Author Mini-view:
Tell us a bit about yourself and your writing. (How did you get started? How many books have you written? Where are you on your writing journey?)
I’m not one of those writers who always wanted to write. I was nearly forty when the writing bug bit me. In 1990 I felt compelled to write short stories, personal experiences and poems and filled legal pads with my ideas. In May of 1991 I attended my first writing workshop. One of the visiting authors told me I had a unique writing voice and she encouraged me to keep writing. I floated home imagining my soon to come writing career.
The dream was short-lived. Less than a month later my life was altered when the van I was driving was hit by an overturned log truck. I was left with permanent injuries to my spine and with chronic pain. After months of medical testing, evaluation, and physical therapy I was told I’d never fully recover and would not be able to work.
I wallowed in a pit of despair, and then God rescued me and set me on a path of writing. I wrote my first novel in 1992 and it released in 1994. I’ve been writing ever since. Thus far I’ve written twenty-one novels and hope to write many more.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
A favorite Bible verse is like choosing one of my favorite children or grandchildren – impossible. The Bible is alive, a gift from God to humankind. Today a special verse that lifts me up is Isaiah 55: 8, 9. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
It reassures me that even when I don’t “get it” God does. He has a greater plan than even I can imagine.
What have you read lately that you would recommend?
I’ve been reading the Lynn Austen series “Refiners Fire”. I’m half way through book three and have thoroughly enjoyed the series, which takes place during the Civil War. She’s a fabulous writer.
What book are you featuring today?
To Dance With Dolphins is my first contemporary novel. It is a story that has been resting in my heart for many years. I’m thrilled to introduce it to readers. The characters and the tale are real to me.
This is what it says on the back cover:
Twenty-two-year-old Claire Murray has suffered from a mysterious disease for years. Her social circle has shrunk to a small support group for people with chronic illness and disability. But what if life could be about more than doctors, pain, and medications?
Claire and three others—old grouch Tom, hippy-holdout Willow, and moody Taylor—hatch plans for a cross-country trip to swim with the dolphins in Florida. Only a day into the trip, they unexpectedly need help. And who happens to be hitchhiking along the highway but a young, good-looking loner named Sean Sullivan? However, the last thing he wants is to be harnessed to a bunch of ailing travelers.
Though the journey proves difficult, following God’s plan might be even harder. Will they find the courage to follow their dreams and dare to live again?
If you could tell people who are going to read/have read your books one thing, what would it be?
I appreciate you—I couldn’t do what I do without you. And as I write I pray that you will have a good time, and that you will be encouraged and uplifted.
Author Bio:
Bonnie’s books are being read internationally and she hears from readers in Australia, Europe, and even Africa.
She enjoys speaking for women’s groups and teaching at writing seminars and conventions. These days, her time is filled with writing, being a grandmother and relishing precious time with her aged mother.
Bonnie and her husband, Greg, live in Southern Oregon. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.
You can find Bonnie at
https://www.bonnieleon.com
https://www.facebook.com/BonnieLeonAuthor
https://www.bonnieleon.blogspot.com
https://www.@bonnie_leon
https://www.pinterest.com/bonnieleon/