Into the Fire

Most of this blog’s readers know how much I respect Tosca Lee as a person and as a writer. Her unique and profound stories (Demon . . . a memoir and Havah, The Story of Eve) gained her attention from all kinds of fiction fans not only because of their fascinating and captivating portrayals but because of the stunning writing itself. Tosca was gracious enough to consent to an interview which I will post in two parts. Here is Part One . . .

1.Tosca, you’ve written two novels in Demon . . . a memoir and Havah, The Story of Eve, which I will label important fiction. Now it’s no secret you are endeavoring to write a novel about Judas Iscariot for Broadman and Holman Publishers. You’ve nicknamed it “The Big Scary”. What is your biggest concern tackling this character, and do you think it will be your most difficult book to date?

I keep wondering why I write these kind of heavy duty and, I won’t lie, really challenging stories. At the end of the day, they just seem to be what I’ve got. So here I am. And each time I wonder, “How the heck am I going to do this??” Because I just don’t know. The Judas story is the Big Scary because good grief, the research is staggering. I feel completely cowed by the subject matter. I am not a first century history expert. At the same time, I believe that just as we are all Clay and all Eve… we are all Judas. We could all do and have done the very same thing Judas did. We do today. I feel very strongly about this.

2.Besides writing and that includes the research you do, what occupies your time?

I work as a senior consultant for an international consulting organization, so that is a great chunk of my time. I travel a lot for work. I also love to travel for fun. I get a little weird if I haven’t gone anywhere for fun in a while (and I’m weird to begin with). So I’m on planes a lot. Beyond that, the business of writing takes a surprising amount of time—web and e-mail and blogging and Tweeting, and the logistics of attending events. I could spend all day doing this stuff. But I always make time for e-mail. I’m slow sometimes, depending on how my week’s been, but I always respond to e-mail.

3.You just lost a precious pet, Attila. How long did you have him and will you get another dog?

I had him for eleven years, and then he lived the last year and a half of his life with his adopted father. My travel schedule was too crazy for me to be able to take care of him well, especially as he got older. My dear friend, Scott, was his constant companion. The last night of his life, Attila woke him up and some time later died in his arms. I’m so grateful to Scott that Attila had him.

4.You’re very open—and humorous—about some of what you consider your “quirks”. Do you consider yourself an open book—forgive the pun—or are you a private person at heart? If private, how do you guard that privacy within the framework of your exposure, publicity, and the required marketing?

I think the thing that people notice is that I’m not hung up on trying to seem like I have it all together. It’s easy to look at someone who is writing or traveling the world or has modeled or whatever–and construct a picture that is put-together… and therefore extremely inaccurate. A person is more than what is on their bio. So I fill in the rest of the stuff—my obsessive quirks and weirdness and issues—because those are more my daily reality.

That said, I’m a pretty private person. Though I love people and am comfortable speaking to large groups, I always retreat back to my house or hotel and the comfort of my sweatpants and the SyFy channel when left to my own devices.

5.What do you consider your greatest strength as a person? Your greatest weakness?

I’m a raving perfectionist. On one hand, I think it has served me well—I always think anything can be a little better. I strive to reach 100% on everything I do. But it’s a tough way to live and to find peace.

6.What do you consider your greatest strength as a writer? Your greatest weakness?

I think I see the humanity in those we write off as two-dimensional. I think I can make people think and see things in new ways. But I am not good with routine and not well-disciplined. That’s why, if you follow me on my blog, you may not hear anything from me about my writing for weeks… and then I’ll be blasting out 10,000 words a day.

7.What sorrows, struggles, or mishaps in your life have influenced your relationship with the Lord? Have you ever experienced being “mad” at God?

I’ve been flummoxed with God, mystified, caught off guard by God, but never disappointed or mad at God. I thought I was disappointed through times like my divorce, but I’ve come to see that I was trying to view life in a narrow and linear fashion, that I believed if I acted in a certain way, that outcomes were as sure as equation sums. And it doesn’t work like that.

8.Tell us what and why you studied at Oxford University?

I studied International Economics. If you know me, you know how ridiculous this is, since I am horrible with numbers and in fact have no left brain. But my dad thought it would be a good idea, and it was a great excuse for me to do some research on Stonehenge, which I used to write my first (unpublished) novel about the Stonehenge people of Salisbury Plain.

9.If you could insure a specific accomplishment with your novels, what would that be?

This is so hard to answer because of course, I’d love them to sell well. But I want most of all for them to be works that impact people. I want to have done something in my life that had some worth and really made a difference.

10.Most of us writers have favorite genres we prefer to read? What is or are yours?

I will read about anything!

Come back tomorrow for the rest of this interview with author Tosca Lee. May she continue to be blessed of the Lord Jesus Christ.