Conversations

Karen Kingsbury, 38, a best-selling Christian-fiction writer, lives in Vancouver, Wash., with her husband, Don, and their six children. Currently, there are more than 1.2 million copies of Kingsbury’s books in print. Having just completed her latest bestselling book, Halfway to Forever, the sequel to Waiting for Morning and A Moment of Weakness, Kingsbury spoke with Kirk Noonan, associate editor, about her faith, family and career.

EVANGEL: What are some ways you include God in your day?

KINGSBURY: It starts in the morning with reading the Bible, praying and a quiet time with Him. We fill our home with Christian music. I feel closer to the Lord when I surround myself with His words and music.

EVANGEL: How did you start writing books?

KINGSBURY: It was an amazing answer to prayer. I worked for a newspaper and did freelance work for People magazine when we learned we were going to have a baby. Don was still in college and I was heartbroken because I was going to have to work after I had our baby. But Don said we needed to pray for a way for me to work at home. So we did. An agent in New York, who had seen a story I had written for People, called and asked if I wanted to write a book based on an article I had done. I wrote a proposal, sent it in, the agent said he loved it and then I didn’t hear from him for many months. But he called eight days before my maternity leave from the newspaper ended, and said my proposal started a bidding war. A publisher offered me a contract that was three times my annual salary and I got one-third of the publisher’s offer when I signed the contract. After taxes and agent fees, the advance was exactly $12.79 more than my annual salary. The next day I quit my job at the newspaper.

EVANGEL: What are the ingredients of good Christian fiction?

KINGSBURY: Before I started writing Christian fiction I worried there would be no way I could write in the genre because characters might have to be perfect, always hitting their knees at the right time and always having the right response. That’s great in theory, but that’s not always where we find ourselves in reality. My goal has been to write fiction with real people who make good and bad choices.

EVANGEL: Is writing a ministry for you?

KINGSBURY: I am first an evangelist, by nature. I try to write stories that touch and soften readers’ hearts, making them more open to God’s calling in their lives. I pray that readers’ lives will be changed after reading my books.

EVANGEL: Why did you commit your life to Christ?

KINGSBURY: After I met Don I realized he was a person searching for the Lord. He didn’t drink or do drugs; he wanted a pure relationship and he told me that he would always love God more than he loved me. At the time I didn’t think that a very romantic sentiment — but ultimately it has been the reason our marriage has been so beautiful. His faith in Christ led me to the Bible. God spoke to me through the Scriptures — it was such a new experience that it was life changing and I accepted Christ as my Savior.

EVANGEL: What brings you the most satisfaction in life?

KINGSBURY: Far and away the most satisfying things for me are my relationships with the Lord, my husband and my children.

EVANGEL: Your family adopted three little boys from Haiti; how has that changed the Kingsbury household?

KINGSBURY: They haven’t changed the way we do things, but the activity in our home has certainly increased. Our home is more exciting, happy and fun because of the blending. Only God could have made it this smooth.

EVANGEL: What is your favorite Scripture?

KINGSBURY: "His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22,23, NIV). I try to use this in every book I write.