Interview with Chris Fabry & GIVEAWAY!! CLOSED

This giveaway is now CLOSED! Congratulations to Clair for winning.

Earlier this week I reviewed June Bug by Chris Fabry and he graciously agreed to answer a few questions for me!




1. Tell me a little about yourself and your family.

Andrea and I have been married 26 years. We have 9 children, no twins, aged 24-8 years old. It’s a full-time gig just being a dad.

2. Why did you write your books? What are you hoping to accomplish through them?

I write out of an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the way other books/stories have spoken into my own life. I want to move others the way I have been moved.

3. Do you name your characters after people you know? How did you come up with the plot?

I don’t name them after known people, but sometimes they are very familiar to me. There’s a character in Dogwood who is the spitting image of a man my family knew, at least he’s portrayed as I remember him. There’s such a depth and purity in characters from the hills, I think. No pretense. Just plain people.

4. What do you do in your non-writing time?

I host a couple of radio shows for Moody Radio, Chris Fabry Live and Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, as well as host the daily Love Worth Finding broadcast. Radio is my second love behind writing, as far as the work thing goes.

5. What is the worst job you have ever had?

I worked for a few weeks at a place called Continental Can Corporation. I have no idea what they made. I think it was cans. I was in an office answering phones and doing general secretarial work. Something about it didn’t fit with my personality. My brother always said I would be a taste tester at a dog food factory, but I never got that far.

6. Where would you like to go on vacation if $ was no object?

I love South Carolina’s beaches. I would probably go to Fripp Island and see if I could see Pat Conroy.

7. When you are writing what are the things you must have? (for example: quiet? music? chocolate? chips? pens in 6 different colours? a clean desk? a messy desk? a desk at all?) Where do you write? Do you prefer to write at a certain time of day? During a certain season?

Mornings are best for me. I get up early, between 4 and 5 and work until the email starts. I’ve never gotten into coffee and last year I gave up soda, so all I need is a good glass of water and I’m ready for the day. I can write at other times, but morning is the best, when things seem to flow more naturally.

8. Who is your favourite author and have you met them yet?

I love Pat Conroy’s stories. There’s something real and true about them, in the midst of the pain and struggle and bad language. I did get to meet him at a book signing once. It was a thrill.

9. Have you ever experienced writer's block and if so how did you get past it?

I have nine children, I can’t afford to have writer’s block. Seriously, I don’t allow myself to go there. I do get stuck at times, and that’s usually because I haven’t been true to the story, so you just pick up from where you went astray and start writing.

10. What is the best book you've ever read (other than your own of course!) or best movie you've seen?

Two novels continue to move me. The Prince of Tides and To Kill A Mockingbird. That’s what just popped into my head.

11. What training or courses (if any) did you take to become a writer?

I studied journalism at Marshall University. I thought I was going on this relentless pursuit of truth, but somewhere along the way I gravitated more to an artistic methodology. Not that journalism isn’t artistic. It certainly is. I was just made for something else.

12. When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to play for the Cincinnati Reds.

Chris Fabry is the author of two of my personal favourite books- Dogwood and June Bug. I highly recommend you read them both! Thanks for answering my questions Chris!

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This giveaway will end on August 26 th, 2009. This giveaway is open to readers in Canada and the USA.

Don't forget to enter my other giveaways too:

Win Deadly Intent by Camy Tang HERE.
Win an aden + anais hooded towel set HERE.
Win Alive Day by Tom Sullivan HERE.
Win The Unexpected Gift by Atha & Wagar HERE.
Win ready to eat meals from GoPicnic HERE.