Author: Vannetta Chapman
Located in: Texas
Submitted: May 31, 2016
Tell us a little about yourself. My first book released in 2010, and Deep Shadows is my 14th novel (plus several novellas). I was a high school/college English teacher for 15 years, and now I write full time. My husband and I have 4 children, all grown, so we are empty nesters--though with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a back yard full of deer the nest is hardly empty.
What was your motivation behind this project? I love a good survival story, but it seems that even with the huge popularity of dystopian fiction that we are not seeing much written in this genre from the Christian perspective. My goal was to show one of these scenarios from the viewpoint of someone like you and me--normal folks who fall on their faith in times of trouble, but still have to stand back up and find a way to survive.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? That God's grace is always sufficient. Take the worst scenario that you can imagine, and you can still count on our Heavenly Father--maybe not to make it instantly better, but to lead, guide, and care for us.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I've started stocking my pantry a little better! And of course it forced me to look at my own doubts and fears. What would I do to protect my child? That was a recurring theme, and the answer is always the same--I can trust my heavenly Father regardless of the circumstance.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I listen to a lot of music while I'm writing--Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, to name two. While writing this book, Ted Koppel's "Lights Out" and Barbara Taylor's "An Altar in the World" were both very helpful.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Most of us are woefully unprepared for something like I describe in Deep Shadows, but we can learn, and we can change our habits, and we can trust on the grace and provision and love of God.
