Dr. Gary Chapman is the well known author of a series of best sellers, which include The Five Love Languages, The Five Love Languages of Children, The Five Love Languages for Teenagers, and Your Gift of Love. He is the director of Marriage & Family Life Consultants, Inc. and has counseled married couples and families for more than thirty years. Dr. Chapman is a nationally known speaker on marriage and family relationships and host of the syndicated radio broadcast A Growing Marriage. A complete 2006-2007 seminar schedule is available at his website.
You've been a best-selling non-fiction author. What made you decide to do a fiction series?
I realized that a lot of people read fiction who do not often read self-help books. I thought that if we could capture some of the principles of good relationships in a fiction series we could help a lot of people.
How did your choose Catherine Palmer to co-author it with you?
Catherine Palmer is an excellent fiction writer. I read several of her previous books and just knew that we could connect. She feels deeply and writes with passion. I also knew that she had read and found helpful several of my relationship books. She was excited about the project and I knew that we could work together.
I realized that a lot of people read fiction who do not often read self-help books. I thought that if we could capture some of the principles of good relationships in a fiction series we could help a lot of people.
How did your choose Catherine Palmer to co-author it with you?Catherine Palmer is an excellent fiction writer. I read several of her previous books and just knew that we could connect. She feels deeply and writes with passion. I also knew that she had read and found helpful several of my relationship books. She was excited about the project and I knew that we could work together.
The first book in this series is filled with hope and redemption. Are the characters an amalgamation of people you've counseled over the years?
Yes, every situation in the book reflects real-life situations that I have dealt with in the counseling office through the years.
I really enjoyed the blend of gentle humor and deep emotion. Who came up with the story line?
I must give Catherine the credit for the story line. She came up with the characters and the setting, and I really identified with her thinking.
Did you as a non-fiction author learn any new writing techniques from working on a novel?
I really enjoyed interacting with Catherine as the story unfolded. I relied on her to develop the story while I advised her regarding relationship issues. She is the fiction writer so I relied on her expertise. It was a new experience for me, but I really enjoyed the process.
How well did your own style translate to fiction?
In all of my writing through the years, I have made much of personal conversations with people. Some of these came from the counseling office and others from the natural flow of life. I have found that people identify with stories. Therefore, that part of my writing blended well into fiction.
Did you and Catherine divide the writing? If so, will you divulge how?
I’ve written three books with co-authors. I learned after the first one “how not to co-author.” In the first one, we both wrote the book and let an editor put it together. Neither of us was happy with the results. Therefore, I decided not to do that again. So, in this book Catherine is the primary writer. I read it and made suggestions. I think working in this way we got the best of our thinking in a book that flows well.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?
Write from your heart. Write out of the overflow of your life. Use your own experiences to help others. Whatever you have learned will likely help others. All of my writing grows out of my thirty plus years of counseling in the area of marriage and family.
You're a husband, an author, a counselor and host a radio show. What does a typical day look like for you?
It depends on which day. Monday and Tuesday is filled with counseling appointments and/or radio interviews. Wednesday and Thursday is devoted to writing. (I’m cloistered in my writing space.) Friday I do office work in the morning and fly out to my next marriage seminar. (I lead 30 seminars each year.) Sundays I’m active in my church. All evenings are devoted to being with my wife: talking, watching television, going out to eat, or doing things with friends. Life is full and fruitful.
Thank you for sharing with our readers, many of whom are writers. Do you have any parting words of advice for them?
Keep writing. As long as you have something to say, keep saying it. However, don’t forget to enrich your own soul by reading what others write and spending time with people. Invest your life in helping people and life will be satisfying.
Yes, every situation in the book reflects real-life situations that I have dealt with in the counseling office through the years.
I really enjoyed the blend of gentle humor and deep emotion. Who came up with the story line?
I must give Catherine the credit for the story line. She came up with the characters and the setting, and I really identified with her thinking.
Did you as a non-fiction author learn any new writing techniques from working on a novel?
I really enjoyed interacting with Catherine as the story unfolded. I relied on her to develop the story while I advised her regarding relationship issues. She is the fiction writer so I relied on her expertise. It was a new experience for me, but I really enjoyed the process.
How well did your own style translate to fiction?
In all of my writing through the years, I have made much of personal conversations with people. Some of these came from the counseling office and others from the natural flow of life. I have found that people identify with stories. Therefore, that part of my writing blended well into fiction.
Did you and Catherine divide the writing? If so, will you divulge how?
I’ve written three books with co-authors. I learned after the first one “how not to co-author.” In the first one, we both wrote the book and let an editor put it together. Neither of us was happy with the results. Therefore, I decided not to do that again. So, in this book Catherine is the primary writer. I read it and made suggestions. I think working in this way we got the best of our thinking in a book that flows well.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?
Write from your heart. Write out of the overflow of your life. Use your own experiences to help others. Whatever you have learned will likely help others. All of my writing grows out of my thirty plus years of counseling in the area of marriage and family.
You're a husband, an author, a counselor and host a radio show. What does a typical day look like for you?
It depends on which day. Monday and Tuesday is filled with counseling appointments and/or radio interviews. Wednesday and Thursday is devoted to writing. (I’m cloistered in my writing space.) Friday I do office work in the morning and fly out to my next marriage seminar. (I lead 30 seminars each year.) Sundays I’m active in my church. All evenings are devoted to being with my wife: talking, watching television, going out to eat, or doing things with friends. Life is full and fruitful.
Thank you for sharing with our readers, many of whom are writers. Do you have any parting words of advice for them?
Keep writing. As long as you have something to say, keep saying it. However, don’t forget to enrich your own soul by reading what others write and spending time with people. Invest your life in helping people and life will be satisfying.
To read a review of It Happens Every Spring, click here
Your coauthorship sounds wonderful. And so does your novel. Speaking as an author, I would think this type coauthorship would be divine--being able to talk through the characters' issues, etc. with a psychologist and then write the story, so that, as you said, you could capture some of the principles of good relationships and help others.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed!
Write out of the overflow of your life.
ReplyDeleteLove that. Thanks for being with us. It was an honor.
This was a very helpful interview for me. Thanks so much for coming to novel Journey, Gary, to share your heart for marriages and fiction.
ReplyDelete