Welcome Amy Wallace

Hi, Amy. Welcome to my blog. Congratulations on the release of your new book, Ransomed Dreams. Your writing captivated me from the first page. I actually had an embarrassing moment while reading Ransomed Dreams in the waiting room of my doctor’s office. It was the scene where Gracie was following the van holding her family. By the time I was called into the examining room, I was visibly sobbing. I doubt any parent can read that scene without falling apart.


What was your greatest challenge in writing Ransomed Dreams?
My greatest challenge in writing Ransomed Dreams was two-fold: the first was getting the facts of my case “right” to the best of my ability and the second was rewriting RD in two months after my first substantive edit required extensive revisions.

Getting research “right” is always tricky because the facts surrounding federal investigations aren’t a simple matter of internet research. Even with the great technical advisor I have, there are some things I just have to pray over and trust in the Lord’s guidance.


How long did it take to write?
Ransomed Dreams took six weeks to write. Now before anyone blows raspberries at the screen, I had a unique set of circumstances that enabled me to do that. For one thing, I got to play superhero and make this great dive to catch my then eighteen-month-old daughter from meeting the sidewalk with her face when she fell from our front porch. That landed me in the ER with a ripped tendon in my foot. Soon after that I had surgery, and then I was in a cast for six weeks. Two little ones and crutches are a dangerous mix, so the Lord was very good to us and enabled my husband to work from home and take care of our girls. That’s why I could write a book in such a short period of time. I’d also done all my research, FBI biography reading, and an outline well before the surgery so all I had left was the writing. And even though it was a blast to write almost every day for six weeks, it’s a scenario I’d like to never repeat.

While you were on your journey to publication, what kept you motivated?
A primary source of motivation was the community of Christian writers that I met via the American Christian Fiction Writers group. My critique and mentor groups understood when I’d give up writing for a short period of time, but they never let me stay there. God worked through their encouragement and prayers to keep my feet firmly on the path God had chosen for me.

What does your writing day look like?
I write only on Saturdays because my husband is home to hang out with our kiddos and do the errands and such that keep our home running smoothly. I slip on my writer’s cap after breakfast with my family and do a little email, including a prayer update to my awesome group of prayer warrior. Then I get to work on my chapters, letting my outline guide me into the scene and listening to the Holy Spirit tell me where to go next. Writing for fifteen hours straight allows me to immerse myself in the story and stay there until I have two or three good chapters done and am satisfied with them. I usually take a break only to eat dinner and take a walk with my family to remind them I really am still alive. I don’t think I’d do this type of schedule without homeschooling my kids though. Spending a lot of time with them during the week keeps the guilt at bay when I slip into my fiction world for an entire Saturday.

What helped you most to grow as a writer?
What’s helped me grow the most is being willing to let the Lord work on me as I write. The times I’ve tried to fight learning the lessons He has for me have been times I got so little accomplished both personally and professionally. It’s a painful process to allow the Lord to chip away at my rough edges as I’m working on my characters, but it’s been good to see there’s nothing wasted on this journey, even when I have to change directions and rewrite entire character arcs because of what the Lord was doing in my heart.

What are your goals as an author?
My biggest goal is to keep my focus on the Lord and not on my career. I didn’t step onto this path because of my desire to hold a book in my hand with my name on it. God sort of plopped me down, pointed me straight ahead, and said to walk, holding my hand and tugging almost every step of the way. Don’t get me wrong; holding my book in my hands has been a very cool part of this journey. And writing is a passion, a large part of who I am, and something I love doing. But it’s also an act of obedience. I don’t want that to change because that keeps me looking up in dependence on my heavenly Daddy.

What writing conferences do you attend?
The only writing conferences I’ve attended are the ACFW conferences from 2002 on. I missed the one in 2003 because I was eight months pregnant with an 11 pound, 8 ounce baby and there was no way they were letting me on a plane.

Milk, semi-sweet or dark?
Definitely dark. Godiva dark with mint filling to be exact. So if anyone has the prompting to run to the store or order some on the internet to send to me, please follow that direction promptly, knowing I will be abundantly thankful! Just kidding. Well, sort of anyway.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of their writing career?
Pray hard. Keep writing. And most importantly, trust and rest in the fact that God has a good plan and will give you His most perfect good gifts in His perfect time.

Thanks so much for having me over, Megan!

Thanks for stopping by to chat, Amy. It’s a pleasure to get to know you.