Hello all!
I had the privilege to interview author Lori A. Moore this time about her books and writing 🙂
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Lori A. Moore: I am both the most boring and the dumbest “smart” person you’ll ever meet. I live in Louisville, KY (USA) with my husband Michael and our 1 and ½ cats. I am an adjunct professor teaching graduate-level business courses. I just completed my third graduate degree in December 2011. When I’m not writing, I love to travel. I have visited all 50 states in the U.S. and traveled to 30 other countries. My last trip was in 2011 to Israel, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. In addition to writing, photography is my newest creative outlet. I am the author of two nonfiction Christian Living books – From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years and Missing Andy as well as two children’s books – Grady the Gray Cat and Hannah the Hedgehog Goes to Heaven.
Q: Do you remember the first story you wrote?
Lori A. Moore: I can remember writing silly make-believe stories as a child, but I can’t remember any of them specifically.
Q: Were you inspired by someone or something?
Lori A. Moore: I became an author by accident. My former husband died in 2008, three days shy of what should have been his 50th birthday. A friend suggested that I start journaling as a way to deal with my grief. That journaling became a book, and I became a published author.
Q: How do you overcome writer’s block(if you experience this of course)?
Lori A. Moore: Other writers are going to hate me, but I’ve never had writer’s block. Each of the books I’ve written has come to me in one full piece, from beginning to end, so I didn’t have to struggle with writing them.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your children’s book “GRADY THE GRAY CAT”?
Lori A. Moore: I only write about things I know, right? So Grady is my real-life cat that we adopted from the Humane Society in 2007 when he was two years old. He’s now six years old and the love of my life. The book is written in Dr. Seuss-style rhyming verse and chronicles Grady’s adoption and integration into his new home with three other cats. But wait, there’s more! It’s a flip-book, so when you turn it over, there’s a second story, “Grady the Gray Cat Gets a New Firetruck.”
Q: What do you like about writing stories for children?
Lori A. Moore: As a professor, I have the opportunity to bring new perspectives to adult learners and through my children’s books, I can do the same thing with kids.
Q: I understand you are also releasing the children’s book “Hannah the Hedgehog Goes to Heaven” which is a flipbook with on the flip side the story “Lily Loses Her Best Friend.” How did you come up with the idea for the flipbook? And can you share a bit about the book(s)?
Lori A. Moore: I had never heard of a flipbook until my first children’s book, Grady the Gray Cat, and it was my publisher’s idea that time. This time, it was my idea to use the flip book concept because I wrote about the subject of children dealing with pet death. One side is written from the perspective of the little girl (Lily) whose pet (Hannah) is dying and the flip side is written from the perspective of the dying pet.
Q: You also wrote the book “From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years”. Why did you decide to write this journey to faith?
Lori A. Moore: The title is based on the fact that I had never heard of Jesus and had never attended church until I was 35 years old. As a result of that, I have a passion for adults who haven’t yet experienced a relationship with Christ because everything they’ve heard is kind of formal and scary. I try to write with humor and on a down-to-earth level that people can relate to and understand. My purpose in that book is to let people know that it’s never too late to turn to God and that there’s nothing so bad that you could ever do that could make him not love you.
Q: Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Lori A. Moore: Be humble and be sure to utilize the services of both a good proofreader and a good editor. Don’t be too proud to make changes to your work.
Q: Which author inspires you?
Lori A. Moore: Liz Curtis Higgs is an amazing Christian author that I adore. She calls herself an “encourager,” and she definitely is that.
Q: Where can people go and read your work?
Lori A. Moore: All four of my books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores as well as on my website.
Q: Where can people find you on the internet?
Lori A. Moore: I welcome people to “stalk” me on the internet at my website, www.LoriBooks.com, on Twitter @LoriMooreBooks, or on Facebook www.facebook.com/LoriMooreBooks
Q: Is there anything else you want to share with the readers?
Lori A. Moore: Thank you for your support and encouragement. I was so afraid to put myself out there and share both my thoughts and my past, but you’ve made it all worth it.
Below is an excerpt from her book MISSING ANDY!
“We did everything we could. I’m sorry. “
With just those seven words, Andy was gone. Five minutes earlier, I had arrived at the intensive care unit waiting room, where Andy’s dad and two brothers were waiting. I should have known that things weren’t going well when the chaplain came in to pray with us. When the doctor who had responded to the emergency code in ICU walked in, it was just like a movie. Everything in the background faded away. I was sitting next to Andy’s dad, Bob. When the doctor walked in, we all looked up as he walked straight over to Bob and said those seven words: We did everything we could. I’m sorry. Then everything was silent. He didn’t have to say the D word––dead. He was talking in past tense. It was obvious that Andy had passed away. While the doctor was speaking, the rest of the room disap- peared in a fog. Then Bob started to wail. It wasn’t until Bob started wailing that it sunk in with his other two sons just what had happened. They too cried out in pain and started to cry. I was numb. We weren’t expecting it. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Andy was just forty-nine years old and was fine only an hour before he passed away. The chaplain and I embraced Bob. They say there’s nothing worse than a parent losing a child. It’s not supposed to happen that way; it’s supposed to be the other way around.