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!

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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.