Colleen Coble talks about the Journey of the Heart serials

An interview with Colleen Coble

Author of the Journey of the Heart series

 

Colleen Coble’s Journey of the Heart series take readers back to her very first book. Revised to read as a single epic novel, the Journey of the Heart serialization launched in March (2015) with A Heart’s Disguise, and an installment will follow each month through August. In the following interview, Coble shares why this story remains so close to her heart.

Q: What made you want to be a novelist? What really kick-started your career?

I wrote my first story in first grade about a horse that had twin colts. The teacher praised it, and the dream of being a writer was planted. It went underground for a while when I started raising our family, but when my younger brother, Randy, was killed in a freak lightning storm, the dream resurrected.

Q: What inspired the story in Journey of the Heart?

My first book was really a grieving book for Randy. I wanted to write a story about him if he’d lived in the 1800s as he’d always wished. When I wrote the story, it really helped me to come to grips with my grief.

Q: What was it like to write a story that came from such a personal place for you?

It reminded me in many ways that my brother isn’t really dead. He’s more alive now in heaven than he’s ever been. And I will see him again. There are always pieces of the author in every story, and these books are a prime example of that! In the first book, Rand comes back from the dead, basically. His family thought he died in the Civil War. Even now, when I reread the part where his family realizes he’s alive, I cry.

Q: How is the new release of the series different from the original?

These books have the amazing touch of my team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing on them. With their suggestions, I’ve enhanced conflict and characterization and even changed some endings.

Q: What message do you hope readers walk away with after reading the Journey of the Heart series?

We will all have trials in our lives. Trials serve to make us stronger and to point us to the One who is always by our side, no matter what we face!

To keep up with Colleen Coble, visit www.colleencoble.com, become a fan on Facebook (colleencoblebooks) or follow her on Twitter (@colleencoble).