It’s been a while since I’ve interviewed an author, so I figured my 55th birthday was a great time to bring the feature back to my blog. 🙂 Today I’d like you to meet a writing friend of mine, Kathy Rouser. Here’s a little bit about her.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I came to know the Lord as my Savior when I was 21, several months after I got married and when I was expecting my oldest son. When I realized that salvation came from God’s grace, that it was from trusting completely in Jesus’s death on the cross and not from my being good, it changed my life direction completely. He has me in the palm of His hand! (John 10:27)
We were blessed with three sons, whom I homeschooled and are now grown. Faced with an empty nest sooner than I expected, I went back to school not once, but twice. The second time I received a degree in applied science, dental assisting to be more specific. I worked in that field for a while until I felt the Lord called me to focus more on my writing.
Jack and I, by God’s grace, have been married 38 years and we are thankful for each day we have together. He is my hero and my best friend.
We are on our second and third rescue cats that we got as kittens the end of last summer. We have enjoyed their antics and they are great company.
I still love to teach children. This was my sixth year of teaching a Community Bible Study children’s class and I loved it.
It sounds like you’ve had a lot of interesting experiences through the years. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
Believe it or not, I was only four years old. I couldn’t even read yet and couldn’t wait to be big enough to go to school so I could learn how. My mom read to me almost every day and I just loved books and playing make believe with my neighborhood friend, Laurie. I dreamt of writing and illustrating books, I’m thankful I’ve at least been able to write them.
Wow! You were quite young. That’s wonderful. How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing?
It’s important for the hero and heroine to have spiritual issues they are working out that are integral to their conflict. I do my best to work those in organically through interior monologue, actions, and dialogue.
Often their issues deal with trust and starting over again. A reader who is a friend of mind pointed out that I often deal with the search for identity in Christ in my characters’ lives. It was interesting, because Talia Sampson in Flying Into Love was my first conscious attempt to frame part of her journey in that way. She’s had lots of things thrown at her—being a caretaker for her dying aunt, taking over her aunt’s advice column under her Aunt Violet’s name, inheriting a large old home, and really becoming a substitute parent for her niece with Down Syndrome. She wonders who she is in the midst of this chaos.
The hero, Ben Tanner, as well, comes back from his last tour in Afghanistan to civilian life. He’d been in the foster care system through most of his childhood, so for him, he wonders what and who he is coming home to.
So you see, they are both figuring out their roles as adults and just how deeply they need God’s guidance. I’m sure this reflects my journey as I’ve had quite a few difficult things thrown at me the last several years. And it’s been a great adjustment to transition to an empty nest, especially since I was used to having my kids here all the time. Sometimes I ask the Lord where He is in the midst of it all? And am I where He wants me to be? I’m still learning how to trust Him more completely one day at a time—some days better than others.
That sounds interesting. What is your favorite Bible verse and why?
Lamentations 3:23 – Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (NLT) I’m so glad the Lord’s mercies are new every morning! It is a relief to know each day is a new day filled with new mercies. 
Amen! I’m thankful for that too. What is the farthest place from home that you’ve traveled?
Seoul, South Korea in 2006. I went with a good friend to help her bring her precious toddler son, to his forever home here. Seoul is 6,750 miles away from my home in southeast Michigan. It was an amazing week-long trip which I enjoyed very much.
I’m sure you have some great stories and memories from that trip. Apart from writing, what is your favorite creative outlet?
I have more than one. I love to bake, but with just my husband, Jack, and myself at home, I try to not bake too often. And I love to design and make jewelry. There’s a theme here—I get to play around and am rewarded with a finished product much more quickly than when I write! I also enjoy knitting.
I’m a knitter too. Do you have a blurb for the book?
Here’s the boxed set blurb:
Love is in the Air
This collection of five brand new romances is sure to send your heart soaring. Journey from Canada to Georgia and Colorado to Paris by way of Michigan as these couples find love is in the air. All they had to do was look up.
And for my story:
Flying Into Love
Unable to say no when others need her, Talia Sampson took on her deceased aunt’s advice column and the care of her special needs niece. Then new veteran, Ben Tanner, shows up unexpected on her doorstep. Hurt many times, he wonders where home is. Talia isn’t happy finding a hot-air balloon with him, but she treasures the old journal with it. Ben hopes restoring her family’s antique will please her, until he discovers a secret that shatters his trust. And Talia hates flying.Â
 Will she trust God—and Ben—enough to go airborne?
Great! Thank you for stopping by today. Where can readers learn more about you?
Social media and buying links
Website: http://kathleenrouser.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenRouser
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kerouser/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathleen-rouser
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7427871.Kathleen_Rouser
Buy link for Flying Into Love:
https://books2read.com/u/3LDxaD?fbclid=IwAR1yIyEtlq9uvkMQaCBBxL0u5Eaz18XvDtmFSGMrDgOsFjpaeTCkLlvwUik
My Amazon page with links to all my books: https://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Rouser/e/B00P3BR662?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1587786152&sr=8-1
