Meet Judy Urban-Martin, author!

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!

Jude Urbanski

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.

Nurtured in Purple

And On Amazon.com!