Interview with Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn

WOF:
Why did you decide to write Healing Stones?

NANCY:
As you know, this is a collaborative effort between Steve Arterburn and myself; originally the only real direction he gave me was, “I want us to write some books that take people down the dark paths.”

STEVE:
I wanted to tell a great story. That was the first and most important thing I was trying to do. I also wanted to influence readers, provide some light from a different perspective than non-fiction.

NANCY:
My suggestion was that we begin the series with a woman who’s had an affair. Often that’s from the viewpoint of the “victim,” the person who’s been cheated on. What about the person who has done the cheating? What does that look like—especially if she is completely remorseful? We tend to be judgmental and say, “Well, that person sinned. It’s wrong; she deserves whatever happens to her.” That does not go along with the story of Jesus and the woman found in adultery in the Bible

STEVE:
I had no idea that some would consider it such a great book, but Nancy did such an amazing job that people are loving it and changing their life because of it. Some have said they always wondered what their counselor was thinking in the session and this provided some insight. Others said they got out of an affair. Others said that for the first time they saw the offending party’s brokenness. That is such a wonderful feeling when in the beginning it was about trying to create a great story that honors God.

WOF:
Nancy, you have a number of plots weaving in and out of the story. Was it hard to keep track of them all?

NANCY:
No — for a couple of reasons. One, because it seems so real to me when I’m writing. For that reason, no. The other reason is because I plot everything out really carefully before I begin the actual writing. Steve and I did a lot of the plotting together. Not every writer works that way; I definitely have to map things out ahead of time. That way we don’t get confused. Then God just comes in and kind of ties it up!

WOF:
Do you ever find that your characters refuse to cooperate with your plan?

NANCY:
Oh, absolutely! They have minds of their own and they will sometimes take over . . . say things I hadn’t planned on, take a different direction. But they don’t go too far afield. Most of the arguing they do with me is in the planning stages.

WOF:
There are people who don’t realize you can have an argument with a fictional character . . .

NANCY:
I think if you’re not arguing with them, maybe they’re not as three-dimensional as they need to be. When I teach writing I encourage my fiction-writing students to allow their characters to journal. Ask the character a question you don’t know the answer to yet as the author and allow the character to answer you. They look at me like I need to increase my medication, then they do it and it almost invariably works. It certainly does work for me.

WOF:
Not only is Healing Stones a fast-paced, interesting story—we actually learn a lot about fire safety, among other things. Tell us about that research.

NANCY:
When I went to talk to the firemen they said, “You know what needs to happen, you need to come out to the training tower and we’ll put you through a fire.” So I went to the training tower and they dressed me up in the whole get-up with the mask and the breathing apparatus and everything. I’m claustrophobic, so it was quite a thing for me. Then they took me into the tower itself and set a fire! One of the firemen sat with me and talked to me about what they would be doing and what would be happening to victims. At one point I said, “So if I didn’t have on this mask, what would be happening?” He said, “You’d be dead.”

Then they let me put the fire out, which was hilarious. They handed me this huge hose and of course it knocked me on my butt. It was incredible. I went home that afternoon and wrote the scene where Demi was caught in the fire. I never could have done it otherwise.

WOF:
The major theme of the book is forgiveness—but it’s also about fear. Demi’s fear that she’ll lose her family, St. Clair’s fear that freedom to choose will lead to rampant sin, even Sullivan’s fear of his memories . . . how much does fear drive us and keep us from asking for forgiveness?

NANCY:
I think it is the major driving force. We talk a lot about faith and doubt but I really think the opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s fear. I think doubt is absolutely necessary in order to build your faith. If you don’t have doubts, you don’t ask questions then you don’t get the answers. So much of what we need to do as Christians and don’t do because we’re afraid.

STEVE:
I have said many times on New Life Live that the most underrated emotion is fear. So often we refuse to ask for forgiveness out of fear of the results. We are also afraid that if we ask forgiveness the person will use the information against us. If all of us look at the fears in our lives we will most likely see how much of what we do is motivated by fear, which goes against God not giving us a spirit of fear.

WOF:
Sully’s fondness for restoring broken-down old cars seems to mimic his career, which is restoring banged-up lives. Should we all take a look at our hobbies to see what they say about us?

STEVE:
Often our hobbies are deep reflections of our souls. Most hobbies relate to creativity a direct reflection of who God is. I would look at hobbies and also why someone does not have any.

NANCY:
I hadn’t thought about that. That’s a great question. I think definitely the things we’re drawn to can tell us a lot about ourselves. For example, with gas prices being what they are we recently bought a Harley for my husband to ride to work. Talking with a lot of Harley folk, the whole theme of riding a Harley is about freedom. I think you’re right!

WOF:
Eventually Demi learns to stop defining herself by her mistakes. How can we learn to do the same thing? Where would be a good place to start?

NANCY:
I think looking at the places where we’re separated from God. Whatever that is, I think step one is to face that squarely. Even to ask people around us, people we really love and trust. “What am I doing, who am I being that is really hurting relationships? What would you love to see me change about myself?” It takes some really honest soul-searching. Everything we say in the book, especially in those sessions with Sully, really provides a blueprint for people to follow.

STEVE:
Ask for forgiveness and make restitution. I am working on a restitution book because it is such a great concept so seldom practiced. When you steal you need to repay. Adultery is stealing. Once you repay it helps you in feeling forgiven. Also we need to review what God says about forgiveness in that he remembers our sins no more. He promises us that when we humble ourselves and confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us.

WOF:
Is there really such a thing as champagne cake? And what’s so bad about it, anyhow?

NANCY:
Oh, yeah. I spent a lot of time up in Port Orchard, Washington, which is one of the most beautiful places on the earth. The people I stayed with insisted that I had to go to that bakery that has that exact name and taste the champagne cake. I am telling you, if you like sweets then you’re going to love it. Personally, I’m not a sweets person and it absolutely set my teeth on edge. I mean, you look at it and you’re going to develop Type II diabetes.

WOF:
So Port Orchard is an actual place?

NANCY:
It’s right on Puget Sound. Just about everything in the book is an actual place, except for the restaurant that Mickey and her husband own. But all the other restaurants, the Yacht Club, even that particular boat [are real]. And the college is fictional; it’s kind of a composite of many different places.

WOF:
Do you feel that because you’re a male/female team you’re able to come up with a book that appeals to both men and women?

NANCY:
I absolutely agree. It’s very interesting to me now, but at first I wanted the therapist to be a woman. I didn’t want some guy coming and telling these women how to live their lives. Steve said, “I really think it ought to be a guy.” So I said, “All right, then his mentor needs to be a woman.” Now I cannot imagine Sullivan Crisp being anyone else but who he is. I really think I kind of have a crush on him. (And my husband has accepted that.)

WOF:
It’s a three book series? Just three?

NANCY:
Right, just three. The second one is Healing Waters and the third one is Healing Sands. Sullivan Crisp appears in each one of them and his story continues as he continues to face his demons and continues to heal.

We are looking into doing another completely different series. The letters we have received from people — men and women alike — have been incredibly gratifying. We feel like this is a God thing.