Today feels like spring in my neck of the woods and I celebrated by changing the decorations in my dining room and kitchen. Pink, purple and green abound, along with some Irish nick-knacks from my Gram.And since I can't share the spring sun or my table decorations with you, I thought I'd share another thing that makes me feel like spring... a funny book.
I'm also doing it a bit differently this time. First, you'll find the author's take on her newest novel. Then, Christa will be back to visit and answer some questions so you all can get to know her better.
Here's Christa...
Faith, Hope and Why I Wrote Blessed Are the Meddlers
By Christa A. Banister
What if a couple of months after that fateful meeting in the park with slobbery ol’ Brinkley by their side, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters in You’ve Got Mail ultimately decided their relationship was way better in cyberspace and eventually broke up?
For those of us who love our happy-ever-after endings that the bulk of romantic comedies reliably serve up, that’s a possibility we’re often okay with leaving unexplored.
After all, it just feels better to assume that everyone is happy—no questions asked.
But what does happen after the couple we’ve been rooting for actually gets together? It’s something I’ve always wondered about and something I finally had a chance to explore in my second novel, Blessed Are the Meddlers.
Since Sydney and Gavin are really, truly enjoying their new wedded bliss, I wasn’t shy about it. And I think seeing a couple happily adjusting to newlywed life is a refreshing change of pace, especially when marriage is portrayed in such a bad light in so many TV shows and movies. I mean, once the wedding is over and married life seems about as appealing as the requisite root canal, it’s not surprising that so many people get the wrong idea about God’s amazing gift.
At the same time, however, I didn’t want to abandon some of the singles-specific themes of the first book, which is why the always-helpful Sydney makes it her life’s mission to ensure that her friends and family are as happy as she is—whether they want her help or not (doesn’t every single know someone like that?). But as anyone who has ever played matchmaker knows, meddling in someone’s love life can have some serious complications, something Sydney learns all too quickly, especially when she transforms into love advice guru, Lucy for the Lovelorn.
While I had so much fun writing Sydney per usual, I also loved the journey that Sydney’s sister Samantha was on. Once she finally (!!!) starts dating the oh-so-dashing Eli, it doesn’t seem to make sense that Samantha wouldn’t be happy as a clam. I mean, c’mon, she’s dating the cutest, sweetest guy, and yet she’s still holding a torch for an old flame that’s about as promising as anyone’s chance of guessing all the right Powerball numbers. And while Samantha eventually made some choices that garnered a few groans from readers, I loved how she refused to settle—something I hoped would resonate deeply with anyone who’s been tempted to do just that.
Continuing the trend of the “most unlikely person” getting married from my first book, Around the World in 80 Dates, Sydney’s boss Lucinda is also embarking on an eye-opening journey of her own as she realizes what’s really important not only in a guy, but in life. Sure, she’s still got a pithy one-liner for everything, but she really is growing, a process that everyone can relate to.
And I feel that I grew a little in the writing process, too. Not only did I have the newfound confidence of an author who’s been through the process once before, but I really felt God’s inspiration during the long, long weeks and months it took to come together. When I was short on ideas and so tired I could hardly see straight, I was forced to trust Him for the strength, creativity and energy I needed to complete the work in a way I could be proud of. And relying on Him, rather than my own strength, is something I’m always having to learn—again and again. It’s so easy to rely on your own resources, your own talents, and yet God calls us to rely solely on Him. So I was thankful to be His student yet again as I penned Blessed Are the Meddlers.
By Christa A. Banister
What if a couple of months after that fateful meeting in the park with slobbery ol’ Brinkley by their side, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters in You’ve Got Mail ultimately decided their relationship was way better in cyberspace and eventually broke up?
For those of us who love our happy-ever-after endings that the bulk of romantic comedies reliably serve up, that’s a possibility we’re often okay with leaving unexplored.
After all, it just feels better to assume that everyone is happy—no questions asked.
But what does happen after the couple we’ve been rooting for actually gets together? It’s something I’ve always wondered about and something I finally had a chance to explore in my second novel, Blessed Are the Meddlers.
Since Sydney and Gavin are really, truly enjoying their new wedded bliss, I wasn’t shy about it. And I think seeing a couple happily adjusting to newlywed life is a refreshing change of pace, especially when marriage is portrayed in such a bad light in so many TV shows and movies. I mean, once the wedding is over and married life seems about as appealing as the requisite root canal, it’s not surprising that so many people get the wrong idea about God’s amazing gift.
At the same time, however, I didn’t want to abandon some of the singles-specific themes of the first book, which is why the always-helpful Sydney makes it her life’s mission to ensure that her friends and family are as happy as she is—whether they want her help or not (doesn’t every single know someone like that?). But as anyone who has ever played matchmaker knows, meddling in someone’s love life can have some serious complications, something Sydney learns all too quickly, especially when she transforms into love advice guru, Lucy for the Lovelorn.
While I had so much fun writing Sydney per usual, I also loved the journey that Sydney’s sister Samantha was on. Once she finally (!!!) starts dating the oh-so-dashing Eli, it doesn’t seem to make sense that Samantha wouldn’t be happy as a clam. I mean, c’mon, she’s dating the cutest, sweetest guy, and yet she’s still holding a torch for an old flame that’s about as promising as anyone’s chance of guessing all the right Powerball numbers. And while Samantha eventually made some choices that garnered a few groans from readers, I loved how she refused to settle—something I hoped would resonate deeply with anyone who’s been tempted to do just that.
Continuing the trend of the “most unlikely person” getting married from my first book, Around the World in 80 Dates, Sydney’s boss Lucinda is also embarking on an eye-opening journey of her own as she realizes what’s really important not only in a guy, but in life. Sure, she’s still got a pithy one-liner for everything, but she really is growing, a process that everyone can relate to.
And I feel that I grew a little in the writing process, too. Not only did I have the newfound confidence of an author who’s been through the process once before, but I really felt God’s inspiration during the long, long weeks and months it took to come together. When I was short on ideas and so tired I could hardly see straight, I was forced to trust Him for the strength, creativity and energy I needed to complete the work in a way I could be proud of. And relying on Him, rather than my own strength, is something I’m always having to learn—again and again. It’s so easy to rely on your own resources, your own talents, and yet God calls us to rely solely on Him. So I was thankful to be His student yet again as I penned Blessed Are the Meddlers.
Here's more about Christa...
Short Bio:
Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog at http://christabanister.typepad.com/heythereitschrista/.
Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog at http://christabanister.typepad.com/heythereitschrista/.
For more information, including her upcoming book signings and sample chapters of her novels, check out her website at http://www.christabanister.com/
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