Q&A with Colleen Coble — "The Inn at Ocean's Edge"

Can we just say… Colleen Coble was so FUN and GRACIOUS!

You guys, we had the best chat with Colleen Coble, CEO of the American Christian Fiction Writers and author of Faith.Full’s Summer Fiction Book Club pick, The Inn at Ocean’s Edge. Colleen was so gracious and kind… and generous to her loyal readers (she answered nearly every one of your questions long after the chat in the chat room)! And it was awesome to hear how her faith impacts her storytelling and the creation of strong female lead characters who are redeemed by God in some way.

Before summer comes to a close (by my count we still have 10 more days!), I want to let you know that we’re offering a last-chance deal on The Inn at Ocean’s Edge. Get the paperback for just $5.00, and we have some of Colleen’s other fiction books at up to 60% off! These deals are too good to pass up!

Here’s a snippet of my Q&A with Colleen… be sure to watch the video replay to get the full recap. Enjoy! ~ Laurie

LM: The characters in the Inn at Ocean’s Edge find themselves in such dilemmas and they make snap decisions about other people. What can we learn about their situations in this story?

CC: You know, I think we all do that — we make snap decisions and then we kind of figure out that, hey, maybe we were wrong about this. It’s kind of a caution. The Bible even talks about how we should listen and think before we speak. Our words have repercussions. It’s always wise to think things through, and my characters could have used a little more of that!

LM: One of the things I love about the novel is how you weaved your spiritual life and their spiritual lives in. It comes very naturally and not over-Christianese in language. What spiritual take-away do you want your readers to come away with?

CC: Again, that was a little piece of my own life that got woven into that because I always wanted a sister. I have three brothers — love them dearly. I’m the oldest and I mother them to death. I lost one of my brothers, but the two that are left, I still mother them relentlessly. But, I always wanted a sister. God provided that in Diane Hunt, my friend that lost her battle to ovarian cancer. And, God does that. We sometimes feel that we’re lacking in places, or things we wish we had. Problems that come up in our lives. All of these things, we can throw those up to God and say Why did You allow this? Or, why wasn’t this the way I wanted it to be? But, we’re sometimes not looking for the ways that He answers prayers and gives us what we need. It’s not always what we ask for at that time, but He always gives us what we need. And, that’s what happened to the characters at The Inn at Ocean’s Edge and that’s what’s happened in my own life. I think that any of us can look at our lives and see where God has filled in the missing places that we all have.

Questions from an aspiring authors:

KelseyG: Do you know things about the whole series before you begin? Or do you take it one story at a time?

CC: I write book by book! I don’t even know a whole lot about what’s going on in the first book let alone the whole series!

Viewer: I’ve written a book (non-fiction) that’s pretty much good to be published now. What’s next?

CC: Move on to the next book! It’s super important not to get wrapped up in that book that it’s all going to go that way. Don’t get so invested in that story that it has to be published! Move on to the next book.

LM: What about the process of editing? When you are done with a book do you just hand it off? Or what do you do from there?

CC: It’s already been edited by my critique partner, Denise Hunter. But, then from there it goes to my two editors, Amanda Bostick and Julie Schwartzberg. The editing process is huge. When someone says the book is ready… it’s not ready until it’s been edited. It just isn’t. Editing take a book to a new level. And, that’s actually my favorite part of the process. My editors just laugh because I’m always so excited when I get their letter on how to make the book better. That’s just really important. If you don’t have an editor yet, hire one!

Watch the Colleen Coble Author Chat

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Your Turn

Are you an aspiring author? Remember Colleen loves to answer mail from readers! Leave a comment on our blog about what you thought of The Inn at Ocean’s Edge. We would love to hear from you!