1 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,080 S1: Welcome to a Friday edition of Chris Fabry Live. The 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,160 S1: day after Thanksgiving. Oh, hope you had a great celebration 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,640 S1: with your family yesterday. And if you were alone, friend, 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,600 S1: that God met you in that place. We continue this 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,440 S1: season with a conversation about our gratitude for stories that 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,080 S1: stick to our soul, stories that show us the grace 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,880 S1: and mercy and forgiveness that we have in Jesus. And 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,400 S1: I have asked a friend to come along today who 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,959 S1: won an award a couple of weeks ago, actually two awards. 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,400 S1: She's going to share her heart with you, and a 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,920 S1: story that bubbled up from the basement of time. Let's 12 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,920 S1: get started. First with a thank you. Since we try 13 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,080 S1: to be thankful every day, thank you to our team 14 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,000 S1: behind the scenes today. Since we're recorded, we are going 15 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,200 S1: to thank Ryan McConaughey for all things technical. Tricia McMillan 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,920 S1: is our producer. Thank you, Tricia for your tireless work. 17 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,070 S1: Chris Seaguard is helping out behind the scenes as well. 18 00:01:00,790 --> 00:01:03,029 S1: Because we are recorded today, we're not going to do 19 00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:07,789 S1: a Friday size. So what? You cannot do a Friday 20 00:01:07,830 --> 00:01:10,830 S1: sigh on the day after Thanksgiving. All right, here we go. 21 00:01:10,870 --> 00:01:13,589 S1: That's right. It's time for the fabulous favorite Friday. Sigh 22 00:01:13,630 --> 00:01:16,070 S1: here's what it does one. We oxygenate your blood. Two 23 00:01:16,110 --> 00:01:20,030 S1: we get your endorphins going. Three we raise your serotonin level. 24 00:01:20,030 --> 00:01:24,830 S1: Four we promote lymphatic drainage. And five we stimulate your 25 00:01:24,870 --> 00:01:28,630 S1: parasympathetic system. That's why we call it the five lung languages. 26 00:01:28,990 --> 00:01:32,830 S1: We also stimulate your vagus nerve. We help you release acetylcholine. 27 00:01:32,830 --> 00:01:36,550 S1: And don't you dare forget what it does to cortisol dissipation. 28 00:01:36,750 --> 00:01:38,789 S1: Take in four seconds of air through your nose, hold 29 00:01:38,790 --> 00:01:41,310 S1: it for seconds, and then as you release that air 30 00:01:41,350 --> 00:01:43,870 S1: through your mouth, push on the left side of your 31 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:46,310 S1: rib cage to get rid of all that bad carbon 32 00:01:46,310 --> 00:01:49,910 S1: dioxide today. Give a sigh for the stories that stick 33 00:01:49,910 --> 00:01:53,630 S1: with us, the characters in those stories that inform our lives. 34 00:01:53,630 --> 00:01:55,870 S1: Have you ever read a novel or seen a film? 35 00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:58,780 S1: Or a bit of dialogue comes back to you from 36 00:01:58,780 --> 00:02:03,300 S1: Gandalf and Frodo or what Wilbur and Charlotte talked about. 37 00:02:03,740 --> 00:02:06,020 S1: Why did you do all this for me? He asked. 38 00:02:06,020 --> 00:02:08,980 S1: I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you. 39 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:13,139 S1: You have been my friend, replied Charlotte. That in itself 40 00:02:13,139 --> 00:02:17,020 S1: is a tremendous thing. Or this from Lewis Carroll. It's 41 00:02:17,020 --> 00:02:19,820 S1: no use going back to yesterday because I was a 42 00:02:19,820 --> 00:02:24,700 S1: different person then. Today's fabulous Baby Friday Size celebrates the 43 00:02:24,700 --> 00:02:28,340 S1: stories that stay in the heart. All rights reserved. Void 44 00:02:28,340 --> 00:02:32,660 S1: where prohibited. Here's another one I'm not afraid of storms, 45 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:35,780 S1: for I am learning how to sail my ship. That's 46 00:02:35,780 --> 00:02:40,260 S1: from Louisa may Alcott and Little Women. And here's another quote. 47 00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:43,580 S1: Come in. Come in and know me better, man. You 48 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:46,700 S1: know who said that? Yeah. The ghost of Christmas present 49 00:02:46,700 --> 00:02:50,380 S1: in Dickens A Christmas Carol. And today is my last 50 00:02:50,380 --> 00:02:52,500 S1: day to give you the opportunity to give a gift 51 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:56,100 S1: of any size to this program. And receive the delightful 52 00:02:56,100 --> 00:03:00,210 S1: little Christmas carol coloring and activity book. That's right. This 53 00:03:00,210 --> 00:03:04,850 S1: offer ends this weekend, so click through today. Chris Fabry 54 00:03:04,889 --> 00:03:09,329 S1: Live for my heart in offering this. The vision that 55 00:03:09,330 --> 00:03:13,530 S1: I have is the peace, the calm, the tranquility of 56 00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:17,530 S1: a child or grandchild. Not on a screen, but with 57 00:03:17,530 --> 00:03:21,609 S1: crayons or markers or colored pencils hovering over a page 58 00:03:21,610 --> 00:03:26,570 S1: in this soft cover book. Coloring inside the lines, completing 59 00:03:26,570 --> 00:03:30,290 S1: the jumbles, the crosswords, the word searches as they interact 60 00:03:30,290 --> 00:03:35,370 S1: with that timeless story of transformation. Go to Chris Fabry lives. 61 00:03:35,930 --> 00:03:38,890 S1: You'll see the 32 page book right there. It's our 62 00:03:38,890 --> 00:03:41,330 S1: thank you for just a couple of more days to 63 00:03:41,330 --> 00:03:49,410 S1: hurry Chris Fabry live. Usually on the day after Thanksgiving, 64 00:03:49,410 --> 00:03:52,290 S1: we play a best of broadcast, something that's kind of 65 00:03:52,330 --> 00:03:54,970 S1: light and fun. But a couple of weeks ago, I 66 00:03:54,970 --> 00:03:58,000 S1: had the opportunity to host the Christy Awards, and we 67 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,040 S1: celebrated some really great stories that were nominated that night 68 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,800 S1: and that won the awards. There were nine categories, and 69 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,120 S1: there was one honorary award, and then there was the 70 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,520 S1: book of the year. So let me just read the winners. 71 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,440 S1: We'll put a link to this on the website at. 72 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,520 S1: The amplify Award, which is an honorary Christy, went to 73 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:26,520 S1: Rhonda McKnight for Bitter and Sweet in contemporary romance. Nicole 74 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,760 S1: Deas won for her story The Roads We Follow. Amanda 75 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,080 S1: Wright won first novel for Dark Fell in the general 76 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,520 S1: fiction category. It was Between the Sound and Sea by 77 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:47,880 S1: Amanda Cox. Historical romance Jamie Ogle won for As Sure 78 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,839 S1: as the sea in the category mystery suspense thriller. They 79 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,750 S1: need three words for that category. Night falls on Predicament 80 00:04:56,750 --> 00:05:01,550 S1: Avenue by Jamie Joe Wright in the short form category. 81 00:05:01,589 --> 00:05:06,830 S1: Susie Finkbeiner won for a daffodil in the dress. There's 82 00:05:06,830 --> 00:05:12,790 S1: a speculative category this year, won by JJ Fisher for memoria. 83 00:05:13,750 --> 00:05:17,230 S1: The young adult category was won by Lindsay Llewellyn for 84 00:05:17,230 --> 00:05:23,390 S1: the Chaos Grid. And in the historical category, there was 85 00:05:23,390 --> 00:05:28,229 S1: a tie between Michelle Shockley, All We Thought We Knew 86 00:05:28,750 --> 00:05:33,790 S1: and Amanda Dikes, born of gilded mountains. So those were 87 00:05:33,790 --> 00:05:38,070 S1: all the winners of the Christy Awards, except for the 88 00:05:38,070 --> 00:05:41,589 S1: Christy Book of the year, which is taken from all 89 00:05:41,630 --> 00:05:44,789 S1: of those that I just read. They choose the the 90 00:05:44,830 --> 00:05:47,549 S1: book of the year, and that book of the year 91 00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:53,460 S1: was all we thought we knew by Michelle All Shockley. 92 00:05:53,820 --> 00:05:56,620 S1: And on that night there was a storm in Nashville 93 00:05:56,660 --> 00:06:00,580 S1: on that Friday night. Michelle, you you had to go 94 00:06:00,580 --> 00:06:04,580 S1: to another location in order to to log in and 95 00:06:04,580 --> 00:06:06,660 S1: to watch this whole thing, right? 96 00:06:07,260 --> 00:06:11,060 S2: Yes. I was at home on my own computer, on 97 00:06:11,060 --> 00:06:14,239 S2: my own internet, and the storm came through about two 98 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,260 S2: minutes before you started the live, um, gala. And so 99 00:06:19,540 --> 00:06:24,020 S2: the our power flickered. My internet was gone. I was 100 00:06:24,020 --> 00:06:26,620 S2: in a panic, even though at that point, I certainly 101 00:06:26,620 --> 00:06:28,099 S2: didn't know that I was going to win anything. I 102 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:31,180 S2: just wanted to participate because it's such an honor. And 103 00:06:31,180 --> 00:06:34,380 S2: so my hero has been loaded me up in our truck. 104 00:06:34,380 --> 00:06:36,419 S2: We were soaking wet because we don't have a garage, 105 00:06:36,779 --> 00:06:39,420 S2: and we had to drive up the hill about a 106 00:06:39,420 --> 00:06:42,180 S2: mile to our boss's house, where they have a generator 107 00:06:42,180 --> 00:06:45,659 S2: about the size of Texas. And I, I finished everything 108 00:06:45,660 --> 00:06:47,860 S2: up there, but I was wet, I was nervous, I 109 00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:50,180 S2: was rattled. And so it was quite a night. 110 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:53,570 S1: Yes. It was. And you had no idea that you 111 00:06:53,610 --> 00:06:55,450 S1: were going to win. Well, you didn't know that you 112 00:06:55,490 --> 00:06:59,210 S1: were going to tie. For, you know, the historical category. 113 00:06:59,210 --> 00:07:00,890 S1: And then when book of the year. That was a 114 00:07:00,890 --> 00:07:02,170 S1: real surprise, wasn't it? 115 00:07:02,490 --> 00:07:05,330 S2: Oh my goodness, I was shocked. As I said, it's 116 00:07:05,450 --> 00:07:07,850 S2: it's just an honor to even have a book in 117 00:07:07,850 --> 00:07:10,690 S2: the Christie's available for Christie's, and then to have it 118 00:07:10,690 --> 00:07:13,490 S2: final is such a wonderful thing. And so I knew 119 00:07:13,490 --> 00:07:17,450 S2: I was up against two other amazing authors with amazing books, 120 00:07:17,450 --> 00:07:19,810 S2: so it was very much a surprise. 121 00:07:20,290 --> 00:07:23,330 S1: And what you just said about that, uh, that I 122 00:07:23,610 --> 00:07:29,250 S1: find that writers, what they're looking for is will somebody 123 00:07:29,290 --> 00:07:32,170 S1: see my work? It's almost like a parent with a child. 124 00:07:32,210 --> 00:07:35,210 S1: It's like, well, somebody see my child? Well, somebody well, 125 00:07:35,250 --> 00:07:38,610 S1: somebody noticed in school, you know, pick them out and 126 00:07:38,610 --> 00:07:42,850 S1: just see something about them. And, and a nomination for 127 00:07:42,890 --> 00:07:46,130 S1: like this for the Christie book, uh, for the historical 128 00:07:46,130 --> 00:07:49,090 S1: category or the book of the year that shows you 129 00:07:49,090 --> 00:07:53,239 S1: that somebody saw the quality of work that you did 130 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,520 S1: every day, right? 131 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,880 S2: That is it. Exactly. And you know, I have been 132 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,080 S2: doing this writing for publication for a while now, for 133 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,000 S2: several years, when my kids were little and they're in 134 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,200 S2: their 30s now. And so I feel like I've always 135 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,720 S2: been chasing something, I guess you would say, and I 136 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,600 S2: understand now that I didn't need to chase it. God 137 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,440 S2: was going to do what he was going to do 138 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,800 S2: when he was going to do it. And so that 139 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,720 S2: it is a beautiful thing to have somebody see your work, 140 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,840 S2: your hard work and say, wow, that's a pretty good book. 141 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,800 S1: Yeah, that's that speaks to me and probably somebody who's listening. 142 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:38,360 S1: Are you chasing something that really only God can do? 143 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,320 S1: I want to come back and talk about that with 144 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,160 S1: Michelle Shockley, who won the Christie Book of the year. 145 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,440 S1: All we thought we knew. We have it linked at 146 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,869 S1: the website. Chris, we've got a link to her website 147 00:08:49,870 --> 00:08:52,470 S1: as well, and you can see all of the award 148 00:08:52,470 --> 00:08:55,990 S1: winners for this year's Christy Awards. We'll have a link 149 00:08:55,990 --> 00:09:01,069 S1: for that as well. Just go to Chris. Chris for 150 00:09:01,750 --> 00:09:13,630 S1: more straight ahead on Moody Radio. Thanks for joining us 151 00:09:13,630 --> 00:09:16,470 S1: today on Chris Favorite Live. Our programs recorded don't call 152 00:09:16,470 --> 00:09:18,990 S1: us today, but stay with us. We got a great 153 00:09:18,990 --> 00:09:21,390 S1: story for you. The Christy Book of the year is 154 00:09:21,390 --> 00:09:25,270 S1: written by Michelle Shockley. All we thought we knew. It's 155 00:09:25,270 --> 00:09:28,550 S1: in the historical category and you can find out more 156 00:09:28,550 --> 00:09:33,110 S1: at the website. Chris Michelle is the author of several 157 00:09:33,150 --> 00:09:37,510 S1: historical novels, including Count the Night by Stars, which was 158 00:09:37,510 --> 00:09:41,590 S1: a Christianity Today Fiction Book Award winner, and Under the 159 00:09:41,590 --> 00:09:45,910 S1: Tulip Tree, a Christy and Azalea Awards finalist. Her work 160 00:09:45,910 --> 00:09:50,300 S1: has been featured in numerous Chicken Soup for the soul. Books, magazines, blogs. 161 00:09:50,460 --> 00:09:53,300 S1: She's married to a college sweetheart who got her into 162 00:09:53,300 --> 00:09:55,940 S1: truck and went to the place where she could attend 163 00:09:55,940 --> 00:09:59,939 S1: the Christy Awards, and she's the mother of two grown sons. 164 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:03,540 S1: She lives in Tennessee, not far from Nashville, around in 165 00:10:03,580 --> 00:10:07,020 S1: the Franklin area, and near a bunch of the historical 166 00:10:07,020 --> 00:10:12,820 S1: sites that she writes about. Again, go to Chris. You 167 00:10:12,820 --> 00:10:16,260 S1: can find out more about Michelle Shockley. Now, that thing 168 00:10:16,260 --> 00:10:19,260 S1: that you just said before we took a break. Chasing 169 00:10:19,260 --> 00:10:23,220 S1: something I find that can happen in just about any endeavor. 170 00:10:23,220 --> 00:10:26,219 S1: But especially when you are writing, you can be you 171 00:10:26,220 --> 00:10:29,179 S1: can write for the outcome. You can write for, oh, 172 00:10:29,179 --> 00:10:31,179 S1: I want this to be a bestseller. I want this 173 00:10:31,179 --> 00:10:33,500 S1: to be an award winner. I want this to change 174 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:37,140 S1: people's lives. ET cetera, et cetera. But there's something about 175 00:10:37,140 --> 00:10:40,420 S1: just allowing it to be what it is. Talk more 176 00:10:40,420 --> 00:10:41,580 S1: about that. 177 00:10:42,900 --> 00:10:47,290 S2: I think as young writers, we start out, we just 178 00:10:47,290 --> 00:10:51,450 S2: want to get published. And that is we're chasing that 179 00:10:51,450 --> 00:10:54,730 S2: publishing carrot. And that sometimes happens right away for a 180 00:10:54,770 --> 00:10:56,689 S2: lot of people. But for me, it did not. It 181 00:10:56,690 --> 00:11:01,370 S2: took a good 14, 15 years of chasing it, and 182 00:11:01,410 --> 00:11:03,610 S2: I didn't know that I was chasing it. I just 183 00:11:03,610 --> 00:11:06,210 S2: knew that I had books in me. I needed to 184 00:11:06,250 --> 00:11:09,610 S2: write them and I wanted to get them published. But, 185 00:11:09,650 --> 00:11:12,650 S2: you know, as I said before, God has a timetable. 186 00:11:12,690 --> 00:11:15,690 S2: He has things you have to learn in that timetable 187 00:11:15,690 --> 00:11:19,250 S2: while you're waiting. And I look back, and I certainly 188 00:11:19,250 --> 00:11:22,610 S2: wouldn't change the path that God took me on, but I, 189 00:11:22,730 --> 00:11:26,010 S2: I struggled with the chasing. And then once you get 190 00:11:26,010 --> 00:11:29,970 S2: books published, you're still chasing something. You're chasing readers, you're 191 00:11:29,970 --> 00:11:34,329 S2: chasing all the social media likes and dislikes and the reviews. 192 00:11:34,730 --> 00:11:38,730 S2: And I think it's funny because when I now look 193 00:11:38,730 --> 00:11:41,170 S2: at this book of the year award that's sitting in 194 00:11:41,170 --> 00:11:44,970 S2: my office, which is still very surreal, I have this 195 00:11:44,970 --> 00:11:48,550 S2: sense that not just because of that award, I have 196 00:11:48,550 --> 00:11:51,750 S2: this sense that God is telling me I don't need 197 00:11:51,750 --> 00:11:54,910 S2: to chase things. I don't need to chase things anymore. 198 00:11:55,350 --> 00:11:59,590 S2: God's got it under control. He's going to open the doors. 199 00:11:59,590 --> 00:12:02,110 S2: He's going to close the doors. He's going to put 200 00:12:02,110 --> 00:12:05,670 S2: the book in the reader's hands. I feel kind of 201 00:12:05,710 --> 00:12:09,670 S2: like Dallas Jenkins does with his his series, The Chosen. 202 00:12:09,710 --> 00:12:13,030 S2: He talks about loaves and fish a lot. This is 203 00:12:13,030 --> 00:12:15,350 S2: his loaves and fishes. He's just giving it to God. 204 00:12:15,350 --> 00:12:18,790 S2: And I really the last five, six years I've really 205 00:12:18,790 --> 00:12:21,710 S2: felt that with my books, they're just loaves and fish. 206 00:12:22,070 --> 00:12:24,590 S2: If God can use any loaves and fish that we 207 00:12:24,590 --> 00:12:26,550 S2: give him, but he's going to take the loaves and 208 00:12:26,550 --> 00:12:28,550 S2: fish we give and he's going to do what he's 209 00:12:28,550 --> 00:12:31,309 S2: going to do. So you don't have to chase. 210 00:12:31,470 --> 00:12:34,350 S1: Yeah. And that'll fit for anybody listening today. I don't 211 00:12:34,350 --> 00:12:36,910 S1: care what you do, who you are, where you are. 212 00:12:37,550 --> 00:12:40,910 S1: You just allow God to work in you and through 213 00:12:40,950 --> 00:12:44,540 S1: you and then see what he does. But that doesn't 214 00:12:44,540 --> 00:12:48,300 S1: take away the responsibility for you to do your research to. 215 00:12:48,380 --> 00:12:50,860 S1: To show up every day. You know, it doesn't just 216 00:12:50,860 --> 00:12:56,500 S1: happen by. Bibbity bobbity boo. You got to show up. 217 00:12:56,660 --> 00:12:59,500 S1: But I think what you're pointing, putting the finger on 218 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:03,219 S1: is there's a quote by E.E. Cummings. It takes courage 219 00:13:03,220 --> 00:13:06,780 S1: to grow up and become who you really are. That's 220 00:13:06,780 --> 00:13:10,180 S1: what God has been impressing on my soul. And putting 221 00:13:10,179 --> 00:13:12,860 S1: his finger on the nerve is like you. We don't 222 00:13:12,860 --> 00:13:17,020 S1: need an imitation of somebody else out there. I need 223 00:13:17,020 --> 00:13:20,980 S1: you to be who you uniquely are. Does that resonate 224 00:13:20,980 --> 00:13:21,580 S1: with you? 225 00:13:22,220 --> 00:13:27,540 S2: That absolutely resonates with me. And yes, we have our responsibility. 226 00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:29,980 S2: God's not just going to drop the books and the 227 00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:32,980 S2: stories into your lap and all of that. It's going 228 00:13:33,020 --> 00:13:35,220 S2: to take some work on our part because we're we're 229 00:13:35,220 --> 00:13:37,980 S2: in connection. We're in partnership with God on this thing. 230 00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:40,900 S2: And I do love the research. I could research all 231 00:13:40,900 --> 00:13:44,490 S2: day long without even writing the book, but I love 232 00:13:44,490 --> 00:13:48,850 S2: sharing history with readers, and a lot of readers will 233 00:13:48,850 --> 00:13:52,410 S2: note that I do include Jesus in the pages of 234 00:13:52,410 --> 00:13:55,850 S2: my books, and I feel like that's my responsibility as 235 00:13:55,850 --> 00:13:58,850 S2: part of this team, that I'm this partnership I'm in 236 00:13:58,850 --> 00:14:01,689 S2: with God. He's going to open the right doors, but 237 00:14:01,690 --> 00:14:03,610 S2: then I have to do my part, and he is 238 00:14:03,610 --> 00:14:06,290 S2: always going to be welcome on the pages in my books. 239 00:14:06,610 --> 00:14:09,250 S1: Did you always like history? 240 00:14:11,130 --> 00:14:14,210 S2: I think my high school teacher would be shocked to 241 00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:18,890 S2: know I'm writing historical fiction, because history when you're in 242 00:14:18,890 --> 00:14:23,330 S2: school is just dry facts. But as I started to 243 00:14:24,490 --> 00:14:29,610 S2: become an adult and started to read historical novels and biographies, 244 00:14:29,730 --> 00:14:32,690 S2: when you connect the history with the people, that's when 245 00:14:32,690 --> 00:14:34,650 S2: it really becomes alive. And that's what I try to 246 00:14:34,650 --> 00:14:36,850 S2: do in these novels. I try to take all those 247 00:14:36,850 --> 00:14:40,530 S2: dry facts that I actually love reading now, and putting 248 00:14:40,530 --> 00:14:43,160 S2: them into the lives of the characters and make it 249 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:43,800 S2: come alive. 250 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,040 S1: Yeah, and that's what you've done with this novel? All 251 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,800 S1: we thought we knew. And there's a there's a twist 252 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,160 S1: at the end. We didn't see it coming. And I'm 253 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,720 S1: not going. There's no way I'm going to give it away. 254 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,600 S1: But there's a. Do you always try to find some 255 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,920 S1: kind of a twist or something that happens that the 256 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,600 S1: reader is not expecting? 257 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,720 S2: Not necessarily. I want them always to be organic. I 258 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,320 S2: want them to be a part of the the character's 259 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,520 S2: journey as they're going through the story now. Because I 260 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,920 S2: do have to submit a bit of a synopsis to 261 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,520 S2: my publisher before I get the novel started. I did 262 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,360 S2: know that twist going into the book, but there's always 263 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,640 S2: a lot of things that you don't know, and so 264 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,360 S2: some of the characters will sometimes surprise you with what's 265 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:34,520 S2: happening in their lives. 266 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:35,280 S3: Yeah. 267 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,560 S1: Have who is your biggest encourager through the or take 268 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,030 S1: me through When you were young and you knew that 269 00:15:42,030 --> 00:15:45,790 S1: you wanted to write. Who has encouraged you along the way? 270 00:15:46,910 --> 00:15:51,230 S2: You know, as a young child growing up, I didn't 271 00:15:51,230 --> 00:15:53,830 S2: ever dream about becoming an author. I don't think I 272 00:15:53,830 --> 00:15:57,630 S2: had the self-confidence to dream about becoming an author. But 273 00:15:57,630 --> 00:16:01,190 S2: my mom was a school teacher, and she was a reader, 274 00:16:01,510 --> 00:16:05,230 S2: and one of the books she read to us as children. 275 00:16:05,230 --> 00:16:07,710 S2: My sister and I was Little Women, and it was 276 00:16:07,710 --> 00:16:10,230 S2: during that, when she was reading that book out loud, 277 00:16:10,230 --> 00:16:13,310 S2: that characters started to really come to life in my 278 00:16:13,310 --> 00:16:17,830 S2: mind for the first time. And then many years later, 279 00:16:17,830 --> 00:16:22,110 S2: she brought home a Christian fiction book, which I'd never 280 00:16:22,110 --> 00:16:24,910 S2: heard of before, and it was Love Comes Softly by 281 00:16:24,950 --> 00:16:29,830 S2: Janette Oke. And that made me realize that there were 282 00:16:29,830 --> 00:16:33,590 S2: books that were great to read, but they also included Jesus. 283 00:16:33,830 --> 00:16:36,190 S2: And so I would have to say that my mom 284 00:16:36,390 --> 00:16:39,900 S2: is the one who really encouraged me to, to to 285 00:16:39,940 --> 00:16:43,540 S2: have a love for reading and to have a love 286 00:16:43,540 --> 00:16:46,340 S2: for Jesus. So I would definitely credit my mom. 287 00:16:46,660 --> 00:16:47,300 S3: Yes. 288 00:16:47,340 --> 00:16:50,260 S1: Uh, I love that I had that poem. I had 289 00:16:50,260 --> 00:16:53,140 S1: a mother who read to me. Now, at some point 290 00:16:53,140 --> 00:16:57,540 S1: through the years, you probably read Christy. Be honest with 291 00:16:57,540 --> 00:17:00,140 S1: me now. Have you ever read the novel, Christy? 292 00:17:00,700 --> 00:17:03,620 S2: I have, I have definitely read that book. And I 293 00:17:03,620 --> 00:17:06,620 S2: didn't know for the longest time that that's what the 294 00:17:06,619 --> 00:17:08,100 S2: award was named for. 295 00:17:10,220 --> 00:17:13,460 S1: Same here. And but I had not read it all 296 00:17:13,460 --> 00:17:16,380 S1: the way through. And when I read the thing and 297 00:17:16,380 --> 00:17:18,220 S1: I got to the end of it and it ended 298 00:17:18,220 --> 00:17:21,500 S1: on a cliffhanger, I was thinking, no, you can't do that. 299 00:17:21,540 --> 00:17:24,020 S1: You can't do that to me. I gotta know which 300 00:17:24,020 --> 00:17:26,340 S1: one she chooses. I'm not going to I'm going to 301 00:17:26,380 --> 00:17:30,780 S1: spoil that, that story either. But just I think part 302 00:17:30,780 --> 00:17:35,060 S1: of what you're talking about is the the really good fiction, 303 00:17:35,060 --> 00:17:38,649 S1: the really good stories draw you in and make you 304 00:17:38,650 --> 00:17:41,410 S1: feel like you are a part of them. Is that 305 00:17:41,410 --> 00:17:42,290 S1: true for you? 306 00:17:42,810 --> 00:17:46,330 S2: Yes, that's definitely true for me, and it's definitely what 307 00:17:46,330 --> 00:17:51,169 S2: I strive to do with my own novels. I want 308 00:17:51,170 --> 00:17:54,650 S2: the characters to experience. I want the readers to experience 309 00:17:54,650 --> 00:17:57,770 S2: what the characters are going through. And so that was 310 00:17:57,770 --> 00:18:00,369 S2: what I really strived to do. And in this book, 311 00:18:00,369 --> 00:18:02,490 S2: all we thought we knew, I knew it was going 312 00:18:02,530 --> 00:18:06,530 S2: to be a very challenging thing to take a German 313 00:18:06,570 --> 00:18:10,570 S2: person who's in the United States, who's held in detainment 314 00:18:10,570 --> 00:18:14,129 S2: and create his story to be authentic. And so I 315 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:18,410 S2: really did my research into what those people truly experienced. 316 00:18:18,410 --> 00:18:22,450 S2: And that is what Guenther experiences is what the reader reads. 317 00:18:23,690 --> 00:18:27,930 S1: Let's go into that, because that touched a nerve in 318 00:18:27,930 --> 00:18:31,250 S1: my heart because I hadn't read the novel that night 319 00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:34,369 S1: when when you were given book of the year. But 320 00:18:34,369 --> 00:18:37,000 S1: it reminded me of the stories that I had heard 321 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,800 S1: about my grandfather, and I mentioned that on the on 322 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,920 S1: the gala cast that we had, um, because there was 323 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:49,639 S1: this everyone knows or most people know about in the 40s, 324 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:54,639 S1: the Japanese internment camps in the, in the country. But 325 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,320 S1: a lot of people don't realize that happened to German 326 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,640 S1: Americans or those who were studied. Gunther is studying in 327 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,320 S1: the United States, in New York when the story starts, right? 328 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,800 S2: Yes, he is here. His mother saw what was happening 329 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,280 S2: in in Germany in the 1930s, late 1930s. And she 330 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,880 S2: sends him to America. And that was also the story 331 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,440 S2: of several people that I read that that was what 332 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:20,840 S2: really happened in their lives. 333 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,720 S1: So he's studying in New York. He gets a knock 334 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:30,240 S1: on the door and it's a special agent, FBI. And 335 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,719 S1: then eventually he sent to Ellis Island, which a lot 336 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,229 S1: of people say, you see, Lady Liberty, you know, America 337 00:19:38,230 --> 00:19:42,030 S1: is all about freedom. How ironic that he sent to 338 00:19:42,070 --> 00:19:46,310 S1: Ellis Island to have to stay there. He's, uh, basically 339 00:19:46,670 --> 00:19:48,550 S1: a prisoner of war there, right? 340 00:19:49,070 --> 00:19:52,350 S2: Yes. And that was again, that was true. Ellis Island 341 00:19:52,350 --> 00:19:56,910 S2: was turned into a detainment, um, situation for all these people. 342 00:19:56,910 --> 00:20:00,590 S2: There were Germans and Italians as well as Japanese there, 343 00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:04,790 S2: but they were all kept separate, um, because of their war. 344 00:20:05,230 --> 00:20:07,990 S2: And so that was where they were detained until they 345 00:20:07,990 --> 00:20:11,869 S2: had a hearing. And the hearing really wasn't to determine 346 00:20:11,869 --> 00:20:13,909 S2: whether they were guilty or not. It was just to 347 00:20:13,950 --> 00:20:18,070 S2: present some more information. And then the most of them 348 00:20:18,270 --> 00:20:21,710 S2: ended up in other detainment camps after they left Ellis Island, 349 00:20:21,710 --> 00:20:25,149 S2: which is again, that's Guenther's story. He goes to Tullahoma, Tennessee, 350 00:20:25,150 --> 00:20:29,710 S2: to Camp Forrest, which that was a large military installation, 351 00:20:29,910 --> 00:20:34,060 S2: but it had it had housed German POWs throughout the war, 352 00:20:34,060 --> 00:20:37,100 S2: but when I was researching it, I read one line 353 00:20:37,100 --> 00:20:39,940 S2: that changed everything, and that was that German enemy aliens 354 00:20:39,940 --> 00:20:41,179 S2: were also housed there. 355 00:20:42,540 --> 00:20:44,700 S1: What does that mean? Enemy aliens? 356 00:20:45,900 --> 00:20:50,060 S2: When someone came arrived in the United States prior to 357 00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:53,820 S2: the war, they had to register as an alien, as 358 00:20:53,859 --> 00:20:56,820 S2: a as a foreigner, so that the government would know 359 00:20:56,820 --> 00:21:00,060 S2: that you were here. And then the moment that Pearl 360 00:21:00,060 --> 00:21:03,380 S2: Harbor was attacked and we declared war on Japan, and 361 00:21:03,380 --> 00:21:07,140 S2: then Germany and Italy, those aliens who had been here 362 00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:12,100 S2: in the country just as foreign visitors suddenly became enemy aliens. 363 00:21:12,380 --> 00:21:16,900 S2: And the president put into practice an act that had 364 00:21:16,900 --> 00:21:20,739 S2: been instituted in the 1700s, the Enemy Alien Act. I 365 00:21:20,740 --> 00:21:25,220 S2: believe that's its name. But he he used that as, um, 366 00:21:25,340 --> 00:21:29,260 S2: the legal means to hold all these people who now 367 00:21:29,300 --> 00:21:33,169 S2: were considered enemy aliens. And I understand it. You know, 368 00:21:33,210 --> 00:21:36,369 S2: I understand we were at war. It was the 1940s. 369 00:21:36,410 --> 00:21:39,810 S2: We didn't have the technology and all the 24 hour 370 00:21:39,850 --> 00:21:42,010 S2: news that we have now. And so they were doing 371 00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:45,250 S2: their best, they thought, to protect the country by holding 372 00:21:45,250 --> 00:21:46,050 S2: these people. 373 00:21:46,770 --> 00:21:52,170 S1: Why this story, though? Why? Why Gunther's story? Why, Maddie? 374 00:21:52,369 --> 00:21:54,730 S1: We got to get to Maddie as well. But why? 375 00:21:55,170 --> 00:21:58,129 S1: Why did that bubble up to you? Because there there 376 00:21:58,170 --> 00:21:59,929 S1: are a lot of books that are probably or a 377 00:21:59,930 --> 00:22:02,050 S1: lot of stories that are raising their hand and saying, 378 00:22:02,090 --> 00:22:05,010 S1: Michelle Shockley here, write me, write me, write me. Why 379 00:22:05,010 --> 00:22:05,689 S1: this one? 380 00:22:06,530 --> 00:22:09,730 S2: My dad was a World War Two veteran, and so 381 00:22:09,730 --> 00:22:14,370 S2: I've always had this enormous interest and this enormous respect 382 00:22:14,369 --> 00:22:19,250 S2: and admiration for that generation of people. And although I 383 00:22:19,250 --> 00:22:21,530 S2: didn't want to write a World War Two book that 384 00:22:21,530 --> 00:22:23,570 S2: takes you over to the war, I wanted to find 385 00:22:23,570 --> 00:22:26,609 S2: out what was happening in Tennessee during World War two. 386 00:22:27,010 --> 00:22:30,210 S2: And that was when I discovered about the German enemy 387 00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:33,280 S2: aliens being held in Camp Forest. And that was such 388 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,600 S2: a new bit of history to me. And although I 389 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,160 S2: don't think any of my people experienced that, I have 390 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,360 S2: a lot of German ancestry, and so I've always been 391 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,879 S2: interested in the German side of things, you know, why 392 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:52,040 S2: did the German population go with the Nazis? And what 393 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,960 S2: happened to the German enemy aliens here in America? And 394 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,280 S2: so I wanted to tell that story. 395 00:22:58,119 --> 00:22:58,520 S3: Yeah. 396 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:05,560 S1: Same here. Uh, because as I mentioned in my grandfather, Austria-Hungary, 397 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,760 S1: when that was still one country, that was where he 398 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:13,680 S1: was from, and he was, uh, put into service in, 399 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,160 S1: in the military. And he saw what was going on. 400 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,000 S1: And there was an officer that he worked for who 401 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,240 S1: evidently said, uh, we're going to get you passage, we're 402 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,240 S1: going to get you out of here. And so before 403 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:30,670 S1: World War One started, my grandfather Father came, you know, 404 00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:35,629 S1: to to America and, um, started the family. And my 405 00:23:35,630 --> 00:23:39,430 S1: dad was born down in the southwest coalfields of West Virginia. 406 00:23:40,070 --> 00:23:44,630 S1: But he my grandfather talked about that, uh, during World 407 00:23:44,630 --> 00:23:48,830 S1: War One as well as during World War two, the 408 00:23:48,830 --> 00:23:52,430 S1: way that people treated him, or when he'd speak with 409 00:23:52,430 --> 00:23:57,030 S1: his very thick German accent, how how much people looked 410 00:23:57,030 --> 00:24:01,270 S1: down on him or had questions about him. And so 411 00:24:01,310 --> 00:24:05,550 S1: you weave that kind of thing throughout the story as well, 412 00:24:05,590 --> 00:24:06,189 S1: don't you? 413 00:24:07,070 --> 00:24:13,030 S2: Yes. Um, from what I read, the the first person 414 00:24:13,030 --> 00:24:17,630 S2: narratives of people who were German, German, who were in 415 00:24:17,630 --> 00:24:22,190 S2: the United States when the war erupted and who were detained, 416 00:24:22,430 --> 00:24:26,230 S2: that was part of their story. Everything that Guenther goes 417 00:24:26,230 --> 00:24:30,659 S2: through is what somebody in my research actually went through 418 00:24:30,660 --> 00:24:35,380 S2: the the arrest in New York, the Ellis Island, um, 419 00:24:35,580 --> 00:24:40,100 S2: situation and then getting transferred to, to Tennessee and the 420 00:24:40,300 --> 00:24:44,820 S2: the fear that they lived in being German as our 421 00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:47,780 S2: country is fighting a war against Germany. They they lived 422 00:24:47,780 --> 00:24:50,179 S2: in fear of what would happen to them. Would they 423 00:24:50,220 --> 00:24:52,619 S2: be detained for the rest of their lives? They didn't 424 00:24:52,619 --> 00:24:56,220 S2: know if they were released. Would they, you know, be 425 00:24:56,220 --> 00:24:59,139 S2: ostracized or would they have to be sent back to Germany? 426 00:24:59,140 --> 00:25:01,300 S2: There was a lot of fear these people lived in. 427 00:25:01,700 --> 00:25:02,140 S3: Yeah. 428 00:25:02,660 --> 00:25:06,700 S1: And that comes through so beautifully in the story because 429 00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:09,179 S1: fiction is about conflict. I want to talk with Michelle 430 00:25:09,180 --> 00:25:12,139 S1: about that. When we come back, let's take our midpoint 431 00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:15,420 S1: break here, and then we'll continue the conversation on this 432 00:25:15,420 --> 00:25:20,020 S1: day after Thanksgiving. Hope you're enjoying the conversation with Michelle Shockley, 433 00:25:20,060 --> 00:25:23,620 S1: award winning author of The Christie Book of the year. 434 00:25:23,740 --> 00:25:27,100 S1: All We Thought We Knew. You can find it at 435 00:25:27,250 --> 00:25:30,770 S1: Chris Fabbri Livorno. We also have a list of all 436 00:25:30,810 --> 00:25:34,330 S1: of the Christy Award winners for this year, and you 437 00:25:34,330 --> 00:25:38,370 S1: can look at those as well as see Michele's website. 438 00:25:38,369 --> 00:25:40,570 S1: We have a link to that as well. Just go 439 00:25:40,570 --> 00:25:47,570 S1: to Chris. Chris. Org. Our program is recorded today. Don't 440 00:25:47,570 --> 00:25:50,970 S1: call us, but don't miss the conversation straight ahead on 441 00:25:50,970 --> 00:26:08,290 S1: Moody Radio. We're talking about the power of stories today 442 00:26:08,290 --> 00:26:10,970 S1: on Chris Fabry Live. We'll get right back with Michele 443 00:26:10,970 --> 00:26:14,889 S1: Shockley in just a moment. First, the gospel is a story. 444 00:26:14,890 --> 00:26:18,610 S1: It's true, but it's still a story about God invading 445 00:26:18,609 --> 00:26:21,330 S1: our world. And he did it with the cry of 446 00:26:21,330 --> 00:26:25,210 S1: a baby. Carenet is a pro abundant life ministry that's 447 00:26:25,210 --> 00:26:28,760 S1: been around for 50 years now, and they are celebrating 448 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,360 S1: the coming of the Savior with a devotional titled praying 449 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:36,159 S1: Through Advent. This Christmas, as you make all the preparations 450 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,640 S1: and the celebration of the word made flesh, you're going 451 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,919 S1: to be reminded that God meets us right in the 452 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,920 S1: middle of our uncertainty, our doubt, our struggles, our questions. 453 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,640 S1: And he can write redemption into your story and mine. 454 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,719 S1: If you go to Chris. Org and click the Green 455 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:59,480 S1: Connect link today you can download for free. Praying through advent. 456 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:05,560 S1: Click the Green Connect link today at Chris Dot, where 457 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,800 S1: you'll also find out about Michelle Shockley, who won the 458 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,080 S1: Christie Book of the year award for her novel All 459 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,080 S1: We Thought We Knew. We have it linked right there. 460 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:21,000 S1: Chris Fabry live. I want to read the the dedication 461 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,109 S1: to that book, uh, for Steve, Chris and Greg. thank 462 00:27:25,150 --> 00:27:27,469 S1: you for your service to our country. I'm proud of 463 00:27:27,470 --> 00:27:32,150 S1: you and in loving memory of James Mark. We miss you, brother. 464 00:27:32,190 --> 00:27:34,790 S1: There must be a story behind that dedication. 465 00:27:35,670 --> 00:27:39,710 S2: Yes, those are my siblings, my three brothers and my 466 00:27:39,710 --> 00:27:42,750 S2: sister in law. And three of them have served in 467 00:27:42,750 --> 00:27:45,350 S2: the military. And I'm so proud of them. And then 468 00:27:45,350 --> 00:27:48,830 S2: we lost my brother Mark, about five years ago. And 469 00:27:48,830 --> 00:27:51,750 S2: so I wanted to dedicate it to him. And of course, 470 00:27:51,750 --> 00:27:53,670 S2: I named a character after him as well. 471 00:27:53,950 --> 00:27:54,470 S3: Yes. 472 00:27:55,109 --> 00:27:58,510 S1: And that's part of the historical we've talked about the 473 00:27:58,510 --> 00:28:03,390 S1: 1940s and what Gunther goes through, but we go we're 474 00:28:03,390 --> 00:28:08,350 S1: also going through the 1960s and the when the Christy Award, 475 00:28:08,350 --> 00:28:11,950 S1: when that first line was read, I want you to 476 00:28:11,990 --> 00:28:15,510 S1: I want our listeners to know when a Christy Award 477 00:28:15,510 --> 00:28:18,510 S1: winner is read. They read the first line, and here's 478 00:28:18,510 --> 00:28:21,270 S1: the first line of the book. I deeply regret to 479 00:28:21,310 --> 00:28:25,580 S1: confirm that your son, Lance corporal Mark James Taylor died 480 00:28:25,580 --> 00:28:31,340 S1: in Vietnam 1st November 1968. When you heard that read, 481 00:28:31,380 --> 00:28:34,540 S1: you knew that you had won. What went through your heart? 482 00:28:35,340 --> 00:28:38,940 S2: Oh, I was just I was stunned, I was thrilled, 483 00:28:38,940 --> 00:28:42,020 S2: I was just you just don't even know the kind 484 00:28:42,020 --> 00:28:44,460 S2: of excitement that you can feel when when you know 485 00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:47,820 S2: that your book is about to receive an award. So 486 00:28:47,820 --> 00:28:49,380 S2: it was really, really great. 487 00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:50,220 S3: Yes. 488 00:28:50,580 --> 00:28:57,860 S1: So the the 1969 basically is where Mattie's story begins. 489 00:28:57,860 --> 00:29:00,580 S1: And I like to talk about fiction as conflict. You 490 00:29:00,580 --> 00:29:05,100 S1: put your characters in hard situations, and she is going 491 00:29:05,100 --> 00:29:08,500 S1: home in 1969 to Tullahoma, Tennessee. And she's in a 492 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:09,820 S1: hard place, isn't she? 493 00:29:10,540 --> 00:29:14,060 S2: She's in a real hard place. It's not a secret. 494 00:29:14,060 --> 00:29:16,900 S2: In the beginning of the story, her brother Mark was 495 00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:20,540 S2: her twin brother, and he dies in in Vietnam War. 496 00:29:20,820 --> 00:29:23,729 S2: She is very much against the war, as a lot 497 00:29:23,770 --> 00:29:26,969 S2: of people were at that time. And so the reason 498 00:29:26,970 --> 00:29:30,730 S2: I chose that time period to set it against World 499 00:29:30,730 --> 00:29:34,210 S2: War Two is because those wars were so different, and 500 00:29:34,210 --> 00:29:37,250 S2: a lot of the soldiers were not treated very well 501 00:29:37,250 --> 00:29:39,930 S2: when they came home. And so I just wanted to 502 00:29:39,930 --> 00:29:42,330 S2: touch on that and have this one family, the Taylor 503 00:29:42,330 --> 00:29:45,090 S2: family experience both of the wars. 504 00:29:45,610 --> 00:29:46,209 S3: Yes. 505 00:29:46,650 --> 00:29:50,610 S1: And the the other difference is she's Maddie is going 506 00:29:50,610 --> 00:29:55,570 S1: home and she is broken. She's doing some recovery in 507 00:29:55,570 --> 00:29:58,250 S1: her own life. We won't give away everything in the story. 508 00:29:58,650 --> 00:30:02,930 S1: And so she's going back to a place where there 509 00:30:02,930 --> 00:30:07,330 S1: are a lot of memories. That whole going home motif 510 00:30:07,570 --> 00:30:12,450 S1: really sparks in people's hearts, because sometimes it's really hard, 511 00:30:12,490 --> 00:30:13,010 S1: isn't it? 512 00:30:13,970 --> 00:30:17,250 S2: It is. And I've never really written a going home 513 00:30:17,250 --> 00:30:21,920 S2: story before, but I knew that the character of Maddie 514 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,520 S2: was going to have to deal with a lot of 515 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,120 S2: difficult things, and one of them was coming back to 516 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,840 S2: a home where her brother is no longer there. Her 517 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,120 S2: mother is very ill and her relationship with her father 518 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,239 S2: is very strained. And so those are things that a 519 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,239 S2: lot of people in life go through in one way 520 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,840 S2: or another. And so I did want to explore all 521 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:44,680 S2: of that through the character of Maddie. She's a she's 522 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,320 S2: a bit of a hard character to love, but I 523 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,920 S2: hope that readers eventually see that she's not that different 524 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,160 S2: from the rest of us. She may express it differently, 525 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,000 S2: but we all go through things that we just are 526 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,240 S2: really hard, and they turn us into people that we're 527 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:01,880 S2: not always happy with. 528 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,600 S1: Yes, well, and that's one of the things you said 529 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,760 S1: when you accepted the award. You were concerned that people 530 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,440 S1: wouldn't attach to her because there are parts of her 531 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:13,840 S1: that aren't likeable. 532 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:19,000 S2: Yes, that's true. And I've never written a heroine that 533 00:31:19,630 --> 00:31:22,270 S2: Readers weren't just going to love right off the bat, 534 00:31:22,590 --> 00:31:25,830 S2: but I just felt like that was that's who Mattie was. 535 00:31:25,830 --> 00:31:29,870 S2: She was not the the sweet girl that I've always 536 00:31:29,870 --> 00:31:32,630 S2: written in my other books. She was a bit different. 537 00:31:32,630 --> 00:31:36,710 S2: But when you start to peel off the layers of Mattie, 538 00:31:36,990 --> 00:31:42,230 S2: she is she's vulnerable, she's in pain. And I think 539 00:31:42,230 --> 00:31:44,830 S2: a lot of, a lot of readers could probably relate 540 00:31:44,830 --> 00:31:45,550 S2: to that. 541 00:31:45,590 --> 00:31:45,990 S3: Yeah. 542 00:31:46,150 --> 00:31:49,430 S1: And that's one of the knocks about Christian fiction that 543 00:31:49,430 --> 00:31:51,790 S1: I think a lot of people who haven't read Christian 544 00:31:51,790 --> 00:31:54,830 S1: fiction or good Christian fiction, that one of the knocks 545 00:31:54,830 --> 00:31:57,470 S1: that you get is like, you've got these characters and 546 00:31:57,470 --> 00:32:00,110 S1: they do all the right things every time. And they, 547 00:32:00,150 --> 00:32:02,590 S1: you know, everything turns out rosy in the end. And 548 00:32:02,590 --> 00:32:06,310 S1: there's a bow on everything. And that's just not the 549 00:32:06,350 --> 00:32:09,230 S1: kind of story that you write, especially with Mattie, because 550 00:32:09,230 --> 00:32:11,670 S1: she's got so many rough edges. 551 00:32:12,590 --> 00:32:16,710 S2: Yeah, I've often said that I can't write fluff because 552 00:32:16,710 --> 00:32:20,300 S2: there's always so much angst that these characters are going 553 00:32:20,340 --> 00:32:23,700 S2: to go through. And it's not that I want to, 554 00:32:23,740 --> 00:32:27,180 S2: you know, make readers go through it, too, but I 555 00:32:27,180 --> 00:32:30,100 S2: think that's just life. I want about things. I want 556 00:32:30,180 --> 00:32:33,980 S2: to write about things that people genuinely can relate to. 557 00:32:34,020 --> 00:32:37,180 S2: And I think we all struggle with different things. So 558 00:32:37,180 --> 00:32:40,740 S2: those are the the struggles and the the fights and 559 00:32:40,780 --> 00:32:43,740 S2: the the hard things I want to take my characters through. 560 00:32:44,020 --> 00:32:44,620 S3: Yes. 561 00:32:44,660 --> 00:32:47,140 S1: And there there has to be a change. Would you 562 00:32:47,140 --> 00:32:51,980 S1: first see Mattie in 1969 or your first see Gunther 563 00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:56,900 S1: in 1941? You want to see the arc of their story. 564 00:32:56,900 --> 00:32:59,220 S1: You want to see how they are there and then 565 00:32:59,220 --> 00:33:03,860 S1: what happens to them, how what makes them change. But 566 00:33:03,860 --> 00:33:07,380 S1: it's got to be that transformation, and the change has 567 00:33:07,380 --> 00:33:10,340 S1: to be believable. Whether it's a good change or a 568 00:33:10,340 --> 00:33:14,180 S1: bad change, we've got to be able to believe that 569 00:33:14,220 --> 00:33:17,330 S1: that that could happen if it's a good story, right? 570 00:33:17,810 --> 00:33:21,570 S2: Yes. And I think every single one of us can 571 00:33:21,570 --> 00:33:24,890 S2: look in our own lives and see that arc. So 572 00:33:24,890 --> 00:33:27,290 S2: that's what I try to do in these stories. I'm 573 00:33:27,290 --> 00:33:31,530 S2: going to take a very raw character like Maddie, and 574 00:33:31,530 --> 00:33:33,810 S2: I'm just going to build on the things that I 575 00:33:33,850 --> 00:33:35,890 S2: may have experienced in my life, or I've watched other 576 00:33:35,890 --> 00:33:40,770 S2: people experience as they're going through difficult situations. And of course, 577 00:33:40,770 --> 00:33:45,170 S2: because we write Christian fiction, the hope is in Christ. 578 00:33:45,170 --> 00:33:48,930 S2: The hope is in understanding God's. Got a plan? God's 579 00:33:48,930 --> 00:33:50,970 S2: going to see you through this thing and you are 580 00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:52,810 S2: going to get out of it. You are going to 581 00:33:52,810 --> 00:33:55,170 S2: come to the the the light at the end of 582 00:33:55,170 --> 00:33:55,850 S2: the tunnel. 583 00:33:56,330 --> 00:33:56,770 S3: Yeah. 584 00:33:57,010 --> 00:34:00,210 S1: What do you say to people? And I hear this, um, 585 00:34:00,210 --> 00:34:03,290 S1: I don't read fiction because it's not true. I only 586 00:34:03,290 --> 00:34:06,130 S1: read true stuff. What do you say to that person? 587 00:34:06,730 --> 00:34:11,250 S2: I say, I understand that, but what I certainly try, 588 00:34:11,250 --> 00:34:14,810 S2: and I think most authors try to do is create 589 00:34:14,850 --> 00:34:19,960 S2: truth within the fiction, and that is showing a fictional 590 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,759 S2: character going through the same things that we go through 591 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:27,799 S2: in life. But seeing it, I guess when you when 592 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,239 S2: you read a story from the beginning to the end, 593 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:32,479 S2: you see the whole life. But as we are going 594 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:34,759 S2: through our lives, we can't see the end. So I 595 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:39,360 S2: think fiction is a a great inspiration to see that, oh, 596 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,120 S2: that character made it to the end. I think I 597 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:43,800 S2: can make it to the end of mine too. 598 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,480 S1: So there's hope that's that's breathed into the story, that's 599 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,040 S1: breathed into the reader then? 600 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,280 S2: Yes. Always hope. Always hope. 601 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:57,319 S1: What did you learn about history this time? Either in 602 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,359 S1: the 40s, World War two or the Vietnam War? What 603 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,359 S1: did you learn that you didn't know because you were 604 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:04,960 S1: faithful to do the research? 605 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,680 S2: Well, again, the whole premise of German enemy aliens, that 606 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,840 S2: was all new to me. So that was really fun 607 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,469 S2: as a researcher and a history nerd to learn all 608 00:35:16,510 --> 00:35:19,350 S2: of that. But, you know, I was a kid in 609 00:35:19,350 --> 00:35:22,190 S2: the 60s and 70s during the Vietnam War, so I 610 00:35:22,230 --> 00:35:26,230 S2: did not know everything that was going on during that war, 611 00:35:26,230 --> 00:35:28,390 S2: and I didn't know what it was all about. And 612 00:35:28,390 --> 00:35:31,230 S2: so I've been a little bit remiss about learning about 613 00:35:31,230 --> 00:35:33,670 S2: it in my adult life. And so this book forced 614 00:35:33,670 --> 00:35:38,230 S2: me to really read about the history, the politics, the 615 00:35:38,230 --> 00:35:41,350 S2: way the the soldiers were accepted or not accepted when 616 00:35:41,350 --> 00:35:44,350 S2: they came home. And I watched a lot of interviews 617 00:35:44,350 --> 00:35:49,270 S2: with former soldiers, and that was very inspiring to me. 618 00:35:49,270 --> 00:35:52,190 S2: So I, I'm glad that I, I put that in 619 00:35:52,190 --> 00:35:55,150 S2: this book because I wanted to recognize those soldiers as 620 00:35:55,150 --> 00:35:58,750 S2: much as I wanted to, um, and to put my 621 00:35:58,750 --> 00:36:00,750 S2: dad's generation in the book as well. 622 00:36:00,790 --> 00:36:01,350 S3: Yes. 623 00:36:01,390 --> 00:36:05,310 S1: Did your dad was was he like, uh, other World 624 00:36:05,310 --> 00:36:08,670 S1: War Two veterans that I've known? Did he talk much 625 00:36:08,670 --> 00:36:10,310 S1: about his experience? 626 00:36:10,950 --> 00:36:15,009 S2: He did not. And the character of Gunther. The way 627 00:36:15,010 --> 00:36:18,129 S2: he treats his situation with his family is very much 628 00:36:18,130 --> 00:36:21,609 S2: the way my dad treated us. It wasn't something he 629 00:36:21,610 --> 00:36:24,010 S2: was going to talk about, but the thing he did 630 00:36:24,010 --> 00:36:27,930 S2: do while he was he was on a B-17 bomber, um, 631 00:36:27,969 --> 00:36:30,610 S2: flying missions over in Eastern Europe. And if you're familiar 632 00:36:30,610 --> 00:36:34,050 S2: with the B-17, there's a ball turret on the belly 633 00:36:34,050 --> 00:36:36,129 S2: of the plane. That was my dad's position. He was 634 00:36:36,130 --> 00:36:39,370 S2: a ball turret gunner. And so he kept a journal 635 00:36:39,370 --> 00:36:42,569 S2: of all 50 missions that he went on. And he 636 00:36:42,570 --> 00:36:46,130 S2: would describe them. He would describe seeing other planes getting 637 00:36:46,130 --> 00:36:48,969 S2: shot down. He'd describe the smoke. He'd describe how many 638 00:36:48,969 --> 00:36:53,890 S2: parachutes he counted. And that was such a treasure. And 639 00:36:53,890 --> 00:36:57,569 S2: I'll never forget the day I, we were visiting. We 640 00:36:57,610 --> 00:36:59,450 S2: we lived far away from my parents, so we only 641 00:36:59,450 --> 00:37:02,129 S2: got to visit them a few times a year. And 642 00:37:02,330 --> 00:37:04,170 S2: dad and I were sitting in the living room, just 643 00:37:04,210 --> 00:37:06,530 S2: I don't know if the TV was on, but he 644 00:37:06,530 --> 00:37:10,210 S2: just started to talk about being in the war and 645 00:37:10,210 --> 00:37:12,400 S2: he said, I kept this journal. Would you like to 646 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,200 S2: read it? And that was big. That was huge. And 647 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:17,479 S2: so of course I did. And I'm just so glad 648 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:18,520 S2: that he had that. 649 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:19,360 S3: Yeah. 650 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:21,520 S1: It's your father still with us? 651 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,720 S2: No, he passed away about 14 years ago. 652 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:25,560 S3: Mm. 653 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:27,520 S1: Who has his flag? 654 00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:31,480 S2: My oldest brother does. The one who. My brother was 655 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,560 S2: in the army as well. So he has his flag. 656 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:34,000 S3: Ah. 657 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:37,680 S1: That's great. Michelle Shockley is joining us today. And see, 658 00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:42,720 S1: when you write about these historical events and you write 659 00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:47,520 S1: even about the fictional people real life leaks through. And 660 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:50,040 S1: that's one of the reasons why I think they named 661 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,760 S1: her book The Christie Book of the year. All we 662 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,120 S1: Thought we knew. It's our featured resource today. If you 663 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:00,839 S1: go to Chris org and you'll see the other winners 664 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,920 S1: of the Christie Award for this year for 2025, we 665 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:06,359 S1: have a link to that as well. Just go to Chris. 666 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:19,750 S1: Favorite divorce? Chris favorite. Archie. Thanks for joining us on 667 00:38:19,750 --> 00:38:23,149 S1: this Day after Thanksgiving on Chris Fabry Live. I am 668 00:38:23,150 --> 00:38:28,310 S1: enjoying the conversation with author Michelle Shockley. She's the author 669 00:38:28,310 --> 00:38:32,870 S1: of a number of historical novels. All We Thought We 670 00:38:32,910 --> 00:38:36,430 S1: Knew is the book of the year, the 2025 Christy 671 00:38:36,469 --> 00:38:38,870 S1: Award Book of the year. You can find out more 672 00:38:38,870 --> 00:38:42,390 S1: about her. We have a link to her website and 673 00:38:42,390 --> 00:38:44,830 S1: the book that is our featured resource. Just go to 674 00:38:44,870 --> 00:38:51,910 S1: Chris Chris Fabry. Something I saw just the other day. 675 00:38:51,910 --> 00:38:55,430 S1: Michelle was from an author who said he was he 676 00:38:55,430 --> 00:38:59,029 S1: was signing books, and there was a teenager in the 677 00:38:59,030 --> 00:39:03,070 S1: back of the line who was coming up toward him. 678 00:39:03,230 --> 00:39:07,230 S1: And he said the the young man didn't even have 679 00:39:07,230 --> 00:39:10,300 S1: a book in his hand. He was he was at this, 680 00:39:10,340 --> 00:39:13,420 S1: you know, event for him. And so he kind of said, 681 00:39:13,460 --> 00:39:15,980 S1: you know, why are you here? He said, well, I 682 00:39:15,980 --> 00:39:17,940 S1: just just wanted you to know that this book that 683 00:39:17,940 --> 00:39:23,660 S1: you've written, uh, I decided to stay. And the author said, 684 00:39:23,700 --> 00:39:26,780 S1: you know, what he what he mean decided to stay. 685 00:39:27,739 --> 00:39:32,780 S1: And then he intuited that the young man had considered 686 00:39:32,820 --> 00:39:37,660 S1: not staying with life, you know, checking out, quote unquote. 687 00:39:37,980 --> 00:39:41,300 S1: But he said your book made the difference. It made 688 00:39:41,300 --> 00:39:44,779 S1: me want to keep going. And I, I looked at 689 00:39:44,780 --> 00:39:48,300 S1: that and I thought, oh, what a treasure for an 690 00:39:48,300 --> 00:39:51,739 S1: author to hear, you know, that this thing that he 691 00:39:51,739 --> 00:39:55,140 S1: put on the page caused this young man to want 692 00:39:55,180 --> 00:39:58,500 S1: to keep going in life. So my question to you is, 693 00:39:59,020 --> 00:40:01,860 S1: what do you want to hear from somebody who's standing 694 00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,300 S1: at the back of the line, who comes up? What 695 00:40:04,300 --> 00:40:07,330 S1: is it that you'd love to hear? Uh, a A 696 00:40:07,370 --> 00:40:10,770 S1: response to this story. All we thought we knew. 697 00:40:11,969 --> 00:40:15,010 S2: I would love for a young woman who is similar 698 00:40:15,010 --> 00:40:19,490 S2: to Maddie in in her character, in her thoughts. Just 699 00:40:19,489 --> 00:40:22,890 S2: a real difficult person for others to maybe see. I 700 00:40:22,890 --> 00:40:26,770 S2: would love for her to say I felt seen. In 701 00:40:26,810 --> 00:40:31,770 S2: your book you mentioned Appalachian Song, and that book is 702 00:40:31,770 --> 00:40:35,770 S2: about adoption, and I did have a reader write to 703 00:40:35,770 --> 00:40:38,130 S2: me and say that she had been adopted out of 704 00:40:38,130 --> 00:40:40,890 S2: the foster care system, and she'd had a lot of 705 00:40:40,890 --> 00:40:45,730 S2: struggles bouncing from home to home to home. And something 706 00:40:45,730 --> 00:40:49,330 S2: in my book made her feel seen. And that, to me, 707 00:40:49,330 --> 00:40:52,609 S2: is just a beautiful thing. If people can really understand 708 00:40:52,610 --> 00:40:56,450 S2: the characters and really put their story as related to 709 00:40:56,489 --> 00:40:59,410 S2: something in their own life. That's just that's great. 710 00:40:59,850 --> 00:41:00,250 S3: Yeah. 711 00:41:01,050 --> 00:41:05,130 S1: How do you though not get. And you referred to 712 00:41:05,170 --> 00:41:09,640 S1: this earlier. But how do you not chase? How do 713 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,200 S1: you not go through the social media and all of 714 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:16,880 S1: the pressure to, you know, have a bestseller because, you know, 715 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,480 S1: if this one doesn't sell well, then the next one might. 716 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:21,759 S1: You might not be able to write, you know, to 717 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:27,400 S1: get into that, that treadmill and, and run after that. 718 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:30,120 S1: The MacGuffin, you know, that is so hard to catch. 719 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:31,840 S1: How do you stay off of that? 720 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,719 S2: Well, since I've only been offered a short time, um, 721 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:40,680 S2: I look back on all these years that I was 722 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:43,919 S2: on that treadmill I have been chasing something. Didn't even 723 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:49,560 S2: really always recognize that I was chasing. And it's with 724 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:52,160 S2: each thing. And I tell this to young writers coming up, 725 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:55,400 S2: you know, they they need an agent, they need a publisher, 726 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,560 S2: they need a book published. I said, there's always going 727 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:00,960 S2: to be something you think you're going to need. There's 728 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,640 S2: always more. There's always more readers. There's always more social 729 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,910 S2: media likes. My Instagram is not as big as this author's. 730 00:42:07,910 --> 00:42:10,830 S2: I need to grow it. There's always going to be something. 731 00:42:11,190 --> 00:42:14,149 S2: And so now that I feel like I'm a little 732 00:42:14,190 --> 00:42:18,110 S2: bit off, I've stepped off of that. I feel like 733 00:42:18,110 --> 00:42:20,830 S2: things are wide open now. I don't have to chase them. 734 00:42:20,830 --> 00:42:23,870 S2: But yeah, those things are great. If they come my way, 735 00:42:23,910 --> 00:42:26,950 S2: that's wonderful. I'm going to embrace them, but I'm just 736 00:42:26,950 --> 00:42:28,430 S2: not going to chase it anymore. 737 00:42:28,590 --> 00:42:29,070 S3: Yes. 738 00:42:29,670 --> 00:42:32,590 S1: But as Cummings said, it takes courage to do that. 739 00:42:32,590 --> 00:42:35,149 S1: And A.W. Tozer had a great quote about that too. 740 00:42:35,150 --> 00:42:39,750 S1: And he called what you're discussing stepping out of the parade, 741 00:42:40,030 --> 00:42:43,150 S1: seeing the parade that you're in and what you know, 742 00:42:43,190 --> 00:42:46,670 S1: how everybody is flowing this way. And it just I've 743 00:42:46,710 --> 00:42:50,430 S1: got to step out of that in order, number one, 744 00:42:50,430 --> 00:42:53,790 S1: to keep my sanity. But number two, to really follow 745 00:42:53,830 --> 00:42:57,190 S1: what God wants me to do. And, uh, the other, 746 00:42:57,230 --> 00:42:59,870 S1: the author that I mentioned a little earlier about the 747 00:42:59,870 --> 00:43:03,029 S1: young man who said, I want to stay, said, if 748 00:43:03,030 --> 00:43:05,900 S1: that's the only person who had read his book. He 749 00:43:05,900 --> 00:43:09,500 S1: said it would have been, you know, enough for him. 750 00:43:09,540 --> 00:43:10,740 S1: Do you feel the same way? 751 00:43:11,300 --> 00:43:15,540 S2: I definitely understand that. At the same time, though, I 752 00:43:15,540 --> 00:43:20,260 S2: do have a responsibility because I am contracted through Tyndale 753 00:43:20,260 --> 00:43:26,299 S2: House and I want them to have success with my books. 754 00:43:26,420 --> 00:43:29,819 S2: So it's not all about me. There's other people involved. 755 00:43:29,980 --> 00:43:33,580 S2: Tyndale sells books and publishes books for a living. And 756 00:43:33,580 --> 00:43:36,380 S2: so I have always prayed that my books would never 757 00:43:36,420 --> 00:43:40,660 S2: be a financial burden to my publisher. And one of 758 00:43:40,660 --> 00:43:43,380 S2: the wonderful things about Tyndale House is a lot of 759 00:43:43,380 --> 00:43:46,940 S2: the proceeds from the sales of my books funnels into 760 00:43:46,940 --> 00:43:52,300 S2: their mission, Tyndale Foundation, and they do such amazing things, um, 761 00:43:52,340 --> 00:43:55,739 S2: through charities and mission work. And that's another thing I 762 00:43:55,780 --> 00:43:58,020 S2: would I would love for more of my books to 763 00:43:58,060 --> 00:44:00,540 S2: sell so that more of the resources can go to these, 764 00:44:00,780 --> 00:44:04,050 S2: these wonderful places. So there are, you know, there's other 765 00:44:04,050 --> 00:44:07,969 S2: responsibilities that go beyond just me and me thinking, I 766 00:44:07,969 --> 00:44:10,690 S2: need to have a best seller or whatever. So. 767 00:44:11,969 --> 00:44:16,050 S1: Michelle, you are a breath of fresh air, a bright light, 768 00:44:16,050 --> 00:44:19,290 S1: and all of those who won Kristi awards and really 769 00:44:19,290 --> 00:44:24,050 S1: the nominees too. They're just a special, uh, special writers, 770 00:44:24,050 --> 00:44:28,049 S1: special authors that are in that group who were seen 771 00:44:28,250 --> 00:44:30,009 S1: a couple of weeks ago. But I want to spend 772 00:44:30,010 --> 00:44:32,890 S1: some time with you and just hear more about what 773 00:44:32,890 --> 00:44:36,370 S1: charges you up. You say on your website, history teaches 774 00:44:36,370 --> 00:44:40,210 S1: us about life, about hope, and about healing. As an 775 00:44:40,210 --> 00:44:43,009 S1: author of historical fiction, I make every effort to let 776 00:44:43,010 --> 00:44:45,210 S1: the lives of my characters shine a light on the 777 00:44:45,210 --> 00:44:49,169 S1: hope and healing found only in Jesus. I don't make 778 00:44:49,170 --> 00:44:52,410 S1: it easy on them because life's not easy. They must 779 00:44:52,410 --> 00:44:54,969 S1: go through the same trials and tribulations that you and 780 00:44:54,969 --> 00:45:00,210 S1: I experience walking this earth. So risk with the risk 781 00:45:00,210 --> 00:45:04,080 S1: of getting you back on the treadmill. Is there another 782 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:06,839 S1: story that is bubbling up now? Is there another part 783 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:08,719 S1: of history that you think, oh, I got to go 784 00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:09,720 S1: write about that. 785 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:15,520 S2: Well, I just released last month or month before that, uh, 786 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:18,280 S2: a new novel, historical novel, The Women of Oak Ridge, 787 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:22,080 S2: and that is set in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which was 788 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:25,759 S2: a secret city during World War Two. I grew up 789 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:28,680 S2: in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Los Alamos 30 minutes 790 00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,279 S2: up the mountain. I know all about Los Alamos, the 791 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:34,400 S2: atomic bomb, the Trinity bomb, all of that. But I 792 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:37,400 S2: didn't know that all of the uranium enriched for the 793 00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:41,680 S2: bomb was enriched in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. And so about 794 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:45,239 S2: three years ago, I just happened to have a a 795 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:48,560 S2: woman mentioned that her mom worked at Oak Ridge, and 796 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:50,560 S2: maybe that'd be a great idea for a book. And 797 00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:52,799 S2: so I took that little nugget and ran with it. 798 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:56,160 S2: And I've I've released this book and I absolutely love it. 799 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:57,200 S2: The women of Oak Ridge. 800 00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:00,080 S1: The women of Oak Ridge. Okay. We got to put 801 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:03,669 S1: that as a link to the at the website as well. Oh, 802 00:46:03,710 --> 00:46:06,549 S1: it's just fascinating. Michelle, thank you for sharing your heart 803 00:46:06,550 --> 00:46:10,110 S1: and your life, your writing, your stories. Most of all, 804 00:46:10,110 --> 00:46:14,190 S1: what you're chasing and not chasing these days. God bless you, friend. 805 00:46:14,190 --> 00:46:16,270 S1: Thanks for spending some time with us today. 806 00:46:16,870 --> 00:46:18,990 S2: Thank you so much, Chris, for having me on. 807 00:46:19,790 --> 00:46:23,109 S1: Hope you enjoyed the conversation with Michelle Shockley again. Go 808 00:46:23,110 --> 00:46:26,469 S1: to Chris Fabry live and you'll see more about The 809 00:46:26,469 --> 00:46:29,030 S1: Christie Book of the year. All we Thought We knew 810 00:46:29,030 --> 00:46:32,110 S1: by Michelle as well as you just heard the women 811 00:46:32,150 --> 00:46:35,830 S1: of Oak Ridge. We'll put a link to that, as 812 00:46:35,830 --> 00:46:40,190 S1: well as all the winners of the Christie Award 2025 813 00:46:40,310 --> 00:46:45,230 S1: link right there, Chris Fabry. God bless you, friend. Have 814 00:46:45,230 --> 00:46:47,470 S1: a great weekend. Come on back on Monday for Chris 815 00:46:47,510 --> 00:46:51,030 S1: Fabry live production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody 816 00:46:51,030 --> 00:46:52,230 S1: Bible Institute.