A Warm Welcome to Ramona Cecil
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Hi Ramona, first, tell us a little about yourself.
Hi! I’m a wife, mother, grandmother, and award-winning author of historical romance novels for the Christian market. I’m a life-long resident of southern Indiana and, like The Time for Healing, most of my stories are set in my Hoosier State.
Lots of writers liked to read as children. How about you? If so, what did you read?
Yes. Voracious! I learned to read before I started school and always had my nose in a book. The librarians knew me well, and my allowance usually went toward buying books at the dime store or from the order sheet my teachers would hand out listing age-appropriate books students could purchase. Some of my favorite books were by the Hoosier author Gene Stratton Porter. Of hers, Laddie was my favorite.
Why do you write?
It’s just who I am. I’ve written creatively (poetry) since about the age of three or four. Both my parents dabbled in creative writing—they actually met at an Indianapolis writer’s group called The Poet’s Corner—so I came by it naturally. When my sister, brother, and I were small our parents would read to us from the works of the renowned Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley. I fell in love with the beauty of words.
Tell us about your latest book.
The Time for Healing tells the story of a white child, Ginny McLain, taken captive by Shawnee during a raid on her southern Indiana settlement in 1812. Twelve years later, Ginny, now Red Fawn, is an aspiring Shawnee medicine woman in southern Missouri. There, she’s discovered by her birth uncle—a Christian missionary to the western Shawnee—and his traveling companion, apprentice minister, Jeremiah Dunbar.
What inspired you to write this particular book?
The book is inspired by the real life event of the Pigeon Roost Massacre and its aftermath. On September 3, 1812, a group of Shawnee and possibly Delaware warriors attacked the settlement of Pigeon Roost in southeastern Indiana, killing twenty-three people. During the raid, two children were taken captive. Many years later one of the children, a three-year-old girl, was found by her missionary uncle living among the Shawnee west of the Mississippi River. In the real story the girl was older when found and married to a Shawnee chief. She never returned to live in Indiana. The story was so compelling, however, my romance writer’s mind immediately went to “I wonder what would have happened if. . .” The result of those musings became The Time for Healing.
What do you love about this book? And what do you hope readers will tell others about it?
Of course I love the history and its southern Indiana setting. Beyond that, I love the message of Christ’s redemption and healing and how God can use even the worst situations to touch hearts, bringing people to His salvation and revealing His purpose for our lives. My hope is that my readers will come away with renewed faith that God has a plan for our each of us and if we continue to seek His will, we’ll find it. I’d like for my readers to tell others that The Time for Healing is both a compelling romance story and a powerful testimonial of God’s healing love.
Where do you get ideas for your books?
Like The Time for Healing, most of my book ideas come from something interesting I’ve heard or read. Once my imagination is sparked, I take that tiny ember of an idea, work to breathe life into it, then keep expanding until, like a flame, it takes on a life of its own.
What is your writing schedule and where do you write?
When I’m working on a novel I write 3 to five days a week, four to five hours each day. My daily writing goal is 1000 words. I pray for God’s guidance before I begin to write and always end my prayer with “Lord, grant me this day my daily thousand words.” Someday I’ll have that put on a plaque. We have a spare bedroom I’ve turned into my office. That’s where I write.
Are you a plotter or a pantzer?
I’m a plotter. I have to know where I’m ultimately going with a story. That said, I allow myself the flexibility to take an occasional detour or change aspects of the plot as the story develops. In other words, I ask for God’s guidance and keep myself open to His leading.
Does your faith affect your writing?If so, how?
Absolutely. I consider my writing a ministry. I try to give my readers a gripping love story while weaving in God’s truths for our lives.
What are you working on right now?
The Bridge at Bramble Ford—A historical romance novel inspired by the history of my own town — Seymour, Indiana.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Here are the twelve steps toward publication I advise aspiring writers
Find a good writing group that includes both amateur and
professional writers.
Get into a good critique group that includes at least two
writers at your level or above.
Attend at least one good writers’ conference per year.
Take online writing courses.
Read books of the same genre you write, written by authors
you respect.
Enter at least a couple of contests per year.
Try to write something at least five days a week.
Study and carefully follow the guidelines of any publishing
house to whom you plan to send a proposal.
Learn to construct a good proposal: Cover letter, synopsis,
first three chapters.
Get some good books on writing.
Try to keep to a writing schedule.
Never, never, never, never give up!!!
About The Time for Healing
The Time for Healing, releases August 7th with Pelican Book Group. This award-winning story is inspired by a real life event—The Pigeon Roost Massacre—that happened in 1812 about thirty miles south of where I live.
Ginny Red Fawn McLain, a Shawnee medicine woman, is thrust back into the world of her birth family twelve years after her abduction. While she eschews the Christianity preached by her birth uncle who found her, Ginny's heart refuses to shun his friend and fellow Christian minister, Jeremiah Dunbar. Jeremiah is immediately smitten with his friend's long-lost niece. But unless Ginny Red Fawn joins Christ's fold—something she adamantly resists—any future with the woman he loves is impossible.
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Bio: I live in southern Indiana. I’m a wife, mother, grandmother, and author of historical romance novels for the Christian market. My husband and I have been married for forty-seven years and are now empty-nesters. We have two grown daughters and three young-adult grandchildren. We make our home in Seymour, Indiana, the “small town” made famous in rocker John Mellencamp’s song of the same name. I’ve always loved history, especially the history of my Hoosier state. Like The Time for Healing, many of my stories are set in Indiana’s past. When not writing, my hobbies include reading, gardening, and visiting places of historical interest.
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Blessings,
Ramona Cecil