Venturing to Other Worlds

Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror.  All she sees is a big, fat nobody.  Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school.  He’s smoking hot and totally out of her league.  She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once.  But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won’t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential.  Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

Hi Emerald. Thank you so much for visiting today. I’m super excited about your cover reveal–it’s really a great cover!

Thanks for having me!  As it turns out, this interview happened to fall during my cover reveal tour for Entertaining Angels which, I hope, your readers will check out. They can find the tour information here.

Great. I definitely plan to take a peek. Tell me a bit about where you’re from.

I’m from a small town in Mississippi, and if you want to get technical, I’m not even living in the city that’s on my home address.  I live in an even smaller community right outside of the city limits.  I was raised beside my grandpa’s cow pasture, and although I’m a bit of a country girl, I’d much rather prefer to be indoors than outside with the animals!  I guess you could say I’m more of a Southern Belle.  But, I was raised in a quiet place with hardly any neighbors, and I’m certainly not a city girl. 

A preference for the indoors must allow for lots of reading time and even the occasional movie. What is your favorite film adaptation of a book? Why?

I would have to say The Hobbit movies thus far.  Why?  Because although they’re different from the original novel, I love seeing the characters come to life.  And Smaug!  Wow, they did an amazing job with that dragon.  I also like the added details that make it more “Hollywood,” but it adds to the movie so well.

I’m a huge fan of the most recent Chronicles of Narnia adaptations. The work of C.S. Lewis actually inspired me to pursue writing. Where did you get the idea, as well as continued inspiration, for your novel?

Well, the inspiration for my novel came from a random thought that God placed in my mind and heart.  Entertaining Angels was originally meant to be a sweet, YA romance.  And although it is that, it’s much, much more.  It’s meant to inspire young woman to see themselves as truly beautiful creatures made in God’s image!  They’re daughters of the King, and it’s time that we all realize who we are in God.  This novel was fueled by that revelation, as well as some handpicked songs that I believe God wanted me to listen to in order to inspire me to keep the novel going and strong.

Who does your intended audience include? Believers and nonbelievers? In what ways do you believe your story reaches each?

I believe that it’s mainly for young adult believers, but I want unbelievers to read it as well.  As believers, we know that God loves us.  He’s told us that, and we all know the Bible verse John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  But, sometimes, we don’t see ourselves the way God sees us.  We focus on our flaws, and it’s about time that we started seeing that we’re beautiful!  God created us, and God creates beautiful things! 

I believe that nonbelievers will see the same thing as believers, but they’ll get something completely different from it.  They’ll be more than likely to take from it that it’s time to start focusing on inner beauty and strength than listening to the world.  It’s important that WE believe we’re beautiful, and I’m trying to show that through Entertaining Angels. 

Tell me a bit about your main characters. Who did you have the most fun creating? Why?

Madison Andrews is a plus sized sixteen year old who has a hard time seeing her true worth.  She is me at that age.  I wore oversized tees and jeans through high school because I didn’t feel beautiful.  I didn’t think I was beautiful.  I thought that no guy on earth could find me attractive, so I drew from real life experiences while writing Madison.  How she feels is how I felt, and I know that others have felt the same way. 

Chase Sanders is Madison’s nerdy best friend.  They’ve been best friends for a while, and he’s such an amazing support to Madison.  But Madison can’t see that.  She’s too consumed with her own life.  I fell in love with Chase while I wrote him.  He’s sweet, sensitive, and loving.  He’s like the perfect little guy.

Zach Taylor is the unexpected hottie.  He showers Madison with attention, and he proves to her just how beautiful she is.  But he has a secret, and I was so thrilled with that secret.  I can’t wait for y’all to read it!

I think that I had the most fun creating Zach.  He’s such an enigma.  He even was to me.  Although I knew his purpose in the story, he kept doing small things that I would never see coming. 

Entertaining Angels sounds very interesting. Are you planning a sequel? Please tell me a bit about it.

My beta readers will happy to know this.  Yes, I’m planning a sequel.  It’s focusing on a different teenager with a different problem, but Madison, Chase and Zach are in it.  They’re all teaming up to helping this one young girl.  I can’t say much about it right now because I’ve only written like two chapters, but I’m excited about it.  The series will be focusing on teens who are going through different problems and how God is using people around that teen to help them deal with their problems.

Share your favorite Bible verse and the ways in which it impacts your writing.

It’s hard to choose my favorite Bible verse.  But if I had to, it would be Psalm 27:14.  “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” 

Waiting probably isn’t one of my greatest virtues, but I’ve learned that all good things come to those who wait.  God has a specific plan for our lives, and each and every piece will fall together in His timing.  Yet, if we let Him, He’ll strengthen our hearts while we wait.  The only reason that I haven’t given up on writing yet is because of God.  I feel like I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen, for my labor to yield fruits, but I know that God has me here for a specific purpose, and I’m finally able to understand that now.  And I’ve seen how he’s been strengthening me this entire time.

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women.  She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it. 

She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages!   She’s constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with.  She blogs which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much!  She’s also a volunteer at the World Literary Cafe which is amazing, and she is a crazy grammar nazi who proofreads novels!

She’s an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn’t imagine spending her time in any other way! 

She’s a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person.  God is number One in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

To learn more about her visit the following links: Website, Blog, Inspiration Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google +, Amazon Author Page, Piercing Through the Darkness, Read Me Dead, Add Entertaining Angels to your Goodreads’ Lists.