Hot Apple Cider

N. J. Lindquist is the co-editor of Hot Apple Cider as well as the author of two pieces in the anthology: "The Diamond Ring," a true story of how N. J's life was changed because of an 80-year-old man who traveled by train from San Francisco, California to a small town in Manitoba to give her mother a diamond ring when N. J. was a young girl; and "My Letter to the Editor," the true story of a letter N. J. wrote to the editor of her local newspaper when she was 12 years old. The two articles won three awards at The Word Guild's 2009 Awards Gala.

N. J. Lindquist is a multi-talented Canadian author and speaker who has been successful in a number of careers including high school teacher, wife and mother, homeschooler, church planter and lay leader, mentor, writing teacher, columnist, author, publisher, and co-founder of The Word Guild, a Canadian association of over 350 writers and editors who are Christian.

N. J.'s published work includes two mainstream adult mysteries (Shaded Light and Glitter of Diamonds) that have been compared to the best of Agatha Christie; five coming-of-age inspirational novels for teenagers; three discipleship manuals for teens; a Christmas play; and numerous articles and columns. She also co-edited Hot Apple Cider. Her books have received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Christian Library Journal and many other reviewers and readers.

N. J. has a BA in psychology and English from Brandon University (where she received the English medal at graduation) and a Certificate in Education from the University of Manitoba. She was given a Teacher of the Year Award from Roblin Collegiate after her second year of teaching.

N. J. has received a number of awards for her writing, including a Toronto Star Judge's Choice award, four awards for her novels, five for articles, and one for her columns. She also received the 2006 Leading Women Award for excellence in Communication and Media, and a Deeds Speak Award from the York Region Police for her book, In Time of Trouble.

In addition to teaching a number of workshops for writers and aspiring writers, N. J. speaks on a variety of topics for both adults and teens, including raising children, creativity, and leadership. N. J. and her husband Les are partners in That's Life! Communications.

www.njlindquist.com

N. J., Hot Apple Cider was basically your idea, and you not only have two pieces in it, but you edited and published the book. Why were you willing to put so much effort into this book?

I believe there are many Canadian writers who are Christian, who are either very good at their craft right now, or who have the potential to be very good if given the training they need. And I believe that in the past the majority of voices of Canadian writers who are Christian have not been heard. But those voices need to be heard.

Hot Apple Cider began as a vehicle to showcase a number of our authors who write from a Christian faith perspective, so that people could get an idea of the tremendous talent that’s available here in Canada. Hot Apple Cider is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are 30 authors in it, but we actually have several hundred published Canadian authors who are Christian, and many more people involved in a myriad of other types of writing, from poetry to journalism, and screenplays to Sunday school curriculum. It was my hope that Hot Apple Cider could open some doors for all those writers.

In her foreword for Hot Apple Cider, Janette Oke mentions that writers are often asked, "Why do you write?" How do you respond to that question?

Well, to be honest, during the last seven and a half years, I’ve been so busy founding The Word Guild, directing Write! Canada, and working to help establish a place for Canadian writers and editors that I’ve had very little time to write my own work.

And that really hurts. Writing is a bit like breathing for me – I need to do it to be alive. I feel as though I’ve been holding my breath for way too long and I’m turning blue.

My dream is that others will come forward to keep The Word Guild and Write! Canada going for the next 20 years, and I’ll be able to find time to focus on my writing and related speaking. I think that will happen soon. Until then, I expect to continue to feel that a vital part of me is missing.

In your two stories included in Hot Apple Cider, you talk about growing up in the 1950's and feeling different from other girls your age. Have you met other women who grew up feeling as you did? What do you say to them now?

I’ve spoken to many, many people who feel different – women and men of all ages, and even children. They don’t all feel different for the same reasons. But the reality is we tend to see “different” in an isolating way – as though we have a contagious disease. Rarely do we think of being different as a good thing.

And yet, most of us feel “different” at some time. Even people we might look at and think, “They have it all!” may feel very isolated inside. Unfortunately, most of us tend to measure ourselves against other people and what we think they’re like. But no one knows what’s going on inside another person. Even a popular, good-looking, very capable person can have low self-esteem; how you see yourself is determined by how you feel inside, and not what others see.

It’s not easy to be confident in who you are, and not care what other people think. Having other people who love you unconditionally helps. But ultimately, knowing that God made us exactly as we are and loves us “as is” can make a huge difference. The biggest thing is to put the past in the past – forgive others and ourselves – and start going forward from today, accepting ourselves and others just as we are, and letting God use us.

What do you say to people who have a child who seems to be struggling the way you did as a child?

When we try to change someone, especially a child, we’re saying, “You’re not good enough as you are.” Maybe change is needed in some areas – like being polite or doing one’s homework – but it has to be done with empathy and with the goal of helping bring what’s inside the person to the outside, and validating it, rather than changing who the person is. After all, each one of us has been created in the image of God.

One of the primary reasons why we home-schooled our sons was so they could be themselves and not measure themselves against other people or have their creativity and intelligence suppressed. I don’t tell everyone to homeschool, but I do think parents are ultimately responsible for seeing that their children get what they need emotionally, spiritually, and socially, as well as intellectually.

What things are you involved with today that help people who feel lonely or isolated?

Many people are hesitant to share their dreams. And they also often need encouragement to follow what’s in their heart. At the core of all my books – whether the discipleship manuals or my teen novels and mysteries, and even Hot Apple Cider – is encouragement for people to be all they can be with God’s help. And I write a column for Maranatha News called “As Each Part Does Its Work,” which is centered around the reality that the body of Christ only works if each member is working. I also teach workshops across Canada and occasionally in the US. A couple of them are “Release the Creative You” and “Get to Know the Writer in You.” And of course, the mandate of The Word Guild, which I co-founded, is to connect, develop, and promote Canadian writers and editors who are Christian – whether they are beginners or professionals.

You also write mysteries? What is that about?

I’ve always loved reading mysteries. So one day I decided to try to write one. Seventeen years later, Shaded Light was published, and got strong reviews – many people compared it to the best of Agatha Christie.

Since it was both fun and challenging to write, I wrote another – Glitter of Diamonds, which is set in the world of baseball – another of my interests – and also got positive reviews, especially from male readers. A large part of me would just like to write mysteries and nothing else. You can say so much in a very entertaining way.

You've written 8 books for teenagers – 5 novels and 3 discipleship manuals. What made you decide to write for them?

When I first started writing, after I’d been teaching high school and while working with young people in churches and camps, for some reason I found myself writing a novel from the viewpoint of a teenage boy. I’m not sure why, exactly, but apparently I can do it really well. I find teens very interesting, and I believe they’re capable of much more than most adults realize. Plus, I believe the teenager years are the most difficult to go through. Learning how to handle relationships is so key: with God, yourself and each other. All my books deal with these relationships in some way.

Your mother was confused by your faith as a child – it wasn't something she shared until she was much older. What was it like to grow up believing something different from your family?

Up to a certain age, you assume everyone else thinks the same way you do, and that other people’s experiences mirror yours. Then you start to realize maybe not. I was about 11 when I realized my parents and I weren’t quite on the same page. After that, I was concerned about them and tried to help them see what they were missing. I think in some ways, I felt as though I was the adult in that area. My parents did attend a church, but they didn’t understand it was possible to have a relationship with God. I did, from when I was very young.

The letter to the editor that was published in our local newspaper when I was 12 (and which is printed in full in my story “My Letter to the Editor” in Hot Apple Cider) was actually my attempt to help other people, including my parents, understand what I believed. It used to baffle me that everyone else didn’t see things the way I did.  Still does, some times. But I did learn that although you can share what you believe, you have to find a balance between driving them away and pretending there are no differences.

Both my parents came to have a relationship with God in their latter days, and up until then it was simply a matter of prayer, loving them unconditionally, and living my own life the way I believed God wanted me to. Each individual has to make his or her own decision, and it has to be real – not something they do for the wrong reasons.

How did you come to faith yourself, since it wasn't something taught in the home?

One of the books I’m trying to find time to write is a memoir called LoveChild, which will tell that story. It’s a bit on the complicated side. Let’s just say there were other influences on my life besides my parents. You can see one of those influences in my story “The Diamond Ring” in Hot Apple Cider. It tells how God sent an 80-year-old man all the way from San Francisco, California to a little town in Souris, Manitoba to bring me books that opened up a whole new world for me. He wasn’t the only person who influenced my life in a major way; there were several others.

I'm assuming you get feedback from people because of the nature of your books, and feedback is great for the author – you know someone is actually reading your words! But I'm wondering if you've learned anything from your readers that you could share with us?

I’ve had a number of people tell me that reading one or more of my books changed their life – or someone else’s life. I guess that’s a key reason why we write – knowing that our words can make a difference for someone. With all the other things that drive you crazy – finding publishers and marketing and everything – you can easily start wondering if writing is worth all the work. But then you hear someone say that your book affected his/her life in a positive way, and you want to start a new one right away.

One of the most interesting stories was from a lady who found copies of my teen novels in a dollar store in a very small town. No idea how they got there. Anyway, she bought the books and gave them to street kids she was working with who were in trouble, and several lives were changed.

Another story was from a teacher in a grade 4-8 class in western Canada. He read Best of Friends aloud to his class, and after he finished it, the kids made a petition and all signed it, asking that he get the next book in the series.

And sometimes people tell me that one of my books (especially my mysteries) kept them up half the night reading, and you smile nicely, but inside, you pump an imaginary fist in the air and shout, "Yes!"

Aside from your own pieces, is there a particular piece or thought in the book that stood out for you?

Because I edited the book, I have a rather unique perspective. Putting this book together wasn’t a case of choosing the best from a large number of entries, as many anthologies are. We were working with 30 very different authors, with a very short time-line. Each author sent in one or a few pieces totaling a specific number of words. Their entries could have been all over the place. And yet they all worked together.

Even before we started putting them together, I felt certain that there was going to be a natural flow, and there was. I think that’s amazing. I felt God had his hand on the book all the way through the process, from the first glimmer of an idea right through to the printing of the books. And the other amazing thing is that when you ask a number of people to name their favorite piece, or the one that spoke to them the most, they’ll all pick something different.

A lot of people want to share their stores in order to help others. What advice do you have for someone who has a story they want to share, whether through fiction or nonfiction or another creative form?

• Join The Word Guild (if you’re Canadian) so you can get connected to others who have similar interests.

• Start with short stories or articles. (see my blog www.bluecollarwriter.com for reasons.)

• Buy books on writing.

• Read whatever it is you want to write.

• Come to Write! Canada if there’s any way you can.

• Or get in touch with The Word Guild about helping to organize a workshop for writers in your area if you simply can’t get to Write! Canada.

• And if you don’t live in Canada, look for an organization or a conference for writers in your country or region.

Are you working on something else now?

As I said earlier, it’s been very hard to write while busy founding and being executive director of The Word Guild, directing Write! Canada, and editing and promoting Hot Apple Cider. But I NEED to write. And I've slowly been getting out of as much as possible. I'm no longer involved in The Word Guild leadership, except for Write! Canada this coming June. So I'm now starting to plan to write.

I actually have more than 20 books started – my memoir, a fantasy for children, a sequel to In Time of Trouble, a third Manziuk and Ryan Mystery, another adult mystery, a book on creativity, a book on writing, a novel about “being” church, and so on and so on….  And we do want to have a sequel to Hot Apple Cider. So all I can say is, stay tuned for more details.

What is your prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider?

• That something in the book will be just what each one of them needs to read.
• That they’ll go to their bookstores and libraries and ask for more books by Canadian writers who are Christian.
• That they’ll continue to support the Canadian Christian publishing industry as it develops and gets even better.

Read or listen to N. J.'s article in Hot Apple Cider

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