Interview with Ramona K. Cecil

Ramona K. Cecil lives with her husband in a small town in Indiana. Raised in rural Indiana, the daughter of poets, she’s written poetry since early childhood. Over eighty of her inspirational verses have been published by a leading company in the inspirational gift industry. A self-professed incurable romantic, Ramona’s love of God, writing, and history—especially the history of her beloved Hoosier State spurred her to attempt writing inspiration historical romance novels. Larkspur, her debut novel, won first place in Vintage Romance Publishing’s 2005 Vintage Inspirations contest. Since becoming a member of American Christian Fiction Writers in 2002, she’s penned six novels, four novellas and several short stories. In 2008, three more of her inspirational historical romance novels were published by Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line and comprises the Indiana historicals in their states series. As long as God gives her stories, she plans to continue writing those stories in a way that exalts her Lord and touches the hearts and souls of her readers. Or as encapsulated in the tagline on her business card, writing “Romance. . .God’s Way.”




Charity’s Heart – Short blurb

Charity Langdon has lost everything to the Yankees. Now, two years after
the war, she’s in danger of losing her heart to one. Daniel Morgan spends
his days running a grist mill in Vernon, Indiana, and trying to forget the
horrors of war. But his boss’s pretty niece is making that task difficult. Her
lovely face, keen intellect, and sweet heart draw him to her while her thick
Southern accent revives hateful specters of his time in Andersonville. Can
Christian charity be the grist for new love? Or when knowledge of old
trespasses emerge, will the tender grains of forgiveness be ground to dust?

Questions for Ramona

1. You come from a state that only gets attention during presidential election cycles, yet you love to write about it. Why is Indiana so important to you? Answer: I was born and raised a Hoosier and we often hear it said, “Write what you know.” But that is a far too simplistic answer to why I love to set my stories in Indiana. I think part of it has to do with being raised in the country “close to the earth.” As a young poet in rural southern Indiana the natural beauty that surrounded me often became the topic of my verses. Both my parents were also poets, born and reared in rural Indiana. They instilled in me a love for Indiana. From my earliest years, I became acquainted with the works of Indiana authors like James Whitcomb Riley, Gene Stratton Porter, and Booth Tarkington. Combine this with my keen fascination with history and you get a fairly clear picture of what fuels my passion to weave my fictional stories into the backdrop tapestry of Indiana’s colorful and storied past. I cannot express what an honor it was to have three of my stories chosen this past year by Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line for the Indiana historicals in their state series.

2. What techniques do you employ to make the people and the area come alive? Answer: I don’t like cardboard-cutout characters. I think of the wonderful characters Dickens brought to life. No two were interchangeable. Like in real life, they each have their own unique personalities. I try to do that. I often take aspects of personalities I have met in my life and write them into my characters. I also like to employ the technique of interviewing my main characters before I begin the writing, something Brandilyn Collins’ suggests in her book “Getting Into Character”. It really helps me get to know my characters on a far deeper level, and I learn things about them I wouldn’t have otherwise known.

3. You started out writing greeting card copy. When and why did you start writing full-length novels? Answer: Actually, I began writing poetry at about the age of four. I always considered myself a poet. In the mid 1980’s my poetry caught the eye of an executive with a company that produces Christian gifts items. Between the mid 1980’s and 1990’s they published about ninety of my verses on various cards and gift items. Though always an avid reader with an active imagination, I’d never tried to actually write a novel. Then about 1983 a trip to a living history museum near Indianapolis, Indiana, inspired me to try. After many years and many rewrites, that story became my first inspirational historical romance and was published in 2006.

4. Whose writing influenced (or influences) you the most? Answer: I’d have to say Gene Stratton Porter. Her stories set in the rural Indiana of the past had a great influence on me as a girl. I mentioned this once to a member of my local writers’ group and she said she could see a hint of Gene Stratton Porter in my stories. I took that as a wonderful compliment.

5. You've recently gotten some great writing/career news. Do you wish to share?*** Answer: Yes, I recently acquired an agent. I am thrilled and honored to have my work represented by Tamela Hancock Murray, a very sweet lady and one of the best in the agent business.

6. What besides writing interests you—e.g., reading, needle point, hop-scotch? Answer: Reading and historical research. Sometimes I get lost in the research and have to tell myself “Okay, enough research. Write!” I also like to garden (flowers mainly) in the spring and summer.

7. What do you think is your most important moment/event/discovery in writing outside of making your first sale? Answer: Once a few years ago while going through a season of discouragement, I began seriously questioning if writing was what God really wanted me to do. I asked Him that very question one day while I walked on my treadmill. I suddenly experienced something I’d never experienced before or after and have trouble describing. It was like something poured over and through me—like water, but without the wetness. It nearly knocked me off the treadmill. I knew without a doubt that God was telling me to continue writing. It gave me the courage to continue, and I give God the credit and glory for the successes He has brought to my writing.

8. Anything else you would like to add? Answer: I would just like to thank you, Laurie Alice, for inviting me to share my writing journey with the readers of your blog. I’d like to end with a favorite scripture I keep near my computer. “Glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare ask or even dream of.” Ephesians 3:20.



***If you don't want to share about getting an agent, I'll eliminate this question and renumber.