Please help me in welcoming my good friend and fellow author, Sally John.

Sally, it’s so good to have you back!
As always, Debbie, it’s a pleasure to chat with you. Thank you!

Let’s jump right in.

Sally, you write books about all kinds of relationships. What inspired you to get into this type of writing?
Years and years ago, when I first began writing fiction, I wrote sweet romance because I enjoyed reading it and it was easy and fun for me to outline: boy meets girl, they fall in love, a problem keeps them apart, the problem is solved, they marry and live happily ever after. The End.

It suited me. Although I enjoy reading suspense and historical fiction, I wasn’t interested in writing those. I didn’t want to solve a mystery or research World War II. My heart was in contemporary, everyday stories about people.

There will always be a place for the Cinderella story, but I began to want to get a bit more real. After the story is said and done, what will this happily-ever-after marriage look like? If they have children, what will life be like? When difficulties arise, what will they do?

And so I began to throw in other situations. For example, in A Journey by Chance, we have not only the budding romance between Gina and Brady, we have her married parents Maggie and Reece struggling through a midlife crisis. We have small-town dynamics influencing how everyone relates.

At a writers conference, I heard a bestselling author talk about The Relationship Novel. She described exactly what I was trying to do: develop relationships of all kinds (family, friends, married, single, young, old) and let the characters grow through them. It was great to have a “name” for my brand.

Where did your love of books/writing/storytelling/reading come from?
My mother read to me from Day One. ☺ She loved books and then I loved books. The love of writing grew from difficult situations. When we encounter pain in our childhood, we may need to separate ourselves from it by imagining different stories than the one we are living. Imagination is a gift and for whatever reason I unwrapped mine and owned it. I spent a lot of time daydreaming! Writing for English classes – essays, stories, poems, term papers – was a source of great joy.

What Scriptures do you stand on that make you know like you know that you are called to write?
Psalm 57:7-11 (with some personal tweaks since I don’t sing for others or play a harp):

“My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready; I mean to sing and play (and write!) for you, awake my muse, awake lyre and harp (and laptop!), I mean to wake the Dawn. Lord, I mean to thank you among the peoples, to play music (and write stories!) to you among the nations; your love is high as heaven, your faithfulness as the clouds. Rise high above the heavens, God, let your glory be over the earth!”

How do your books relate to your love for God?
Another gift I’ve sensed for quite a long time is knowing deep down – in that place where there are no words – that I am loved and accepted. A more articulate description of this is found in Brennan Manning’s Abba’s Child, a book that changed my life.

In my stories I try to convey through characters this abstract concept of being unconditionally loved by God. I suppose this is how the books relate to my love for God, my way of giving thanks. I use the talent of storytelling to show how completely we are loved and accepted and welcomed, to express hope and healing. Sometimes it’s like trying to put a door handle on a puff of air. ☺

Please tell us a little about your newest release, Heaven Help Heidi.
The setting is the same as in Between Us Girls. In a fictional San Diego neighborhood, the Casa de Vida (House of Life) is a group of cottages situated around a courtyard, home for a dozen or so people. In the first book we meet Liv, the owner, and her tenants. They all make appearances in this story that revolves around Piper and Heidi.

In Heaven Help Heidi,Heidi is the newcomer, a real-estate agent at the top of her game until a car accident rearranges her entire life. She is acquainted with Piper, who brings her into the Casa fold.

Piper is emerging from the difficult years following her fiancé’s death. She takes hesitant baby steps to reconnect with people, to trust again.

Although Liv is the older wise mentor/grandmother figure, she faces a difficult personal situation herself.

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
As I mentioned above, it’s all about unconditional love and acceptance. ☺ Heidi’s security is in financial success and a house. Piper is fearful and vulnerable. Liv revisits a shame she hadn’t dealt with yet. By the end of the story, all three women have shown examples of God never being finished with healing us and of always creating something new in our lives. They’re in a space of love and acceptance.

Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
I didn’t wander too far from family and friends. My sister knows real estate, my adult kids know technology and young people’s vocabulary.

I was researching physical injuries for Heidi, something that would take time to heal and that would totally throw her routine out the window. A broken femur fit the bill. The more I read, the more I realized that the injury sounded familiar. I had one of those “duh” moments. A nephew had experienced a broken femur some years before. It was terribly painful and scary and is ongoing. Like Heidi, he’ll always live with that rod in his leg. He graciously shared his firsthand account and answered all my spur-of-the-moment questions. Those insights would have been impossible to get elsewhere.

Give us an interesting fun fact about your book or series.
Seaside Village is loosely based on coastal communities in San Diego’s North County—Well, except for the pier. That really isthe Oceanside Pier. (Although the real restaurant at the end is 1940s, not my 1950s, style…)

I created the Casa de Vida – the complex of cottages – using typical Southern California characteristics: stucco walls, semi-tropical plants, fountains, courtyards, 1920s construction. I drew a diagram of it (which I often do for towns or homes in my stories).

It was all lovely in my imagination, but I really wanted a visual. At some point in the writing, I went for a long walk through my community, down many side streets, noting aspects of plants and buildings that fit. I saw flat-roofed cottages that worked, but they weren’t grouped quite right nor were there enough joined together on one site.

Suddenly there it was! The Casa’s walled-in courtyard with huge plants spilling over the wall and tables with red umbrellas scattered about! Fortunately the locked gate wasn’t wooden like the Casa’s and I could see through it. On two sides of the courtyard was an L-shaped, two-story building (apartments?) rather than my cottages, but it gave me a better sense of place that helped tremendously in the writing process. I was so thrilled I stood there on the sidewalk and laughed.

Another one… As I was working on Between Us Girls, my editor (always a great source for ideas) said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to bring back (so-and-so)?” She named a character from The Beach House Series. I had no plans for this to happen, but the seed was planted. This person did not walk onto the pages of the first book, but came along as I wrote Heaven Help Heidi. I think readers of the old series will enjoy spending time with this character again.

Sally, what projects are you working on at present?
Actually I’m listening at this point for what comes next. We don’t have plans to do another story in the Family of the Heart Series at this time. As always, though, stories swirl in my imagination. Also, I have thoughts about a nonfiction book, a collection of essays about life in general. That sounds boring! LOL.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know, Sally?
Just how much I appreciate their support and encouragement! Every short email or note touches my heart.

And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and inspire us?
[In this scene, Piper and Heidi have met for the first time since the accident. Until now, they’ve only been acquaintances but Piper’s heart goes out to Heidi who cannot yet resume work, driving, or living at home on her own. However she denies she is in need of any help. The power of relationship begins here:]

                What Piper noticed was how much Heidi had changed from the last time they’d seen each other. Heidi had never been gaunt, hesitant, negative, forgetful, or disheveled. Her injuries—the V-shaped scar on her left cheek, the limping gait, the stories of her spleen and leg—made Piper want to cry.

                They made her want to gather her into the Casa de Vida fold.

[They go to the Casa where Heidi meets Liv:]

                “Liv, this is Heidi Hathaway and she needs a home without stairs.” Piper nearly bubbled over with excitement.

                Heidi said “What? No, I don’t. A home? Not really.”

                “Just temporarily.”

                Liv pointed to the crutches. “Did you get hurt?”

                “Car accident. I’m living with my parents until I can drive again and live in my multilevel condo. The crutches will go any day now. I don’t need them all the time like at first…” Her voice trailed off.

                Piper said, “But it’s not the best situation. I get it, Heidi. I could never ever live with my parents again. And this place is perfect. One-story cottages. Wonderful neighbors. The downtown is a short, flat walk away.”

                “I’m really fine.”

                Piper resisted pointing out the obvious ways she was so not okay. “Liv, can we at least show her Cottage Three? It’s empty and clean and ready.”
                …
                Piper found Jasmyn in the office, behind the big desk, working on the computer. She was Liv’s right-hand woman, an unofficial assistant.

                “Piper, hi.” She grinned.

                “Hi. I brought home a stray.”

                Jasmyn nodded at Liv’s RagaMuffin curled up on one of the pink floral chairs. “A cat friend for Tobi?”

                “A woman friend for us.”

                “A woman! Really and truly?”

                “Yes. Liv said we can—”

                “Show her Number Three! On it.” She pulled open a drawer, took out a key, and did a pump fist. “It’s my first time.”

                Piper laughed. “Her name is Heidi and she says she doesn’t want to move.”

                “But you think…?”

                “She has no idea how healing this place is.”

                “And she’s like we were when we first arrived.”

                “Mm-hmm. Hurting and oh-so-needy.”

Sally has graciously offered to give away TWO copies of Heaven Help Heidi, so tell your friends to join us and enter the drawing! If you'd like to win a copy, use my Contact page and type "drawing" in the comments box. The deadline is April 24th.