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| Carol Kinsey |
I love
author Carol Kinsey’s story about her
journey to publication. It shows how one person can be instrumental in others using their God-given gifts—and like a domino effect, how
using them can bless others.
~ Dawn
Thank
You, Miss Dunn
My writing career
started in second grade, and I can blame Miss Dunn. She was a wonderful teacher
who knew how to create a love for learning in her students. She was also my
first publisher. Everyone in Miss Dunn’s class got to be a published author.
The inside cover of my very first book is marked with her stamp and the year of
publication. Dunn Press. 1976. The nine-page illustrated story is covered in
glossy contact paper with seventies-green limes and yellow lemons. But the book
was no lemon. It gave me the vision. There’s something about being seven years
old and holding your very own book in your hands that makes you think, I did it. I can do it again.
After elementary school, I got a little distracted from
fiction, and focused my attention on newspaper journalism and non-fiction, but
when the novel craving came back, it came back with a vengeance.
I was leading a Bible study with ten high school girls. They
were a great group of teens, hungry for the Word of God, and they loved to
read. The problem was—what they were
reading. I challenged them to use Philippians 4:8 as the barometer for the
books they read. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things” (ESV). We went through the list and discussed it. Of
course, if the story is fiction, it’s not a “true” story, but does it uphold
truth? As we went through each qualification, the girls started realizing what
they were “thinking on” wasn’t necessary good for them.
That’s when the bug hit. I wanted to give those girls
something to read that would hold up to Philippians 4:8. I wanted to teach
principles from Scripture and give a picture of what a life lived for Jesus
could look like. I wanted to mentor them with words. So, I wrote my first
novel. Unfortunately, Miss Dunn wasn’t there to make sure it got published, but
it didn’t matter.
I printed out my first novel in a three-ring-binder. The
girls read it with all the love and pride you would expect from a group of
teens whose Bible study leader had written a book for them. Write another one! Can I take this to school
and let my friends read it? Bless those girls. When I look back at that first
novel now, I cringe at the mistakes and lack of editing. But they didn’t mind.
I got to paint them a picture with words—a picture that showed them what it
meant to be sold out for Christ. Keeping it pure and Christ centered, I wrote
them something exciting and fun. They learned from it.
After that first novel, I couldn’t stop. I wrote several
more for those girls, and they read every one. Eventually, my husband became a
youth pastor, and I continued to use my fiction stories to teach. But my family
and the youth group teens challenged me. They wanted to see my books published.
They wanted to give them to their friends. That push was all I needed. I
published my first novel, Under the
Shadow of a Steeple, independently in 2013. After that came Until Proven Innocent and Greater Love. I am currently working
toward having two new novels published traditionally, and I pray for God’s
will.
Sometimes I look back at that first little book and smile.
God used Miss Dunn in my life, and I pray He’s using my novels in the lives of
others.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer” Psalm 19:14
(NASB).
Accused
of a murder she didn’t commit, Bethany Young is running from the law. All the
evidence points to her. Deputy Tanner Brenly captures her, but suspects her
innocence. Embarking on an irreversible journey, Tanner and Bethany work to
unravel the secrets that tangle her life. How can she expect Tanner to believe
what even she cannot prove? Will God intervene? Bethany and Tanner must wait
and trust in the Lord—until proven innocent.
Carol Kinsey lives
with her husband and their two daughters on a farm in rural Ohio. She and her
husband have been involved in youth ministry for over twenty years and
currently serve at a small country church, which inspired her first published
novel, Under the Shadow of a Steeple.
She has also independently published Greater
Love, Until Proven Innocent, and
a writing curriculum, Creative Writing
Through Literature, which launched in 2016.
Carol is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and co-founded The Writing Family with
authors, Amy C. Blake and Colleen Scott. Together with Amy and Colleen, Carol
speaks on developing the writer in yourself and your child at various home
school conventions, libraries, and author events. Along with her fiction, Carol
is also published in several nonfiction venues. She has a passion for writing
exciting, Christ-centered fiction that uplifts, encourages, and gives glory to
God.
Social
Media Links
Personal Website: www.carolkinsey.net
Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/carolkinsey.net/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Carol-Kinsey/e/B00O537WFO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1477494871&sr=8-2
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7149066.Carol_Kinsey
