m working on
the second book in the International Mission Force series, BoliviaKnight, which
will release December 15, 2016. The series was borne out of so many
different experiences, but it was inspired by the mission trip I took with my
daughter when she was twelve. Working with a family that served on the mission
field opened my eyes to the excitement, danger and everyday challenges they
face. I wanted to write stories that would pull people into the lives of
my characters and allow them to learn about the history, culture,
landmarks and folklore of exotic places around the world while enjoying a tale
that kept them on the edge of their seat.
Heidi:
Who is your favorite character in
your stories?
Felicia:
I don’t have a
favorite. There are aspects of each of them that I love… and some aspects I’m
not so crazy about. I hope their less-than-endearing traits help readers relate
to them, not as perfect heroes, but as sinners redeemed by grace. In the end, I
hope my readers realize that they don’t have to be perfect, and that God knows
all their flaws and loves them in all their imperfection. The heroine in
CzechMate, Nicole, is especially close to my heart because she is the first
fictional character I’ve created. She has the best characteristics of my two
daughters and I love her passion for God, even though it sometimes gets her in
trouble.
Heidi:
Do you see yourself in any of your
characters?
Felicia:
I see something
of myself in each of my characters, but none of them is just like me. Often my
heroes are the me I wish I had been at their age – courageous, steadfast,
loyal, loving, independent. Frequently their flaws are the things I find most
frustrating in myself. Exploring how my characters discover their kryptonite
and destroy it encourages me as I work through identifying and submitting
various areas of my life to God.
Heidi:
Where do you write? Describe your
workspace?
Felicia:
I should have a
really great answer about how I have a special office, decorated with artifacts
from around the world, where I play alternative music and watch the sunset as I
create stories from all these exotic places. But then you would want pictures
and I’d be found out. The truth is most of my writing is done on my laptop (now
a MacBook Air that I love) sitting on our sofa in the living room, with my feet
on the ottoman and a glass of sweet tea beside me. Frequently it also involves
tuning out the TV if my family is watching something, but I’d rather be with
them than holed up in a remote corner in perfect solitude.
Heidi:
Who are your all-time favorite authors?
Felicia:
I don’t think
I’ve ever read a book I didn’t at least like, even if it wasn’t my particular
style or preference. But I do have two authors that I absolutely love. I mean
like "fan-girl, stuttering in their presence, somebody pull me away before
I embarrass myself any more” love. The first is Jerry B. Jenkins, who was the
keynote speaker at the first writer’s conference I went to. I was giddy as a
teenage girl at a Bieber concert meeting him and have been so humbled by his
encouragement over the past six years. The second is Ted Dekker, who I
understand is the keynote speaker for the ACFW conference this fall that I’ll
be attending for the first time. Hopefully I can pull it together and act my
age when I meet him, but I’m not counting on it.
Heidi:
Did you find writing a query letter
a challenge? If so, how did you overcome it? Do you think there was a key
phrase or idea in your query letter?
Felicia:
I’ve actually
never written a query letter per se. After attending writer’s conferences for
several years, meeting with various publishers and editors and pitching my
ideas, I finally had the courage this past spring to submit a proposal in
response to requests from several publishers and Vinspire Publishing offered a
contract on the first two books in the International Mission Force series based
on that proposal. By meeting with the publishers at conference, your proposal
can bypass the normal gatekeepers. However, in today’s publishing climate, that
means you must have a completed manuscript if you’re a first time author.
Heidi:
What advice do you have for a
writer aspiring to be published?
Felicia:
I highly recommend attending
conferences, and Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in
particular. The opportunity to meet with agents, publishers, editors and other
writers and to learn the craft, practice pitching, find out what the publishers
are looking for in a proposal, and network to build relationships in the
industry is worth every penny. As in any creative field, talent, hard work and
determination will only take you so far if your work never finds its way to the
desk of the person who can get it published. Writer’s conferences give you the
opportunity to meet those people face to face, to make a great first impression
on them, and to share your ideas with them even before you’ve taken the time to
flesh them out completely in order to determine if the idea itself generates
any interest. If you have what you believe to be the next great American novel,
but everyone you present it to thinks the idea is cliché, boring or
offensive, you can save yourself a lot of heartache and time by moving on to
the next great idea.
Heidi:
Would you like to acknowledge
someone for their help/assistance/faith in you/etc?
Felicia:
Absolutely! The
most important acknowledgment is to God for his grace in saving me when I was
eleven and for drawing me back to himself when I had wandered away. Any words
you read that I’ve written that are good and pure and true have come from Him.
Anything that falls flat is where I stepped in. I thank Vinspire Publishing and
Dawn Carrington, in particular, for believing in the International Mission
Force series and taking a chance on a new writer like me, and my agent, Julie
Gwinn, for her encouragement, wisdom and patience! I thank my family for their encouragement,
patience with all the time when I was in the room, but was actually thousands
of miles away, and their unconditional love. And a very special thank you to my
friend and writing buddy, Daphne, who wrangled me in to going to a writer’s
conference the first time and has been my personal cheerleader ever since.
Ways to connect with Felicia Bridges:
Adventures that Inspire Action
