Guest Blog ~ Author Christa Ann Banister ~ Blessed are the Jugglers

Penning her literary works with an innate sense of wit and charm, Christa Ann Banister captures the reader's attention and funny bone with her sequel, Blessed Are the Meddlers, which is the much-anticipated follow-up to her acclaimed chick-lit debut, Around the World in 80 Dates. The sophomore novel will hit bookshelves and online outlets nationally on August 15, 2008.(NavPress)

After years of working as a respected music critic and freelance writer for various Christian publications: CCM Magazine, Crosswalk.com, Christian Single, ChristianityToday.com, not to mention kickstarting the inaugural Christian music blog for MTV’s Urge.com, Christa has inked two novels in just one year that tell the tale about her erstwhile adventures in dating, and she hopes that her story will inspire countless twenty and thirty-somethings in their quest for snagging Mr. Right, even as they hold fast to their Christian values.

Click here to read a review of Meddlers.

Blessed Are the Jugglers

By Christa A. Banister

Considering I was a 23-year-old recent college grad sleeping on an air mattress and moonlighting as an overnight cashier at Walgreens, an intern at a music mag and a sales girl at a small Christian bookstore in Nashville, my first taste of the freelance writing life was especially sweet.

Now mind you, my first assignments didn’t exactly pay much. I was only writing the odd music review and booking gigs for a newly signed Christian band when I wasn’t working my other jobs, after all. But there was something about sitting at my makeshift desk (an ugly table I bought from Target’s clearance section and a desk chair I pilfered from the landlord in my apartment building) and steadily working on my craft that felt especially grown up and fulfilling. And many days—especially the days I worked all three of those jobs—I’d find myself daydreaming about what it would be like to live by your pen. You know, full-time, at home.

Now for the past three years, I’ve know exactly what that feels like, and most days, I’ll admit that it’s pretty amazing to be your own boss and write, write, write. And while my desk isn’t much more glamorous than it was before (hey, at least it sort of looks like rich mahogany, does that count?) and there are days where I feel like my backside is permanently glued to my desk chair, it’s been fun to juggle all sorts of assignments—movie reviews, music features and most recently, two novels that I’m pretty crazy about—all in the comfort of my pajamas (if I so desire).

And while I wouldn’t highly recommend a full-time freelance writing career and a full-time novel writing career at the same time if you want your sanity to remain intact, I can vouch that it’s possible to do both and remain quasi-normal. Sure, it’ll require that you and your laptop become inseparable (even when you’d rather be watching “The Office”), but the rewards have been many (and the bills have actually stayed paid, too)

If I had to wager a guess, I think the ability to write novels and articles all day long was actually developed in those grueling early years in Nashville.

Because after you’ve donned a hideous green smock and restocked the candy shelves at 3:00 a.m. and sold unorthodox amounts of Testamints, you can do really anything, right?