Neta, describe yourself for our visitors. (ex. hobbies, favorite music, ministries)
Grew up horse-crazy but lived in the city, so I took out my fantasies by drawing and writing stories (and you know where that led!). My husband and I enjoy the outdoors, so our vacations are usually camping, hiking, canoeing–tho we love long TRAIN trips. I decorate my home with plants in the windows instead of curtains (OK, blinds in the bedrooms, but that’s it). I love gospel music (used to sing in a gospel choir–what joy!), love the sisters in the women’s Bible study that meets in my home every week, and I wish I knew how to dance (I do it anyway when no one’s looking, praising God with my whole self!). Have been married for 41 years to the same awesome (and handsome) man, and are now enjoying seven grandchildren (including four foster grandkids).
How do you find time to connect with God?
Being empty-nesters, my husband and I are able to start the day with 30-60 minutes of Bible reading and prayer. But I also believe in "praying without ceasing"–in the shower, driving, walking–when a person comes to mind, I pray for them right then. And also, playing praise and worship music keeps my spirit lifted to God all during the day.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
As a kid, C.S. Lewis (Narnia series), Margurite Henry (i.e. Misty of Chincoteague, etc.), Madeleine L’Engle (Swiftly Tilting Planet), Mary O’Hara (My Friend Flicka series) . . .
As an adult, I love reading anything by Ernest Gaines (A Gathering of Old Men, etc.). But I also enjoy reading many of the current contemporary Christian novelists–Athol Dickson and Sharon Ewell Foster top the list, but also James Scott Bell, Angie Hunt, Patti Hickman, Deb Rainy, Robin Lee Hatcher . . . oh, there are many.
I just finished reading Suite Francaise, an unfinished novel by a woman who died in Hitler’s camps, only recently published. Very character-driven, which is what I like most.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
My high school English teacher sent one of my stories to a national Scholastic writing contest–and it won first place. They gave me $100 dollars, I bought a typewriter, headed off to college, and never looked back. I wanted to write. Ended up as an editor and writer of articles for many years, but the my husband (also a writer) and I decided we wanted to write stories . . . and ended up working for 13 years on the Trailblazer series, 40 titles of historical fiction about great Christian heroes for middle readers (ages 8-12). (See www.trailblazerbooks.com.)
During this time, a Bible study of culturally and racially diverse women had been meeting in my house for about 5 years. My husband said, "The stories coming out of this group would make a great novel." Adult fiction was a leap for me–but that’s how the Yada Yada Prayer Group novels were born, inspired by (but not about) a real-life women’s prayer group.
Tell us about your current book?
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out is the 7th and final book in the Yada series. It’s actually a jump in time, a year and a half after the end of book #6, a reunion of sorts, a holiday novella–but it was so exciting to write, because there were some stories that still needed to be told. The fun cover may look like fluff, but as with all the Yada Yada books, fun and laughter are mixed with the deep ways God is teaching these sisters to go deeper in prayer and higher in praise.
How did you come up with ideas for this book?
Actually, ideas for this book grew out of the characters themselves as they grew and developed throughout the series. The sisters in the Yada Yada Prayer Group have become so real to me and others (readers sometimes write and say, "I found myself praying for Florida [or Ruth or Yo-Yo]!"), that at times I feel like I’m just hanging on for the ride, wondering what’s going to happen next!
But specifically, the idea for the Manna House Women’s Shelter (in book #6 and #7) grew out of my relationship with a women’s shelter here in Chicago, which had a book club that was reading Yada Yada!
List your three most recent books.
- The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught (book #5)
- The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling (book #6)
- The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out (book #7–a holiday novella)
Whatʼs next for you?
I’m hard at work on a new series that is a spin-off from Yada Yada (working title for the series is: Yada Yada House of Hope, and I have three books planned). This series will feature a new primary character in a very different situation (though the location is still Chicago), but whose life intersects with a few of the characters from the Yada Yada series. It’s a challenge to untangle myself from the lives of the Yada sisters enough to get inside another character’s head!
Where can visitors find you online?
You can find us at www.daveneta.com and I’d love to hear from any readers out there! And while you’re on the web site, check out my husband Dave’s latest novel: Forty to Life, an exciting story of murder, redemption, and the struggle and depth of forgiveness.
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