“ the critically-acclaimed author of Demon: A Memoir--Christy Award finalist and ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Silver Award winner--and Havah: The Story of Eve, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and 4.5 stars from Romantic Times. Both novels have been newly acquired by B&H Publishing Group for re-release Summer 2010. A former first runner-up to Mrs. United States, Tosca received her B.A. from Smith College in Massachusetts. She also studied at Oxford University. Tosca's highly-anticipated third novel, Iscariot, releases Fall of 2011,”
I thought, Yes, but this doesn’t tell us what rattles Tosca’s soul, what keeps her up at night writing stories about how demons operate and how God grieves over His lost creation, about Eve having a tiff with Adam that lasted three years, and her anguish over losing Cain. I don’t want to glimpse an image of this lady—I want to soak up the substance of her heart.
So I asked her for an interview. And she agreed. Which tells you something about her right there.
Jen: Tosca, I read where you stated you can’t not write, which is true for many of us. But I’d like to know what keeps you writing when your own personal demons whisper insidious lies in your ear. It must happen to you. How do you overcome those voices of despair?
Jen: I love that one of your hobbies is studying theology, but it’s apparent to me that you live out of Jesus’ heart. How did you become a Believer, and how do you keep your love for Him alive, when distractions press in?
Tosca: I became a Believer at the age of 11 when I realized that just believing in God isn’t enough (after all, demons believe in God). There was this Jesus, and he made everything right for me. But I’m still learning about what that means. I’m still discovering grace. It’s an immense concept for me for grasp, grace.
Loving God, for me, is filled with intermittent periods of doubt and amazement. Doubt that He could love me, or a kind of bland acceptance (yes, yes, Jesus loves me—I grew up in church, I sang the song)… to an amazement that God knows me. That God loves me… and may even like me. We all know God loves us. It’s what God does, right? But that He might really like us… What a concept.
For a chance to win a newly-released copy of Demon: A Memoir, which includes characters named after me and my husband—really!—please leave a comment for Tosca* and your email address at the end of this post. If you’d rather buy a copy of Demon or Havah, go to http://www.toscalee.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/
*I want comments on this post that I can forward to Tosca, to put in her “encouragement file” for days when she needs a soul battery charge.
You have until Saturday, August 7 at midnight to enter. I will draw a name on Sunday afternoon and post the winner then. Please return with us on Friday for the second part of this interview and another chance to win. See you then!
This just came in from Tosca:
Here's a quick update for your blog readers: Havah is free for a couple weeks as a B&N download and readable on most e-readers here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Havah/Tosca-Lee/e/9781433671777/?itm=1
