Today, I am offer my blog to writer Jessie Clemence who I met through my writing comrade Josh Mosey. If you are a parent, mother, Christian, or just in need of a laugh, I suggest you visit her blog and pick up her book when it hits the shelf.

What is your working title of your book (or story)?
There’s a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My editor suggested it because she saw that theme running through some of my other writing. Also, I have lived this book ever since my first child was born almost ten years ago.

What genre does your book fall under?
Bible study and parenting

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Since my family and friends are all in the book, I think we’d just all play ourselves. We’d have to be a reality TV show, like the Duggars on 78 Kids and Counting.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Motherhood is hard and requires special character traits that God can help us develop.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Green Plastic Monkey is being published by Discovery House Publishers in Grand Rapids.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took about nine months. Which, I just realized, is about how long a pregnancy lasts. Coincidence? I think not! (God just thinks He’s funny sometimes.)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I always have trouble with this one, because it really is a parenting book and a Bible study together, and it’s fun. I haven’t found another that fits these criteria. But I know that Rachel Jankovic has written Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches. That theme of enjoying a difficult time with God’s help is certainly running through Green Plastic Monkey, too.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My editor suggested it! It took me a while to get the nerve up to try it, because parenting has been a difficult road for me. But in the end, I think that’s the book’s strength. I don’t have it all together. I don’t know what I’m doing. My kids are thriving because God has changed my heart and shown me His grace. I think that will resonate with other mothers who are struggling.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
My primary spiritual gift is ridiculousness, and the book is full of it. It’s fun and silly and real. Many mothers will read the book and walk away thinking, “Thank goodness I’m a better mother than Jessie.” And I’m totally okay with that, as long as God’s word gets into them while they are laughing at me!

Thank you for participating Jessie!

Keep Writing.