Whatsoever Things looks like a great inspirational book with beautiful illustrations and formatting. What type of readers did you write the book for? This little gem will easily and truly appeal to an established Christian audience but could be a spark to anyone looking for a spot of positivity, beauty, and inspiration.
What do you think makes a great faith based inspirational book? I think there are two kinds of inspirational writings. There is the motivating, self-help type with good advice for improvement upon oneself, one’s life or one’s faith. And then, there is what I call “contemplative,” work. It’s more like a painting, or a song that you just enjoy. You find its beauty or some aesthetic quality to it almost mesmerizing, thus inspiring at some deep, intrinsic level. It helps you to connect with things you didn’t realize you were even missing. These kinds of projects are authentic displays of the human heart, its struggles and joys, and its best creativity to cope with it all or to try and make some kind of sense of things.
What inspired you when writing Whatsoever Things?My grandmother had a proverbial museum – I mean house, strewn about with poetry and art books. She also subscribed to bird magazines, like the Audubon Society, and other periodicals that celebrated the gentle beauty of the natural world. Many of these were laced with lovely, classical poetry or in the least, themes of prose that waxed poetic. I just remember perusing these for hours – and sometimes even copying down my favorite quotes or poems. I would trace the little scenes, especially the birds – I just found them all so lovely and inspiring. It really stuck with me as a tender memory of my childhood.