As I’ve been working on the fourth book in my Chicory Inn Novels series, I’ve been very aware of how much of the research for these novels, more than any others I’ve written, has been simply living life! So many of the scenes in these novels come from my experiences as a daughter, mother, grandmother, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, wife, sister, aunt… I’ve truly pulled from just about every role I’ve ever played as a woman!
It hasn’t always been that way, of course. Some of my books have required much more research, and times of really forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone. An early (never published) book had me attending a Holdeman Mennonite church service (similar to the Amish, where the women sit on one side of the church and the men on the other.) I was so nervous about that “gig” that I wrecked both of our cars backing out of the garage! 🙁
Another memorable research experience came when I started writing my Hanover Falls Novels series. Because part of the storyline of those books revolved around events in a homeless shelter, when our church asked for volunteers at our local shelter, I knew the Lord was prompting me to answer the call.
My first night on duty was a Sunday, and I was told to bring something to read, since usually the hours were quiet and uneventful. I thought it strange when I arrived that no one else from my church was there yet. But I introduced myself to the volunteers from another church, and we began our evening, serving supper to about twenty residents who had checked into the overnight-only shelter.
Not once the entire night was there so much as a minute to sit and read. According to the other volunteers, this was the craziest and most eventful night they’d ever experienced at the shelter. As the night unfolded, we dealt with a suicide watch; a new fresh-out-of-jail admittance, who turned out to be on the no-admit list; a hidden bottle of vodka discovered, which meant administering a (thankfully negative) Breathalyzer test on the main suspect; a mild altercation between a resident and a volunteer (not me!); and a phone that rang the entire 5-11 p.m. shift. Before the evening was over, I’d had some fascinating conversations with residents and had the privilege of praying with a suicidal man. I went home with my brain brimming with ideas and information for my novel.
Only when I arrived home after 11 p.m. did I glance at my calendar and do a double take. I had looked at my schedule wrong! I wasn’t supposed to show up for my shift until the following Sunday night.
And of course, the next week everything was calm and quiet and I would have had plenty of time to read—if I’d thought to bring a book!
Experiences like that give me a fresh appreciation of how God often turns research into ministry—and how He never wastes an experience in the life of a writer.
BONUS GIVEAWAY: I have one set of Hanover Falls Novels to give away. All you must do to enter for the drawing is leave a comment in this post. I’ll choose a random winner tomorrow night and post the news in the comments section.
Whether you are a writer or not, have you noticed that God never wastes the life experiences He asks you to go through? How have the events of your life—good or bad—been used by God to help others or bring Him glory?
Latest posts by Deborah Raney (see all)
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Hi, I just want to say how interesting this post has been. Yes I do believe ‘that all things work together for good to those who love God”. I can reflect on terrible things that have happened in my own life and see how God has used them to mold me into something far far better, and I am now thankful for them.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you for this post. I really needed it at this point in my life!
I am finding myself paying more attention to life around me/sermons/interactions/etc now that I’ve gotten more serious about writing. I always noticed things and saw story ideas, but I find myself looking deeper for illustrations/character development/etc. I am benefiting from paying more attention, too!
I enjoyed reading this post. I’m so glad God placed you there on that eventful night. He truly knows we’re we are needed even when we don’t. Your evening reminded me of my long nights working in the emergency room. I can’t wait to read this series.
I’d love to win this series! This post really made me think about how everything ends up exactly how He plans for it to, and I am interested to see how that played out in your books using your life research.
Thanks for the giveaway. I really enjoyed this post. God uses the good and bad in our lives to mold us into becoming more like him. He has used some trials I have gone through so I am able to help others and encourage them as they are going through hard times too.
Loved this. I think a lot of people think assume writers just sit down and write out a story and don’t realize how much research goes into a book. I think God wanted you in that homeless shelter on that specific night. I’m certain your words touched someone that night. I’m certain you received a blessing that night. Thank you for sharing some of your writing adventures.
Blessings
eppersonkatrina(at)yahoo(dot)com
Experience is life’s best teacher. God is the author of that life so he writes the original story but he allows our experiences and choices to add flavor and color to each page and personalize our perspective. When pen is put to paper, a novel is born .
I am always amazed at God’s perfect timing! I have read the first book and really enjoyed it.
I’d love to win this series!
Isn’t it awesome to ‘look back’ and see God’s hand in so-called ‘happenstance’? Sometimes, while we are going through tough or rough experiences we don’t see how it could possibly turn out for the good, but in time, looking back, it’s so clear!
Great post. 🙂
I’ve read most of your books and enjoyed them. Would love to win this set.
I would love to hear what you thought of you visit to the Holdeman church, Deborah! I love how your books reflect life. God is Good…and timing is everything. I’m thinking you might not have read the schedule wrong…but then again, who can know the ways of God or how He makes His will known? I’d love to win this set, Deborah. Has anyone told you lately that YOU ROCK?!!!! You do!!!!!
I cannot wait! You are my favorite fiction author!! I’m so grateful Winnie introduced your books to our church library so many years ago!
Al and I have helped at the homeless shelter and I could just picture the scenes as I read this post.
I believe that every experience, good or bad, gives you insights that can be used later to help someone. It may be just a note or a card of encouragement and it may be a physical act of helping but it will be just what is needed at that time.
Thank you for this giveaway.
Blessings,
Connie
I love your books and would LOVE to win this series!
Wow! How many times has God put me in circumstances that have proven His presence and power? Many more than I can relate here, but I will say this, I know beyond any doubt He puts Angels on earth to protect us.
We are traveling today, so I probably won’t be able to respond to each comment, but just know that I am loving hearing your responses to the blog, and if you’ve posted here, you are entered for the drawing. Thank you again for reading Inspired by Life…and Fiction. We love hearing from you!
Experiences make the best stories.
Enjoyed reading todays post.. I’d enjoy reading these books too! thanks for reminding me that ~ He never wastes an experience . .
Deb,
So nice to ‘know’ some of which you draw from, and so exciting to see what God is continuing to work through you! You have been a good and faithful servant and a blessing to your parents and all of us!
Love you and thank you for the opportunity to win your material! If I do, after I am finished, I am donating them to my local library….that doesn’t charge late fees!
Charlotte
It’s amazing how God give us what we need! (Meaning at the homeless shelter not the wrecked cars!)
God knows our needs before we do. Amazing!
Thank you for your post. As a recent widow I am reminded of how God is working in my life in all things.
I once told a marketing director that if all of the crises and struggles that happen in my books had to happen in my real life first, I would already be dead (from exhaustion if nothing else)!
Loved the blog post. It is so fun when God works in spite of us! What may have been scheduled as a wrong time it was God’s perfect time! Thanks for the smile and thanks for the opportunity to win. Linda
You went the wrong week and God used you in a very special way.
Research can almost be as rewarding as writing the book itself. 🙂 Gzlad you got to experience so many things!
I too find it amazing how God finds ways to bless us and others through us.
God’s timing is always perfect! 🙂 Great story and loved hearing about your research.
My family and I are learning more and more about how to lean into God’s arms and trust Him. We have prayed more over the past 2 months than we ever have. My beautiful granddaughter, Addalyn, was born a couple of months ago with Trisomy 18. We are amazed by God’s provisions and how He has answered so many prayers. We have many more prayer requests for Addalyn and for our family. Even though this has been a difficult time, it has also been one of great joy. I don’t know what the future holds or how God will use these experiences in my life or in the lives of my other family members, but I do know that Christ is the One holding us all together. We are so grateful that we have our sweet Addalyn!
Sometimes the best books come from real life experiences!! Thanks for sharing!!!
That sounds crazy…but AHmazing. What a beautiful thing you did. I hope you’ve gone back again and again!!
Yes, I do believe God does use our life experiences for His Glory. I lost my dad when I was a teenager and I have been able to empathize and sympathize with folks who are grieving. Especially for those who lose parents.
i love Deborah’s books
Thank you for the giveaway! I always carry a book with me:)
Thanks for a chance to win.
wow.. what an experience in the homeless shelter! Thanks for the chance to win.
THANKS for an opportunity to win a nice Giveaway!
Deborah, what a great story and an experience for you to have!!
I was with my father-in-law when he passed away 1 1/2 years ago, and mom is always telling me how grateful she was that I was there and able to talk to dad and tell him everything would be okay with mom and that I would take care of her!
I enjoyed you sharing about your evening at a homeless shelter. It seems God orchestrated that for you to get a better picture of all that happens in homeless shelters – like a crash course. Think what you would have missed if you had checked your calendar before going.
Wow Deborah, what a night you had. Enjoyed your post. Would love to win your books.
Loved reading your post. God has a great sense of humor and finding yourself in situations unexpectedly, he uses those to his glory, just like you said for ministry opportunities.
I’m still trying to figure out my lesson on why I’ve been sitting on my couch since March 19 with a tibial plateau fracture, unable to do for myself because my other leg needs a knee replacement and walking on crutches is very painful. If only it had been that leg instead of my good one!
Wow!! The things the Lord wanted you to see. Thanks so much for the insight.
It is ironic you said you drew from your life experience for Home to Chicory Lane series because when I was reading the first book only one I have read yet I kept picturing you, your husband and family as the characters in the book. Really enjoyed that book and many others of your novels. Seems like I know you and your family and home from your Facebook posts. Thanks for sharing so much of your life with your readers.
You asked at the end about God using life experiences. One that came to mind right away was a disappointment. I was the first person to become a Christian in my family when I was a teenager. The pastor’s daughter asked me to help her in a ministry at church which I was really excited about, but my parents didn’t allow me to go because they wanted me to babysit my younger siblings while they went out. I was sad and disappointed. Then my step-father’s brother called for my parents. Since they weren’t home, he and I started talking, and conversation drifted to the things of the Lord. That’s the only time in all the years we knew each other that I had a chance to share the gospel clearly with him. Later I marveled that God used a disappointing scenario to enable me to minister in a way that I would have missed if I have gone to the ministry I originally wanted to go on.
Reading a Deb Raney book is a blessing…owning a Deb Raney book is a treasure! Win or not, you can be sure i will be reading the series!
I could totally see myself being really nervous and wrecking a car.. And I don’t even have my license yet! 😀
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you so much for sharing! God is awesome and I believe that He uses all experiences for His good. It’s how we learn and grow. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! When I’m in the middle of situations I don’t always take the time to see what God wants me to see and learn, but later, usually when things calm down I can see the lesson that I was supposed to learn. In those cases God pushes us out of our comfort zones like a mother bird pushes her babies out of the nest.
How neat to read about how your life experiences impact your writing!!! 🙂
I absolutely agree that God uses both the good and bad situations in our lives to draw others to Him, I’ve been battling various health issues for over 10 years now, one right after another. This has made me so much more aware of what’s going on in other’s lives, where they’re hurting and need prayer. I’ve been able to give them the encouragement that I’ve received from Him to give to others in their times of need. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but He’s proven that He is faithful and will use this for good!
I would love to win your books.
God arranged some good research for you, didn’t he.
My husband volunteers at the Resce Mission in Topeka. He has been on the Streetreach team searching for the homeless and now he is a sort of advocate there two days per week. He absolutely loves meeting the guest and helping them get back on their feet or perhaps finding more help for them.
There have been many events in my life which God has used to nudge me to do His will, but the most glaring event occurred sixty years ago when I was injured during a hurricane. In addition to a multitude of injuries, my back was broken and I had to spend two months in a hospital. The injuries had paralyzed me, but within three weeks God had restored the use of my legs. I believe the pain and suffering I experienced in 1955 helped me to ease the pain and suffering of my patients, after I became a nurse.
I love your books and would enjoying winning the books! .
What an eventful night you had….I would love to win this bundle of wonderful books! Thank you!
Oh the things God gets us into! Some of my life events proved to me that God has a sense of humor! I’d love to win your books! Thank you!
Love your books and have read most of them. Would loved to be entered into your contest. If I win, will be glad to leave reviews at Good Reads, B&N, Deeper Shopping, Amazon, Christian Books, Bam and a few others. Keep the books coming. I love a good Christian Romantic Suspense.
I love your books and to be able to read them all is something I have planned Thank you for this giveaway.
I am going to the library tomorrow to find some of these books. I can’t wait to read them.
I loved reading your post. Just goes to show there are no accidents in God. I would love to win any of your books. I’ve actually listened to the audiobooks of 2 of your Hanover Falls novels.
God’s ways are so much higher than ours. Isn’t it amazing to watch Him work?
God is so good, isn’t He? Always amazed by Him 🙂
Thanks for the chance to win some books, it would give me a great introduction to your writing since I’ve not read anything by you yet! I just love discovering new authors 🙂
This was a helpful post
Thanks so much for sharing how the the “research” sometimes finds you instead of the other way around!
Thanks for the chance to win!
What a great giveaway on such wonderful books.
I liked how you turned ministry into research for your books. Every experience we have would be a part of a book sometime. I know my life would make an interesting read.
Deb, what a wonderful experience. It’s amazing to me how often (like always!) God is in the details. He knew you needed to be there THAT night and messed with your focus when you glanced at your calendar. Love it when He works things out like that.
Blessings,
Andrea
andrearenee2004@yahoo.com
Love your books,Thanks for a chance to win
I blown away by all the comments, and so encouraged by your responses to the question of how God uses our life experiences—good or bad—for our good, and His glory. There’s still time to enter the drawing by leaving a comment here on this blog post. A winner will be drawn tonight, and I’ll post the name here in the comments.
Isn’t it just like God to put us where and when He wants us to be there, even if it is because we have looked at a schedule wrong. I would love to win the books, not just for me to read, but to share with others as I do all of my books. God bless you for sharing the gift that He has given you.
Always amazing how God uses us in the most unexpected ways!! For me over the years, it’s been because of events of my past, through divorce….I often feel, though, that others minister to me and bless me at just the exact time I need it, sometimes through a song, sometimes through a Facebook or blog post, sometimes an out-of-the-blue phone call (yes, we do still get those!) or sometimes just a simple hug. I pray for God to use me more!
After going through having daughters with babies before marriage, it has given me chances to encourage others who were going through the same situations. Children are a blessing regardless and through this, one of our daughters finally realized her dad did love her with an unconditional love and it brought them restoration. 🙂 You just never know how what you go through will help yourself and/or others. An opportunity for ministry.
It’s interesting how The Lord uses everyday circumstances to make the extraordinary out of the ordinary.
Loved your post! It’s amazing how God turns “mistakes” into ministry opportunities!
Love all the covers on your books. I haven’t yet, but would love to read them! Thanks for the post and giveaway!
I love reading about authors research and history behind their books, it make both the author and the books more alive to me. God is always moving us around situations and people to create amazing moments for us. I don’t really believe things are coincidence, I think it’s a God moment and I try really hard to see what He is trying to tell me in those moments. Love your books, and can’t wait to read the latest one.
I loved reading about your life experiences and have loved reading your books. I have not yet read this series but hope to do so real soon. I’d love to win the books. It is such a blessing to see how God uses experiences in our lives in ways we didn’t expect. May God continue to bless your life as you bless others with your stories.
It takes a special person to be able to help in that way. Your experience shows how God can take a situation and use it to glorify Him to those like me. I am not sure I could have done what you did. How wonderful to help those so in need. God bless you!
Love how God uses the everyday stuff, like visiting a homeless shelter, for plots for your books!
God works in amazing ways! I have been trying to look more intentionally for God’s workings in my life.
Such a wonderful post! Thank you so much for sharing, Deb!!
I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to reading your books! They look amazing!
Great question, Deborah, and one I’ve contemplated often. As the parent of a dearly loved, profoundly handicapped son, God has allowed me to see and experience life from a different, often challenging vantage point. Often I’ve wondered, and still do, how He can use my life events, when my world seems so terribly small most of the time, and the struggles immense. One Sunday, a church couple we didn’t know gave my spouse and me a note relaying how much our dedication to our son encouraged and strengthened them in their own lives. That was an amazing moment and a blessing to hear; it made me realize that we, as people in general, give testimony all the time through our actions and attitudes. I’ve expanded that concept into my fiction writing as well. Because of my life events and that unique perspective I mentioned, I’ve tackled subjects in my stories I never imagined I would, and my characters are more true-to-life and relatable. As a writer, mother, and special needs activist, my hope is that someday my stories will transform hearts and bring God the glory. That would be the greatest honor ever. As for your books, Deborah, thank you for adding me to the drawing. I’ve never read any of your novels, but these sound delightful. I’d love the chance to win.
It is amazing to me how God will place us in opportunities to be His hand and Feet. He never gives us more than we can handle and allows us to go thru things to make us stronger. Without out test, we have no testimony. I have always had a heart for those who are never recognized for their hard work. One day I had this overwhelming desire to act on that . We have garbage pickup every Wednesday and Saturday. I started making a little goody bag for the driver and worker . I usually pack a bottle of water, snacks and sometimes a prepackaged sandwich. Every Wednesday and Saturday I hear them slowly back up and I rush outside so I don’t miss them. We have become friends and I even made them a special stocking for Christmas. I say this not to brag, but to share how a little gesture can make a huge difference in someone’s life. I believe that God has placed me in their life to be His hands and feet and to show agape love to someone who is important to him. Your story about the homeless shelter reminded me once again how we can make a difference if we take that first step. I love your books and would be honored to be the winner of them.
Blessings
Deana
Something you said struck a cord with me. Our pastor once told us that God DOES give us more than we can handle just so we go to Him for help. There’s nothing He can’t do and He patiently waits for us to need help and ask Him for it.
I enjoyed reading your blog! God is always there for us, we just have to remember he is there during our trouble times as well as happy times. So many of use forget to give thanks for the little things.
What an experience! Great research.
I would love to win.
I really enjoyed your story about the mixed up dates for volunteering at the homeless shelter. Amazing how God works things out. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
Deb, I always love hearing the story behind the story, and I enjoyed reading this today. I also enjoyed reading “Haiti’s Song” in the Story Tellers’ Collection that I just read while laid up sick. Your wonderful story brought tears to my eyes, and the last line so resonated with me: It occurs to me now that answers to prayer are even sweeter when you’ve been waiting for them your whole life. Thanks, dear friend, for the gift of your encouraging words.
This was a great blog post! I always go back of the things I’ve experience and I realize God used it for good no matter what. This post was very encouraging. God Bless!
good thoughts and comments from others.
Thank you for the great post. God is so great! Thanks for the giveaway. Would love to win.
The winner of the drawing is…drumroll please… KAREN MORGAN. Congratulations, Karen! Please e-mail me your mailing address to debraney @ mac.com (remove spaces) and I’ll get your books out to you ASAP!
Thank you again to everyone who posted and commented! I really enjoyed hearing all your answers and thoughts.
oh, wow, I am so excited!!! Thank You! I am so amazed to be the winner. Sent you my address.