Author Spotlight: Tamelia Aday

It is a joy to introduce my friend, Tamelia Aday to you today. Her debut novel just came out. Welcome, Tamelia!

What inspired you to become a writer?

As soon as I could read, I wanted to create books. I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. My favorite stories had cats and I wrote stories and a friend of mine made up songs about cats. Then I found C.S. Lewis and the Narnia series and that became my new favorite inspiration.

Tell us about your favorite release.

My novel, The Filbert Ridge Miracle is contemporary fiction/ Christian fiction. It’s about a pastor’s family and their son Stephen McMillan who goes missing during the yearly Filbert festival. His father, Patrick, pastors a church and the family has always been considered odd, especially the mom, Rose. To further the problem, a miracle happens in the church parking lot when their youngest daughter prays. This brings the cold case of Stephen McMillan back to the headlines.

What inspired your novel?

I imagined a pastor’s wife who was often under scrutiny and thought to be quite odd. I pictured her escaping for hours to feed the homeless and bring comfort to those in need. I used to refer to it as “Free Time,” because it was what she secretly did in her free moments. Then I wondered, what if one of her children went missing? However, one day I got stuck and tried a different aspect–a miracle in the church parking lot. That’s when I found Patrick’s voice which came easier for me than Rose. The story then took a new turn.

Share an interesting tidbit about your novel.

I love nature, and love to incorporate it in my writing. I spent hours hiking in my grandparent’s woods when I’d visit in the summer. Filbert Ridge is a fictionalized place, but I used my grandmother’s small town as a backdrop, especially the woods and the Filbert Orchard. There was never a festival there. It was just a beautiful, quiet place where I’d climb into a tree and listen to my transistor radio.

What are you working on now?

I’m dipping into my childhood love for cats and mysteries. I’m currently writing a cozy mystery and am enjoying the fact that it has a certain layout. An expectation. A cozy has a plot aspect that it somewhat follows. I am also writing this in first person, which is fun. However, I still love the long complicated novel and am also working on another book, which I like to refer to as ‘Miracle fiction.’ Ordinary lives with a touch of the supernatural power of God. This is the first time I’ve worked on two books at the same time and I totally love it.

Bio:

Tamelia Aday writes from her home in Oregon. She’s married and has three sons and two cats. Coffee and chocolate are her favorite treats. She tries her hand at knitting and crochet. If she gets good enough, she might be able to plot while creating with yarn. You can connect with her on Facebook here.

Click here to purchase The Filbert Ridge Miracle