Sara L. Foust Interview

Q: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?
A. I have always loved fiction, so it was natural for me to gravitate toward writing it. In late 2015, I declared myself a full-time writer and quit my job. What a leap of faith that was! I met Kathy Cretsinger, owner of Mantle Rock Publishing, through an online course with ACFW and asked her if I could submit a proposal for my completed manuscript, Callum’s Compass. She said yes, asked for revisions, and then offered me a contract. She then picked up books 2 and 3 in the Love, Hope, and Faith Series, Camp Hope and Rarity Mountain. These books are Inspirational Romantic Suspense.

Q: What does your writing space look like?
A: I don’t have a set writing space, actually. My laptop goes where I go. I snag writing time on the couch, at the kitchen table, in the front yard, on the front porch—pretty much anywhere I can sit still for a few minutes.

Q: What part of a writing career do you find most difficult?
A. My life is filled with a lot of analytical and planning thinking. I have 5 children that I homeschool, with multiple therapy appointments each week and extracurricular activities. It is hard for me to switch over to my “creative brain” sometimes. I find, though, that if I listen to music, read a good fiction book, or watch some television, that helps.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Rarity Mountain: Journey to Faith?
A: Rarity Mountain tells Fern’s and Simon’s stories. Both my main characters have some big secrets in their pasts and have come to a point in life where they find themselves without a career and without much faith in other people or in God. They audition for a survival television show and head into an untouched, beautiful but daunting wilderness in East Tennessee. Over 30 days they must not only survive the physical aspect of the show but learn to rely on each other, figure out tricky clues, and discover who they are at their cores. It’s a fun story of adventure, self-discovery, and learning to have faith in mankind and God.

Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?
A: It was so fun writing a survival, adventure novel. Including the nature aspects of my beautiful home state is always fun for me. Fern, especially, has a dark secret in her past. Writing about that was really hard, but I felt it was important too.

Q: What is the main theme or spiritual message of this book?
A: Faith in God, even when we can’t see why He loves us or how He can still love us, is never a mistake. He can heal all wounds, forgive all sins, and help us learn to trust in others again too.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I have started the first book in the next series. It’s about an archaeologist who is on the search for an old pirate treasure that ended up buried somewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains called the Serafina Jones Chronicles. Book one is titled Jade Owl, and I plan for there to be at least 3 books.

Q: If you could have dinner with 2 people, who would they be?
A. I would love to sit down and just bask in the successful glow of J. K. Rowling. I love that she was a single mom struggling to make ends meet when she first wrote and published Harry Potter. Harrison Ford would be a strong second person for me. I am a huge fan!

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby?
A. Other than writing and reading, I love nature photography, camping, and just getting outside.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?
A. Being a foster mom was incredibly hard—the hardest job I’ve ever had, in fact—but incredibly rewarding.