It’s release day for Becoming Mrs. Lewis ~ congratulations to Patti Callahan and Thomas Nelson. My bookish heart smiles gleefully to hear Patti tell how her childhood love of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and Narnian books, first introduced her to his world and subsequently to the woman he married, Joy Davidman, which eventually turned into a deep desire to writer her story. Becoming Mrs. Lewis is that story and one I can’t wait to dive into once my current reading commitments are complete. It’s a joy (no pun at all) to have the lovely Patti spend time sharing with you here at Relz Reviewz. Enjoy getting to know a little about this NYT Bestelling Author.

Over to you, Patti!

*****

Why do you tell stories?

I tell stories for as many reasons as there are stories – but mostly because I believe in the power of them to change a life, a heart, the world, etc…I tell stories because I want to see what happens next, and I write because I don’t know many other way to process the world around me. I tell stories because, since childhood, story has been my sustaining sustenance, the thing that helps me makes sense of the world. I tell stories because I don’t know what I believe or understand until I write it down. I tell stories because the ones inside have to go somewhere so why not on paper? I write because I am addicted to the one moment when it finally works and comes to together like magic. I tell stories to alchemize the life around me.

Your favourite place to read

In a big chair with a cup of tea.

Best meal of the day

Dinner after a long and good day.

Most beloved childhood book

Narnian Chronicles.

Photo, courtesy Patti Callahan Henry

If your life was a TV show, what would it be?

A sitcom for sure. One where the heroine consistently stumbles and then gets back up.

Whose music inspires you?

Almost anything except hard rock with screeching voices. When I’m writing, I will often listen to Celtic music without words. But if having fun – anything from country to pop. My favorite singers? – Vince Gill and Billy Joel. Odd combo right?

What ice-cream flavour would you be?

Sea salt and caramel.

The most recent novel you read

I’m reading the The Sea Queen by Linnea Hartsuyker.  It’s the second in her Half Drowned King series and it’s wonderful! I’m on a bit of a historical fiction splurge!

What’s your current book recommendation?

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike – blown away!!!

Name a book character you can’t forget

Hamish from Murder at The Flamingo by Rachel McMillan.

Dream travel destination

Australia and Scotland!

Well, I can certainly assist with the first destination, Patti 😉 Let me know when you are coming over!

Becoming Mrs. Lewis

In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

What was the working title?

The original title was The Consolation of a Happy Ending. And then it was The Consolation of Joy. Then just Mrs. Lewis. Then Becoming Joy. THEN finally Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

Describe your book in 5 adjectives.

Oh, I leave that to the ones who offered quotes and critique. But I can give you five quotes about Joy: fiery, courageous, brilliant, witty, fierce and brave. Whoops. That’s six.

Which character did you enjoy writing most?

I adored writing about Joy Davidman. The story is told in the first person so I spent years with her and could not love her more.

Which character gave you the most grief?

Tolkien. I wanted to give him a break because I love his work, but he wasn’t very kind to Joy and I had to show the truth.

What emotions do you think your story will generate in readers?

I hope for enchantment and heartfelt inspiration to go after the life of the undivided soul, to pursue with passion no matter the voices telling you to stay put.

What emotions did you experience while writing this story?

All the feelings. Writing it I often felt anxiety at approaching these revered characters, but also awe and wonder at their brave lives.

How do you choose your characters names?

This novel is based on real people so for once I didn’t have to pick names out of my imagination.

Thank you, Patti – what a delight to have you visit! Now, to get you to visit Australia 😉

Patti Callahan (who also writes as Patti Callahan Henry) is a New York Times bestselling author. Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, has been an Indie Next Pick, twice an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year. Her work has also been included in short story collections, anthologies, magazines, and blogs. Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina, with her husband. Visit her online at patticallahanhenry.com; Instagram: pattichenry; Facebook: AuthorPattiCallahanHenry; Twitter: @pcalhenry.

Relz Reviewz Extras
Visit Patti’s website
On tour with Patti and Mrs. Lewis
Buy at Amazon: Becoming Mrs. Lewis

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