Best Selling Author and The Nashville Napkin

Southern Living has nothing on this blog.  They had Condoleezza Rice for their April interview, and we have our own smart, confident and accomplished lady - Hayley DiMarco.  Read on and learn of and from this wise woman of God.  I sure did!

Steam rises off of the lake as I open my computer and begin to ponder the questions I’m about to answer. This home we chose for its inspirational view has become a spiritual radar dish that has allowed me to write some 40 books in 10 years. God’s serene gift of nature inspires me and keeps my mind from the busyness of the world, opening me up to the very nature of God himself and teaching me to keep the main thing the main thing. 

1)   Being from Oregon, what surprised you about living in Nashville?

Probably the general acceptance of Christianity. If you are a believer in Oregon you are a sold-out one because to be a Christian in the Northwest is a tough road. It’s not for the faint of heart. In the south everyone believes in God and this really shocked my system. No one was out to get me because of my faith. No one was arguing with me or making fun of me because I call myself a Christian. That was a definite culture shock for me.

2) You are the author of thirty plus books. What draws you to writing?

Learning initially drew me to books. I consider myself to have been discipled by many of the great writers of our time. Though they are long dead, they have taught me and helped me to understand the depths of God. And so when I write, I write because I am compelled to translate the amazing stuff I read from the greats into a modern voice. What they have to say is so important and incredible to the life of faith that I want it to be consumed by the people who wouldn’t ordinarily read the classics.

I write also because it’s how I make what I am learning real to myself. Oswald Chambers once said something that encouraged my prolific writing when he said to, “try to re-state to yourself what you implicitly feel to be God’s truth, and you give God a chance to pass it on to someone else through you.” These words he penned before I was even born have really energized me in my writing.

3) To what or to whom do you credit your insight and wisdom?

I credit all of my wisdom and insight to the Holy Spirit who gives me his divine light and allows me to have eyes to see things that I couldn’t otherwise even conceive of. And as He communicates that same light to others they have shared it with me. My husband is probably the most used of God’s vessels in the providing of wisdom to my mind. He is continually showing me the things of God and encouraging me in my sanctification and devotion to the Father.

4) What lesson or principle is the Holy Spirit teaching you right now in your life?

He has been teaching about dying to self for many years now. After writing our book Die Young, burying yourself in Christ, I have been continually returning to life found in the death of self that is so terrible to the flesh but so invaluable to the soul. Humility, being the foundation of all righteousness is continually under attack from my pride, which is the foundation of all sin. And so the battle rages inside me as my flesh desperately wants what it wants. Grrr!

5) You use a variety of quotes in your writing.  Do you have a favorite author or type of book to read?  If so, why.

I think I already kinda answered this, but my favorite authors are the dead guys; ones who have died over 75 years ago. All of their content is public domain, which just means it’s free and that’s a fun side note, but it means that you can read their stuff for free. Which is kinda nice. And I really appreciate the way the classic thinkers approached life. Not a lot of fluff, but tons of meat. That’s my kind of reading!

6) What's the last thing you scribbled on a paper napkin?

Couldn’t say, but I suppose the modern version of the paper napkin is my iphone reminders list. I use it like it’s going out of style. I have a ton of reminder lists that I use on a daily basis. Book ideas being one of them. I’m working a lot on the topic of grace right now so I’ve jotted down lots of notes of the idea of grace, or kindness, being the idea of me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me. 

7) The writer of a book entitled Technical Virgin must be a courageous woman.  What prompted you to pen such a project?

 

Yeah, I know, right? It was just that on our website, Godgirl.com I get hundreds of questions from girls all over the world, and I see that in good Christian homes girls are coming up with loop holes for their sexual appetites. And the “I’m technically a virgin” was quite a popular thing at the time I wrote that book. I don’t write books for perfect girls, but for girls who love God but are unaware of the slippery slope of sin they have been surfing down for years. Seeing a title like Technical Virgin would get this girl’s attention and hopefully help her before she made a tragic decision.

8) After reading a sample chapter of The Fruitful Wife, and liking the candor I found there, I find myself wondering about your husband.  How does he deal with your frankness?

The most amazing thing about my husband is that he has taught me much of what I know and therefore he has taught me much of what I write. The truth, that not a lot of people know, is that my husband and I do all of our writing together, and that means he edits and improves all of my work. Which I love! We have created in our home a culture of confession. Taking from the verse in James 5:16, that says to confess your sins to one another and to pray for one another so that you may be healed, we have made our home a healing one by being quick to confess, and that includes not only to one another and our daughter, but to others. We find that sin is of no good use unless the redemption of it is shared with others so that they can learn from it and see God’s grace at work. So he’s right there with me in the middle of all the frankness and confession and I thank God for that!

9) Located right here in Nashville is a very creative population and several renown publishing houses, including Hungry Planet, the company you founded which has best sellers on the Christian Booksellers Association lists, what advice would you give to someone desiring to write or publish a book?

I wouldn’t call us a publishing house, we are simply an imprint, or a brand. But to answer your Q I would suggest that getting a following is now the best way to get published. You do that by writing a really good and well visited blog. Publishers are getting very picky about who they publish now days. And they are looking for authors with a platform. Most publishers won’t even look at a manuscript that doesn’t come from an agent, so you will need to pound the pavement to find a good one for yourself.

10) What is on the horizon for Hayley DiMarco?

 

I’m not sure where God will take us next. I feel kind of like Sarah, God has said go, but he hasn’t said where, so we just continue to walk. Each day we know we are serving Him we know we are walking in the right direction.