Sunday Brunch with...Steena Holmes
Hello dear readers! This Sunday, we have the pleasure to have with us another fantastic guest. She superbly creates very emotionally moving stories.
Today, our guest is…
Steena Holmes
Steena is a NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author – author of the heart-wrenching Finding Emma Series. She currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three daughters and loves to wake up to the Rocky Mountains each morning.
Q. Describe yourself with three adjectives.
A. Creative. Stubborn. Wanderer.
Q. Can you choose three adjectives for your upcoming novel, The Forgotten Ones?
A. Secretive. Sad. Complex.
Q. What inspired you to write The Forgotten Ones?
A. The idea of secrets within a family has always interested me. From the very beginning I knew David’s story but I wanted to dive deeper into the subject of how families can fall apart because of those secrets.
Q. This year, you’ve worked on different projects, and many of your books have been published (Abby’s Journey, Charmed by Chocolate, Captured by Chocolate). How do you usually manage different kinds of works in such a short time?
A. (I’m laughing at this one) I honestly have no idea. The past two years have been hard ones for me and how I was actually able to complete 4 books and publish 3 still amazes me. I wish I could say I had a clone, but this was a year of little sleep.
Q. What author/s has/have most influenced your writing?
A. There are so many amazing writers out there! I love Julie Lawson Timmer and Kimberly Belle – when I read their stories I get lost in their beautiful words and the desire to be a stronger writer pushes me to do better. Ted Dekker showed me I could write.
Q. Is there a genre you want to experiment with?
A. Thrillers!!!
Q. What is the most difficult part of your writing?
A. Becoming emotionally attached to the story line. I place everything I have into my characters – and it can exhaust me at times. I work hard at ensuring the emotional reactions within the story are real and can be felt by my readers.
Q. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?
A. That my heart touched their heart so deep they realized it was time to let go of their pain. That made me cry.
Q. Could you share with us a habit Steena really enjoys in her daily life?
A. Coffee. Lots of coffee. Plus…it’s a guilty habit – I love to watch Stephen Colbert first thing in the morning while I’m waking up.
Q. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
A. Traveling the world! I want to rent villas in France and Italy, write stories overlooking beautiful towns and have ocean views. I want to learn push myself to be a better person. I’d always come back home to see my grandbabies (hopefully I’ll have some in 10 years).
Q. Could you share with us a happy photo of you and tell us more about that moment?
A. I’m in Paris here for the third time. There’s something about that city that calls to me! Here, I’m at the Louvre, and I was able to bring my mom and my aunt with me on this trip. I loved watching them both fall in love with a city so near to my heart.