JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Stacy Hawkins Adams, author of Worth A Thousand Words
(Revell Books)

Worth A Thousand Words explores the tough decisions a young woman named Indigo Burns must make in her relationships and her career. Indigo is a recent college graduate. She is eager to forge her path in the world and pursue her dreams when she’s faced with some challenging realities that force her to grapple with who she wants to be.

Indigo realizes that you have to find the courage to accept difficult truths about yourself, and about others, before she can embrace life and love others unconditionally.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Worth a Thousand Words?

Stacy Hawkins Adams: I started with the idea of writing about a character who had everything going for her and trusted that as long as she continued to believe in God and give her best, life would be perfect. I wanted to show how such a character would persevere and mature in wisdom and in faith when life threw her a few curve balls.

Ultimately, the story boiled down to helping readers see that just as the pictures this character took as a professional photographer were worth a thousand words, so was the truth she had to embrace in her life.

JP: What sets Worth a Thousand Words apart from other novels in its genre?

SHA: I think what sets this novel apart is that while it’s a Christian fiction novel, it grapples with many mainstream issues. The characters don’t display in-your-face faith, and there’s no preaching to readers. There are no saints. The characters are real, and the issues they confront occur in someone’s life everyday.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Worth a Thousand Words getting out to the public?

SHA: This is a tough question. I guess if I truly knew the answer, I’d be on the New York Times bestseller’s list by now! Seriously though, what I hope is working is the effort I put into each novel I write to tell an authentic story that will resonate with women from all walks of life and help them see themselves in my characters.

My goal as an author is certainly to entertain, but more importantly, to have readers put down one of my books feeling as if they’ve been enlightened or changed for the better in some way. That may sound lofty, but that’s sincerely how I feel.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Worth a Thousand Words?

SHA: Because Worth a Thousand Words is my fifth novel, I’ve gotten pretty good at writing under deadline pressure, so I finished this book in about eight months. My training as a professional journalist also helps me with deadlines. I usually write first thing in the morning, between 4 and 6 a.m., several days a week, and throughout the day when I’m on deadline.

In the weeks just before a book has to be delivered to my publisher, I’ve also been known to retreat to a friend’s spare bedroom or some other haven for a weekend blitz of writing. That way I can “live” with the characters and see the book through to the end.

JP: What’s next for Stacy Hawkins Adams?

SHA: Worth a Thousand Words is the second book in my Jubilant Soul series.I’ve already written the third book, Dreams That Won’t Let Go, and it will be released in January. I’m also writing my first nonfiction book for Christian women, and that title is slated for release in Spring 2010.

http://www.stacyhawkinsadams.com/
http://www.myspace.com/StacyHawkinsAdams
http://www.facebook.com/StacyHawkinsAdams
http://www.twitter.com/SHAdams

Also:

• The Someday List placed No. 5 on the June 2009 Essence magazine bestsellers list
• Watercolored Pearls – my third novel, placed second in the American Christian Fiction Writers 2008 Book of the Year Contest
• This Far By Faith – a Christian fiction anthology nationally released in April 2008, featuring me, Kendra Norman-Bellamy and Linda Hudson-Smith,became an Essence bestseller and won an Open Book Award at the 2008 African American Literary Awards Show, in the anthology category
• Several of my previous books have been used in the fiction curriculum by high school and college professors, including at Richmond Community High School and at James Madison University

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