PBR: What inspired you to write Praying for Your Future Husband?
Robin: The unique story-behind-the-story is covered in the intro because Tricia and I both recognized this was a project that wouldn’t go away. The nudges kept coming and we knew we needed to pay attention to them.
PBR: What are some of the challenges you faced while writing this particular book?
Robin: Both Tricia and I have co-authored books before but not together. We lived in different states, thousands of miles apart and were dependant on a steady stream of emails, text messages and a few scattered phone calls to help us keep all the pieces tied together. We both were under deadlines with other writing projects and were determined to slip this one into the schedule due to the publishers set release date. Somehow it all came together and we were both amazed at how well it all fit.
The other challenge was that we’d gathered hundreds of responses from readers off of Facebook and Twitter. It was a tangle trying to get all the legal permission forms sent out and signed in time. We decided if (hopefully, someday) we get to do another book together that we need a personal assistant to take care of all the other details involved in such an undertaking!
PBR: Did you find that while writing Praying for your Future Husband, God worked in your life and showed you new concepts that challenged or encouraged you?
Robin: Absolutely! He does that, doesn’t He? Both of us were so challenged and motivated by all the scripture we kept going to in our preparation for writing the book. We saw the true battle that is going on in realms we can’t see and how prayer is the incredible, always accessible weapon available for us to employ. I know that more than once we both said, “I need to pray more for my husband NOW!”
PBR: Will you be writing a male version of the book?
Robin: We’ve certainly talked about it and we’ve got some ideas. We’ll see how that all plays out. Reader feedback is always the best way for us to get the ear of the publisher again. Well, feedback and of course sales numbers. So, we’ll see how both of those look in a few months. In the meantime, we keep collecting ideas, suggestions and amazing stories from readers.
PBR: Do you have any writing tips for those interested in writing?
Robin: Keep a journal.
Never underestimate what a valuable resource tool your journal will be even decades from now. As Tricia and I were writing this book I dug up old journals I kept before I met my husband and I found prayers I’d written out, asking God to be with my future husband, whoever he was, and to protect and bless him.
I was telling this to our 25 year old daughter as Tricia and I were writing the book and my daughter said if I needed any extra journal entries for the book she’d be willing to share some of hers with me. Two of them were ideal and we included them in the book. One was on waiting and how come her friends are all getting the “ladders” and she’s getting the “shoots” in this game of life. Her conclusion was that she would wait on the Lord for His perfect timing.
As we were nearing the completion of the book, our daughter had just met and started dating a guy who was a youth pastor. We all made the happy discovery that his mom was my college roommate! How crazy fun is that? He agreed to let us print a bit of prose he’d written in his journal, also on the theme of waiting and how the point is to enjoy the Lord even in the waiting.
When the galleys finally came out and we sent emails to both of them requesting permission to print their journal entries, they discovered they had written their pieces during the same week, three years ago! Again, the value of a journal should never be underestimated.
And P.S. I am very happy to tell you that they are getting married this August. (insert big mama grin here)
PBR: Did you ever imagine your life as it is now, writing books and lecturing to help others?
Robin: Never. I sometimes think this is evidence that God’s dreams are far more extravagant and enormous than any dream we could wish up for ourselves.
PBR: How do you balance your professional life and your family life?
Robin: Some weeks are great. Others, not so much. I have the most amazing husband in the world, basically, and that’s what makes it possible for me to fully be the woman God created me to be. He is God’s answer to a whole lot of prayers I didn’t even know how to pray. ||If I could change one thing it would be to get into a regular routine of actually preparing a decent meal every night and for the two of us to take the time to sit and eat and talk. We usually have breakfast together but the end of the day is varied. While our two children were home we were much better at pausing and sharing around the table. I miss those days. Our catch up conversations happen when we go out to eat or when we’re in the car on our way to some place exciting like Costco.
PBR: What type of books do you enjoy reading for pleasure?
Robin: I’m kind of a nut about Hawaiian history and now that we live here I’m always picking up a new book to read about the royalty or the early missionaries to the islands. I also love poetry and prose so I’ll take a long sip of a little Christina Rossetti piece or I’ll read from the Psalms when my soul is thirsty.
Read our review of Praying for your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His
Read our review of Departures: Two Rediscovered Stories