Hello again! Here comes another Friday! And here’s a bit of trivia you probably don’t want to know. At the point I’m writing this, there are only 46 more Fridays until Christmas! I wonder what those 46 weeks are going to bring? Will we still all be in various stages of Lockdown? Or will COVID have faded into the history books? Or at least have been brought under control? Who knows? (Apart from God and He’s not telling!)
So we’re still doing a weekly chat with the authors of our fabulous boxed set, In All Things, into its second AND FINAL phase on Amazon. So if you don’t have it yet, make sure you grab it while it’s still available.
Today, we’re talking to a friend of mine, author Dianne J. Wilson—also known as Di.
Welcome Dianne!
Dianne: Thanks so much.
Shirl: So Di, out of all the topics you could have chosen for our boxed set, what motivated you to choose the theme, Seven Lights for Dark Times?
Dianne: Even though we belong to God, we aren’t immune to hard times or bad things happening to us. The big difference though is that when we are His, we get to walk through the tough times holding His hand, we get to draw on His grace and provision. Suddenly the hard times are opportunities to see Him work miracles and not just horrible deserts to endure. In each situation, He gives us what we need to overcome. I wrote my devotions to offer a fresh way of thinking about those seasons when life is hard.
Shirl: That’s a super way to look at the situation we are all in right now. And there’s no question, we all need some light in these dark pandemic times!
Light in Dark Places. Chatting with autho Dianne J. Wilson about her contribution to the boxed set, In All Things. https://books2read/InAllThings Share on XMore about Light in Dark Times by Dianne:
Shirl: What was the best thing for you about the whole boxed set process?
Dianne: Each chapter contains an analogy that needs to be rooted in Biblical Truth. I loved the opportunity to go digging through the Bible to find what His promises to us are during dark times, and then match the verses to something ordinary to help us live in the reality of what He has promised us. Researching and mulling over each chapter helped me apply His promises to my life too.
Shirl: And you did an outstanding job of doing just that. What part of the process did you find the toughest?
Dianne: The toughest part of being included in this incredible devotional boxed set was the context of my life during the time of writing. I was working a full-time job, finishing off my latest novel for a publishing deadline, as well as preparing to move home to another city. My hubby was working out of town, and our three girls were facing challenges of their own. I was severely stretched, but the team of ladies also working with me on the set were such a support to me. They carried me through the preparation phases, and dragged my deadweight along—especially when it came to marketing once the set was released!
91 Devotions, Eleven Authors, 1 book:
Shirl: Yes, we had a great group of authors. How did you find having to work alongside so many others, many of whom you’d never met? In spite of our differences? And in your case, especially given all your other issues which were many and all very time-demanding?
Dianne: We are such an interesting mixed bag! Our ages, stages of life, and depth of writing experience couldn’t be more widely spread if we tried. Between us, we represent a good cross-section of the South African faith-writing community. I found working together was an easy meshing of talents, gifting, and abilities, despite our differences. Those who knew how to do a particular task were happy to help those who didn’t know where to start. I loved seeing how our different perspectives complemented each other. It was an absolute delight to get to know the other writers.
What about our launch party?
Shirl: I’m so glad it’s been a positive experience for you despite your challenges. Let’s briefly look at the launch party. It went off amazingly. I think we could safely call it a resounding success with all the authors fully involved, and well over 800 guests in attendance. Incredible! What did you enjoy most about it? What was your own biggest challenge?
Dianne: As a young child, I was painfully shy. I can’t tell you how often I called home from parties and asked to be fetched early. Fast forward a few years (and a few more … there you go) and here’s grown-up me LOVING online parties! Facebook parties are so much fun for me for a couple of reasons.
• Food – All virtual! No baking, no mess to clean up, no calories to eat, but they look so good.
• Venue – again, it is virtual. So no last-minute scramble to clean up!
• Party clothes – I love these also being virtual! if I happen to want to party in my p.j.’s … I party in my p.j.’s!
• The best part of our online launch party though, was chatting to the readers and getting to know them all a bit better.
Shirl: Thank you so much for your input, Di, both during the party and throughout the whole experience. It’s been great chatting to you today. Let’s end with a reminder of your book and the Boxed Set it belongs to. It’s good to remind folk that it is a limited edition. We have signed it up for a further 12 week period, but then it will be taken down and split up for each author to use as they wish.
One question for you:
What is the darkest place in your life right now? And what are you doing about it?
(Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.)
Other authors in the set already interviewed:
Shirley Corder – 7 African Animals
Sunrise to Sunset- – Deryn van der Tang
What God Wants – Ashley Winter
Inspired to Worship – Ann Goodfellow
Steps of Faith – Crystal Warren
Life is Good – Yvonne Tippins
Promises to Cherish – Vida Li Sik
Saints in Lockdown – Val Waldeck
Musings from an African Garden – Anna Jensen
Reflections from the Ocean (and Surrounds) – Marion Ueckermann
Peace in Life’s Storms – Shirley Corder
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Thanks for another great interview. I really enjoyed Dianne’s book and it is lovely to hear more about the process behind it.
Thanks for the visit and comment, Crystal. I’m glad you enjoyed the book as well as the interview.
A wonderful set of devotions and so appropriate for the season we find ourselves in. I particularly enjoyed the launch party with Dianne as my “party buddy” and as an absolute introvert myself, I can relate to how she enjoyed the online experience.
Thank you Yvonne! You made a great team at the party.
It is so great to learn more about the other authors and their motivations for the devotions they chose.
It’s fun, hey Deryn? Being able to see the motive behind the choice each time.
I love the cover of your book, Dianne, and getting to know you a bit better at the Facebook party for the boxed set. Well done for getting the writing done during such a challenging time.
Thanks Vida. You’re right. It’s a lovely cover. And her devos are fabulous, ESPECIALLY in view of the challenges she faced at the time.
Thanks so much for hosting me, Shirl! It’s my hope that our boxset finds its way to those who need it most.
Absolutely. Thank you for your conversation, Di.