Marta Perry Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I’ve been writing professionally since that 1980s, so I guess that tells you something about how old I am! I began writing for children’s church school curriculum, and eventually began writing short fiction for teens and adults, especially magazines like Young Miss and Woman’s World. But my longing was always to write book-length fiction, and that opportunity finally opened up for me. I’ve written books for Zebra, Harper Collins, Love Inspired, Berkley, HQN, and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, most minutes, anyway!

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. When I was eight, and I read my first Nancy Drew book, “The Secret in the Old Clock.” I had always loved to read, but that’s the first time I realized that someone actually wrote the stories, and maybe I could do it, too.

Q: Do you find certain themes reoccurring in your books? If so, what are they and why? If not, what is the theme in your current release?
A. I often write about forgiveness, and that happens to be the theme of my current book, Amish Secrets. The ability to forgive others is completely linked to our ability to ask for and accept forgiveness.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release AMISH SECRETS?
A Rachel Hurst sacrificed the life she wanted to stay home and care for her father and siblings after her mother’s death. But now her father has decided to remarry, and there’s no room for Rachel. Desperate to find a job, she accepts the position of housekeeper for a wealthy elderly woman in her isolated mansion.

Jacob Beiler thought he had gotten over Rachel’s rejection, but when she arrives as the new housekeeper, he is battered by both joy and bitterness at seeing her again.

When odd near accidents threaten the elderly woman’s well-being, her relatives are quick to point fingers, but Rachel suspects someone is intent on harming her employer. When no one believes her, the only person she can turn to for help is Jacob. With danger deepening, Rachel faces a situation that could cost her life…and will certainly break her heart once again.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?
A. The initial idea for the story came from hearing someone talk about the difficulties of getting a job when you’ve spent off your time running a household and raising children. Although on paper it might look as if that person had no experience, in reality she was far more capable of doing a job that many people with training but no experience. That’s really Rachel’s situation in my story, and I liked seeing her confidence rise as she found that her skills could be of value to other people.

Q: Who/what has influenced your writing career the most?
A. The authors I loved as a child and a teenager—Louisa May Alcott, Phyllis Whitney, D.E. Stevenson, and similar authors. Many of those books are ones I go back and reread once in a while, just because I like visiting those worlds and characters again.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m working on the last book in the current Love Inspired series, Cousins of Lost Creek. The tentative title is A Healing Heart. I love the story idea about a woman who works with a disabled man and finds healing herself in the process.

Q: Is you were a dessert, what would it be and why?
A. After consulting with my granddaughters, we decided I’d be an apple pie, classic and traditional!

Q: Is there something about you most people wouldn’t know?
A. I used to love roller skating, though you’d never find me on skates now. I had a poodle skirt with pompoms on it that looked great with my roller skates!

Q: Is there a place you have always wanted to visit? A vacation spot, historical monument, overseas, etc?
A. I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise to the Greek Islands, and although I’ve traveled a great deal, that trip never happened. Maybe in a book!