Monday, December 12, 2011

Monday for the Military: Meet Cheryl Wyatt

Cheryl Wyatt has written 7 romance books for the "Love Inspired" line - all with a military theme. Today she is here to talk about her books and her connection with, and admiration for, the United States military.

Welcome, Cheryl!

Amber: Thank you for joining us today! To start, could you share a little bit about yourself?

Cheryl: In addition to being a Christian fiction writer, I am a Registered Nurse, mom to fantastic kids and wife to a super cute and funny rocker dude who is heavily involved in the music industry. Life is very adventurous. The most important thing I could say about me is that I love Jesus with all of my heart, realize my writing talent comes from God and strive to write as worship. I am a worshipper at heart. I also have a heart for orphans. I’m kind of tom-boyish in that I like guns, target practice, motorcycles, watercraft and anything that makes me laugh. I have a funny bone and my house is inhabited by practical jokesters. =)

Amber: Awesome! On your website you mention that you were born on a Naval base on Valentine’s Day. Could you share some more about the military influence in your life and what inspired you to write Inspirational Military Romance for the “Love Inspired” line? (There’s a lot of inspiration going on in this question, LOL!)

Cheryl: LOL! My dad was in the Marines when I was born and he served in Vietnam. I was born at Balboa near Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. We moved away when I was a baby so I don’t remember it, but got to know the area from my parents’ stories and from pictures. Because my dad was a veteran, we were raised with a strong respect for those serving in the military and their families. Dad didn’t used to talk a lot about Vietnam, so my curiosity caused me to begin researching at a very young age. That quest turned into a passion to honor veterans and their families with my stories.

Amber: What do you admire most about the U.S. military?

Cheryl: Its strength and motivation. That they take up for people in other countries who are oppressed by wicked and cruel leadership. The willingness of service members to put themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe and free. That they’d be willing to risk their lives with no inclination to do it just to be called a hero.

Amber: Do you have any other military-themed books in the works?

Cheryl: I think every book I have has at least one person who is or was in the military, so yeah. Pretty much that’s a huge part of my brand as a writer I think and where my strongest writing is at this point. I have a new series coming out with Love Inspired, beginning July 1 of this year that features a former combat trauma team who come back from deployment to open a civilian trauma center in a small town in great need of it. The series is called Eagle Point Emergency and the first book is called The Doctor’s Devotion. It’s related to my last series (Wings of Refuge) in that Eagle Point is one town over from Refuge, where the PJs (Pararescue Jumpers) featured in those books are stationed. I am very excited about the new series and am having fun writing it.

Amber: Exciting to hear about your upcoming series! How can we pray for you and other authors?

Cheryl: Pray for people to be drawn to our books. Pray for book sales. For the words to have impact and to directly reflect God’s heart. Pray for the book industry in general, especially the Christian market. That it will thrive in the economy. Pray for direction with stories. Thank you so much! I’ve never had that question in all of the interviews I’ve done and it means a lot to now that people are praying. I pray for my readers a lot and consider them tremendous blessings. It’s an honor to be able to write and I’m thankful for my publisher and my agent. And the fact that God is allowing me to do this. Thanks so much for interviewing me, Amber!

Amber: It's wonderful to host you, Cheryl! May God bless you and direct you in your writing career!

~ ~ ~

Readers, Cheryl has generously offered to give away a copy of Steadfast Soldier and a special Christmas goodie basket put together by Cheryl herself!! How awesome is that??

Here are the rules for this drawing:
  • You must leave a comment for Cheryl along with your e-mail address.
  • You must have a U.S. mailing address.
  • The winner will be announced next Monday.

You can check out Cheryl's website HERE and view her books on the Harlequin site HERE.

24 comments:

Kav said...

Great interview, Amber and Cheryl!

Cheryl, I have to tell you that reading your Love Inspired series has really opened my eyes to the sacrifices members of the military make. I appreciated them before, but I feel like I understand now. You've made them come to life for me. In fact it's even changed the way I celebrate Remembrance Day. So thank you for that.

Love Amber's question about how we can pray for our authors. And your answer, Cheryl -- so all encompassing. Plus I'd like to add that we readers need to support those prayers by purchasing Christian books. We definitely don't want this industry to dwindle.

I have used Christian fiction as a way to share the gospel with friends who wouldn't otherwise be open to it. And guess what? They loved the depth and meaning in the books they read!

Cheryl Wyatt said...

Kav, that is awesome!!!! I'm so glad. Thank you for sharing that with me. Thank you for stopping by! Great to see you.
Hugs,
Cheryl

Wendy Newcomb said...

Great interview, gives us many things to think about. Thank you!

wfnren at aol dot com
wrensthoughts.blogspot.com

Cheryl Wyatt said...

Wren, I'm glad you think so. Thanks for stoppping by!
Cheryl

Melanie ~ Christian Bookshelf Reviews said...

Cheryl,

Your books look really good. I enjoy Love Inspired books and hope to win this giveaway.

~Melanie~
frequentreader19 (at) gmail (dot) com

Brandy said...

What a great interview! Cheryl, you know I LOVE your books! I would LOVE the chance to win a book and gift basket! Thank you for the chance.

Hope you and your family have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~Brandy~

Sally Shupe said...

Hi Amber and Cheryl!! Awesome interview! Cheryl, I love reading your books. I love the way your characters come to life as I'm reading. Each time I read a book of yours, my walk with God gets closer, and my understanding deepens. Thank you for using your talent for God's glory!
tscmshupe@pemtel.net

Faith said...

Wonderful interview :)
Cheryl, that is so cool that your books appreciate the soldiers. Often in todays day and age it doesn't seem like they are appreciated as much as they should be for all they give.

I live in the US

crazi.swans at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Amber,

What a perfect question to ask every author - how can we pray for them? Too often, I don't think of this, and I'm embarrassed. They need so much support so (like Kav said) the market for Christian books and demand for them do not dwindle. Thanks for that reminder. :o)

Christy

southernsassythings at gmail dot com

Marissa said...

Wonderful interview!

marissamehresman(at)aol(dot)com

Carissa said...

Cheryl,

I loved your wings of refuge series. Looking forward to this next series coming out.
Carissa

belovedgraceful(at)bellsouth(dot)net

Cheryl Wyatt said...

Hi Melanie! Glad you stopped by.

Brandy, thanks for the kind words! You are a sweetie!

Sally, yay! Glad you stopped by. Sally knows how very comma-challenged I am.

Faye, I'm glad you think so. Servicemembers don't get near the honor they deserve.

Christy, we truly value the prayers. And honestly if it weren't for readers we wouldn't have anyone to write to!

So I hope you all know how appreciated you are and what an honor it is for us to have your readership.

Marissa, thank you! Thanks for stopping by.

Carissa, thank you as well. Are you and Marissa related? Your names rhyme! I love it. :-)

Cheryl

Project Journal said...

Hey Auntie,
Just wanted to leave a comment quickly, nice interview : ) You always do such a good job. It was cool to read an interview with you other than my own; I could just hear you saying it lol though the sound of your voice is becoming more faint these days lol! I love how dedicated you are to this genre and all that it means to you and a whole world of readers, your writing, your family, etc. Dedicated is simply one word that I could easily use to describe you.

Anyway, I don't need to be entered for the book because I already own it of course lol : ) You know I've got all yours on a keeper shelf! Duuuuuuuuuuuuh.
Love you,
Hannah
P.S. What's your schedule like next week? I'm gonna be doing a lot of driving to appointments and probably will have updates/need venting! LMBO! If you wanna have a catch-up phonecall, lemme know what day and around what time works for you ok? If not, I know you're busy. The girls must be getting so big now : ) Still love that message y'all left me (though it's gone now, lost it when my phone fell in the toilet! O_O bahahah). Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, just lemme know, you've got a few ways to get me :P Muah!

Amber Holcomb said...

Good evening, everyone! :)

KAV: I agree with Cheryl - all of your comment is awesome! Thank you for all you do to encourage me and support the Christian fiction industry. You are inspiring! :)

WFNREN: Glad you enjoyed the interview and found it to be thought-provoking! That's great! :)

MELANIE: They do look good, don't they? I have Steadfast Soldier on my TBR stack (Thank you, Cheryl!), which I'm looking forward to reading sometime!

BRANDY: So glad you could stop by, and thank you for your encouraging words to Cheryl! :) If you see this comment, would you mind leaving your e-mail address?

SALLY: That's wonderful! :) So glad you could stop by, and thank you for following this blog!

FAYE: I so agree. Thank you for stopping by!

CHRISTY: Awww, thank you for that very sweet comment! And thank YOU for your reminder - I include the question but I really need to follow through on praying more for authors and also for the industry in general. I'm so glad God gave us creativity and the opportunity to share His love through stories!

MARISSA: Glad you enjoyed it! :)

CARISSA: It's exciting to hear that Cheryl has a new series coming! Thanks for stopping by!

HANNAH: Glad you could stop by! And I agree - from what little I know of Cheryl, "dedicated" seems like a wonderful adjective for her. :)

CHERYL: Thank you again so much for giving your time and offering this great giveaway for my readers! So glad I could you for a "Monday for the Military" feature!

~Amber

Unknown said...

i live 5 miles from an Airforce Base and am right in their training path. Although i don't see many soldier, i have immense respect for them, and when the noisy planes fly over my home i often sigh a prayer for their families. My attention to the need of prayers for the families has come directly from the novels. Thanks authors

marianne[dot]wanham[at]gmail[dot]com

Jennifer said...

Loved your interview! I've always had a high respect for all military and I pray for them and their families!
God bless and Merry Christmas
jennydtipton[at]gmail[dot]com

Andrea said...

Loved the interview. Thank you for honoring the military in your books. They all sound fascinating. I thank God for those willing to serve and protect our country. We have lived in other countries and you cannot realize how great America is until you have experienced other places (even modern countries). Anyway, I would love to read your book!

andrea2russia@hotmail.com

Amber Holcomb said...

MARIANNE: Thank you for sharing that! :) It's wonderful to think of the impact of novels, and it's wonderful to hear about people respecting and praying for our military members and their families!

JENNIFER: Glad you loved the interview, and thank you for praying for our military men and women, as well as their families! :)

ANDREA: Thank you for your thought-provoking comment! :) Glad you could stop by!

~Amber

Lane Hill House said...

Thank you for the interview. My friend's husband interviews older veterans and videos it so their family can see their loved one and have a remembrance to hand down to younger members.
Merry Christmas, blessings to you and your family.
lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net

Amber Holcomb said...

Lane Hill House,

That's really neat! What a thoughtful, wonderful idea. :) Glad you enjoyed this interview, as well, and merry Christmas to you and yours!

~Amber

Anonymous said...

Cheryl,

I am so excited about the Eagle Point series...I just love series I like to "check in" with characters in later books.

I think your love of military and God is wonderful

-Kim E

Amber Holcomb said...

Kim E,

It is fun to see characters make re-appearances in a new series! :) I haven't yet read any of Cheryl's books, but I do have Steadfast Soldier on my TBR stack (thank you, Cheryl!).

And I so agree on that last line! :)

~Amber

cheryl@cherylwyatt.com said...

Thanks to everyone who visited since my last comment.

Amber, it's always a pleasure to spend time with you and your blog community. Thanks for inviting me!

I can't wait to see who wins the basket!

Merry Christmas and a Huggy, Happy New Year.

Cheryl

Amber Holcomb said...

Cheryl,

Awww, it's always a pleasure to host you! :) You're welcome here anytime!

And I'm excited to see who wins the basket, too! I'll probably pick a winner tomorrow night. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

~Amber