Meet Judy Urban-Martin, author!
Muncie Branch President is a successful author of Christian romance books. In this post, I interviewed her to learn more about her work and about Judy the author. Links in this post will direct you to her website and places where you can find her books. Enjoy!
River: What genre do you write? (Historical,
contemporary, romance, etc.)
Judy: Aside from the
frequent non-fiction writing I do, I define my genre as women’s fiction with
inspirational romance elements. My publisher calls my two current, electronic
novels, The Chronicles of Chanute Crossing, modern historical, which gives me a laugh, because they are set in
the late seventies and earlier eighties and to me, that is hardly historical!
But, in general, my stories involve a hero and/or heroine spinning tragedy into
triumph.
2. River: How does your faith affect your daily life?
Judy: My faith colors
every aspect of my daily life, for faith in God is my life. My faith
creates the woman I am, not a perfect product, just a forgiven one, by God’s
mercy. I want to be on an enthusiastic adventure with Him, through Him.
3. River: Does spirituality have a role in your story?
Judy: Several years
ago when I decided to write seriously, I remember thinking and praying about
the genre I’d write. At that time, I made a deliberate
decision to write for the Christian market. Oh, I may do an occasional
non-fiction article dealing with current issues, but my novels, and even my
non-fiction, definitely fall into the Christian category and that is a
deliberate choice. I’ve had a few eyes roll when I say Christian romance or
Christian women’s fiction, but I just smile.
Hence, there is
always a faith element of spirituality in my stories. Once, when I was in a
‘funk’ that my Christian writing wasn’t getting me anywhere, I omitted that
faith element. The agent I was pitching looked at me and asked, “Where’s the
faith element?” I felt very sheepish and have never forgotten her question. And
never left it out again.
4. River: My challenges in writing?
Judy: To me, simply
to be or want to be a writer, is a challenge and then, when I think one million
books are published a year and who am I to think I can be published, it feels
like a greater challenge to even contemplate writing. But since my purpose in
writing is to use the gifts God has given me and to glorify Him, whether I’m
ever published or not, I press on. And I enjoy.
5. River: Do you portray evil in your novels?
Judy: I do believe
evil is alive and well in our world and shall always be, because we live in a
broken world, not a perfect world. Without Christ, we humans are also broken
and prone to evil. In my stories, evil is portrayed more by self-centeredness,
destructive habits or simply separation from God in spirit.
6. River: What is your take on book signings?
Judy: I’ve had book
signings all the way from one person coming to selling quite a few books! I
won’t forget, though, the signing where a man brought me a 108 year old postcard
(in pristine condition too) that had been mailed to the town of my book’s
setting and addressed to the last name of my heroine. I cherish that postcard
and book signing memory.
7. River: Any particular person influence you in your
writing?
Judy: I don’t think I
can name one person, who has made a remarkable difference in my writing, but I
know the inspirator for my writing and that was my mother. How she ever became
a wordsmith woman with six kids to attend and the depression to battle, I’ll
never know, but she did. I have five of her yellowed manuscripts of sweet,
nostalgic love stories. Desert Breeze, in fact, offers one of them, My
Little Cabin, as a free download with purchase of my first book, Joy
Restored. Her example (and maybe her gift) has birthed several writers
in our family. Amazing to me.
Thanks, River,
for the invite to the blog. My books can
be found at the following links or at any major on line book store.
Laurie Lunsford, interactive art specialist, shared her experiences of working in the Parkview Nursing Home with Alzheimer’s and psychiatric patients. Using her own creativity in art and poetry, she has instilled purpose in the long days of the residents. Paintings created by the individuals are on display at the Maring-Hunt Branch of the Muncie Public Library during June and July. We then created limericks, funny endings to silly songs, and short poems to rhyme with our names.
After the luncheon, Cathy Day presented a lecture “Getting Your Name in the Paper: How Mrs. Cole Porter Made Her Husband Famous.” She is a creative writing professor at Ball State University.
Gwen Lattimer, a teacher from Richmond, led twelve brave volunteers in various folk dances, including a spinoff of the Virginia reel and a Jewish circle dance. While most of our meeting activities are of a sedentary nature, we were up on our feet, chuckling as we tried to remember the sequences of steps. Do we do-si-do after or before the bow? Barb Kehoe was right on track, even in her high heels.
