Author or transcriber, reader or visitor, greatest or least? Meet Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

 Today I'm delighted to welcome Kathryn Elizabeth Jones, author of "I walked with Jesus," to my blog. I very much enjoyed her short stories retelling miracles from the life of Christ - we clearly have faith and short fiction in common with each other.  I loved how historical, real, and relevant Kathryn's stories felt. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4904771188. I'd love to meet the author and chat in person, but inviting her to my blog is the next best thing, so I asked her to let me and you how she finds her audience. Here's what she told me.

Why I think my audience is beginning to find me

by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

One of the hardest things to do as an author, other than writing or marketing a book, is to find that

often illusive audience. It’s easier with mysteries or children’s picture books, probably because you

know who reads them; adults and teens who love sleuthing and children and their parents who love

reading.

But with historical fiction, and in particular, historical fiction that is written in short-story format, and

about Jesus Christ, the find for the perfect reader becomes an even greater challenge.

This isn’t because there aren’t plenty of good Christian readers out there, or because there aren’t

enough readers who want to know more about the least of these Jesus met in the scriptures.

I think it’s because most people read books to escape their life, not look inside it.

For me, writing I Walked with Jesus, gave me plenty of opportunities to see who I was – and wasn’t. I

was able to look deep and see who Jesus was too. How he loved everyone. How no one was

marginalized. How no one was forgotten. It was like, “Hey, here I am. Can we talk?”

“Can we walk together?”

For the most part, my readers have come to me. Usually, they come to my house, and before the visit is

through, I am offering them a book. Often, the connection is one on one, sort of like when Jesus sat 

with a friend or healed them. Sometimes, my audience shows up when I least expect it or when I’ve 

had a particularly difficult day. It’s like they know somehow.

Sharing my book lifts my spirits. During the year that I wrote it, I had many amazing experiences that

showed me how much Jesus loves me. My eyes were opened to his great love, and I wondered many

times who was writing my book.

Was I merely the transcriber?

If you’re like me, and a writer, you may have wondered, “When does my knowledge of writing end and

inspiration begin? When does the muse take over? How am I transported to that place where I no longer

have to think to write?

Perhaps, like me, you are grateful when it comes. Because it’s in those moments where the roughness of

the world is gone and you are transported to that ethereal place without walls or even guard rails, that

true writing begins.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s because He comes.