This month marks one year since I moved back to Northern Ireland after several years away, and it has been interesting to observe how different life is here compared to the cosmopolitan cities I lived in before. Not better, not worse – just different.

Most of you who follow this blog are probably here for content on faith and autism. Although this post is not directly about autism, I want to think about the idea of community and belonging, which can be difficult for autistic people to find.

The author David Goodhart theorised the UK population can be neatly divided into two categories: ‘Somewheres’ and ‘Anywheres’.  Somewheres have a strong attachment to the place where they grew up, and are likely to remain near their hometown for life.  Their families have been living in that town for generations, and they are rel­­ated to half the town (slight exaggeration, but I have been amazed at how many people are distantly related to each other here!). Anywheres, on the other hand, are more mobile, and will move around several times throughout their lives, often ending up in major cities like London or New York. They see their biological families less frequently, and create ‘found families’ of people with similar experiences and outlooks. Goodhart writes about this divide from a political point of view, but I am more interested in how it applies to our day-to-day life.

Somewheres make up the majority of the population. UK-wide, the most recent data I could find was a 2017 survey from David Wilson Homes, which found that 55% of people live within 15 miles of their hometown. I couldn’t find a similar study just for Northern Ireland, but I’d image that percentage would be higher here. Contrast this to somewhere like Seattle, Washington, where I spent some time last year, which has been described as a ‘Transplant City’. Only 3 in 10 adults living in Seattle were born in Washington State. Everyone else moved from somewhere else, either another US state or a different country entirely.

I would consider myself an Anywhere. I was born in Belfast, but neither of my parents grew up there, so I was not geographically close to my extended family. I have fond memories of going to stay with family during the school holidays, it always seemed like an adventure to a totally different place. We also did a lot of travelling, something I am extremely grateful for, which has made me into an adult who is just as comfortable getting on a plane to Hong Kong as I am getting the bus into Belfast City Centre. I just might get a little lost along the way, as I am horrendous at navigating, near or far!

It has been quite an adjustment getting used to small town life. Although this is technically a city, the population is only 16,000 people. It is lovely to be able to walk into town and be greeted by people I know, it makes me feel part of the community. I have church to thank for this, as it is through church that I made friends after moving here and not knowing anyone. No matter where I am in the world, I have always been able to drop into a church and feel welcomed – a lovely illustration of the Kingdom of God in action. In fact, right now as I sit in a coffee shop and type this blog, there are two people from church at another table and we had a nice chat. The challenge is to figure out how exactly I fit into a community where a lot of people have been best friends since P1, and how I can carve out my own meaning in life as a contentedly single woman at an age where many of my friends are married with kids (I’m very happy for them!).

Anywheres and Somewheres tend to look down on each other; the Anywheres view Somewheres as old-fashioned and parochial, whereas the Somewheres view Anywheres as selfish, sacrificing community and familial ties in order to pursue a life of their choosing. But what if we can learn from each other instead? Somewheres teach us the value of community and sense of place; Anywheres teach us how to move out of our comfort zone and form spontaneous connections.

At Café Church last week, we explored Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” I don’t know what path my life could take, and I find it hard to settle in one place. I might stay here for 2 years, I might stay here for 20 years. I just need to take things one day at a time!

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I recently had a serendipitous chance encounter that prompted me to think more about the many different ways Christianity can be expressed. I was on the ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan and it was rather busy, so I ended up sharing a table with an elderly couple. Not long into the voyage, they mentioned they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I must admit, my first thought was, ‘Oh my word, I have to spend two and a half hours talking to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Where’s the nearest lifeboat?’  As it happened, we had a fascinating conversation about theology and the similarities and differences between what we believe. I respected their sincere conviction and boldness to strike up conversations with strangers. Despite their best efforts, it’s safe to say I won’t be joining my local Kingdom Hall any time soon, but I learned a valuable lesson about engaging with and respecting the beliefs of those I disagree with.

In The Good Book: How to Read the Bible, Richard Holloway outlines three ways of interacting with Christianity. The first is to believe that every word of the Bible is the literal inspired truth, the second is to take a more critical view of the Bible while still affirming core doctrines, and the final way is to view the faith as a symbolic myth about the human condition. Interestingly, the third way is undergoing a contemporary resurgence; cultural commentators such as Jordan Peterson and Douglas Murray write extensively on the relevance of the Bible in modern society, even though neither of them believe in God in the conventional sense.

As for me, I have a foot in each camp. Actually, that’s a terrible analogy because it implies I’ve got three feet – but you get what I mean. As I continue to explore the ever-changing nature of my faith, I find that I hold a pick-n-mix of beliefs from across the theological spectrum. On one hand this is a good thing, as it means I can attend just about any church and find enough in common with the teaching to get edification from it. Indeed, since leaving university I’ve moved around a lot and have attended very theologically different churches in Scotland, Switzerland and now England. However, the downside is that I don’t truly ‘fit in’ with any tradition.

In previous writings I have described myself as religious but not spiritual – that is, I get much meaning and fulfilment from religious practice but don’t often experience a supernatural connection with the divine.  I have come up with a new axiom to further describe my religious outlook – I seek meaning from mystery. I want to discover a way that I can continue to be a Christ-follower who seeks meaning from the mysteries contained in scripture without having to change my naturally empirical way of thinking.

Part 2 – Sceptical Christianity by Rev. Robert Reiss

I have just finished reading Sceptical Christianity by Rev. Robert Reiss, in which he seeks to create a “cleansed and healthy relationship with what I can truly and honestly believe with all my heart and mind”. That’s exactly what I hope to achieve one day. Reiss is Canon Emeritus of Westminster Abbey, and Sceptical Christianity is his account of how he interprets the core doctrines of Christianity in a manner inspired by the radical theologians of the 1960s. He tells the story of how, as a 20-year-old, he discovered Honest to God by John Robinson and found it ‘wonderfully liberating’. I had an uncannily similar experience at the same age, except for me it was Unbelievable by John Shelby Spong. Both written by Bishops no less!

Reiss starts with the central issue: how can we meaningfully talk about God? He suggests a bare minimum definition: ‘a force that wants to enable human beings to live together in a creative and loving way and to see the world as a context in which such love can develop’. Beyond that, theologians differ when it comes to defining the precise attributes of God. Classical theism sees God as the ultimate being who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, impassable and immutable. Such a view draws heavily on Hellenistic philosophy. Reiss leans more towards open theism, which centres around the idea that God is love, and love is inherently uncontrolling. One advantage of such a view is that it makes more sense of the problem of evil compared to classical theism. As Reiss puts it, ‘Perhaps God is not all-powerful in the way some would suggest, because any act of creation carries with it an element of risk, as any parent will know. Love is not all-powerful, and it can be thwarted’. I could write much more on the differences between classical theism and open theism, but that will have to be another blog post of another time.

One thing I appreciate about the book is that Reiss focusses on finding common ground across the theological spectrum, while also not being ashamed of his own radical views. Take the virgin birth for instance; regardless of how historically accurate one views the nativity narratives, there are certain underlying meanings that both conservatives and liberals can agree on. It emphasises how Jesus was no ordinary child, with the gifts brought by the wise men representing his theological significance and the visit to the shepherds emphasising how God sides with the margins of society. It may seem like reading the Bible in a symbolic manner is a very postmodern thing to do, but it has a surprisingly historic precedent – as early as the third century Origen wrote that there are three ways to understand scripture: literally, morally and allegorically. Some passages may be understood on all three levels, whereas others can only be interpreted on one level. There is room for amicable disagreement on what level of interpretation should be used for the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke.

Reiss takes a similar approach to the resurrection. He starts with a bare minimum approach: ‘The conviction central to the Christian Faith is that Jesus’ death as not the end… he remains a powerful force in the life of his followers today’. Beyond that, he lists several different ways in which theologians have interpreted the resurrection narratives and concludes ‘there are serious Christian men and women on all sides of the argument’. This final point is vitally important – it’s not helpful when people on either side of the theological divide accuse the other of not being truly Christian. We need to focus on what binds us together, that we are all seeking meaning from the same mysteries, even if our conclusions differ. An example of charitable disagreement can be found in Bishop John Inges’ review of Sceptical Christianity; he profoundly disagrees with the book’s arguments, but nonetheless writes ‘All that having been said, I am pleased that liberals such as Reiss can still find a home in the Church of England. It is good for us to be challenged by them’.

Part 3 – What Now?

So where does that leave me? As I said at the outset of this rather long and rambling post, I find myself caught between different traditions. I admire the convictions of the evangelicals and acknowledge the life-changing power of their salvation message. I also enjoy the ritual and artistic beauty of Anglo-Catholicism. I appreciate the hyper-rationalism of radical theologians like Reiss, as this is in line with my way of thinking. To quote Rev. Giles Fraser, ‘Personally, I think not fitting in has advantages. You’re not part of any club’. Yet it can also be a lonely position to be in.

Once a week I walk along the Sussex Cliffs to my nearest parish church for midweek eucharist. It is the most Anglo-Catholic church I have ever attended, quite a contrast from my last church, an evangelical parish in Switzerland. I take time out of the busy routine of working life to partake in a ritual that has been practiced for millennia, uttering the same words used by Christians across the globe. In that moment, I am part of something beyond myself, part of the ever-unfolding narrative of God’s engagement with the world.

My quest for meaning from mystery continues.

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For my final year dissertation, I chose to research the experience of autistic adults within the Christian church; I received my autism diagnosis at the age of 18, yet I had never considered how that could influence my theology. Too often, theology regarding marginalised groups focuses on how to pull these groups into the ecclesiastical fold, enforcing conformity to theological norms. The liberation theologians of the twentieth century had a different understanding: theology should come from the margins, by listening to diverse perspectives and receiving new theological understandings beyond the established norm.

My research revealed that I am not a hopeless heretic in a state of wilful rebellion. Instead, there are neurobiological reasons which explain why a certain percentage of autistic people struggle to give intellectual assent to supernatural doctrines. Multiple research papers have demonstrated a connection between autism and lack of belief a supernatural deity (Caldwell-Harris et al., 2011; Hutson, 2012, Norenzayan et al., 2012); in order to properly relate to a personal deity, one must be able to empathise with God’s personality traits, thoughts, moods, and ways of communicating. Autistic people have a hard enough time doing this with someone who is standing in front of them, let alone with an entity we cannot see. To quote John Shelby Spong, “What the mind cannot accept, the heart can finally never adore”.

Society is ordered around ideas of normativity, whereby those who do not meet the norm are viewed as defective. Churches can subconsciously buy into these ideas if the goal is to make autistic people more neurotypical in behaviour and belief. How, then, can an autistic person remain part of a faith community without having to force themselves into a way of thinking that is fundamentally incompatible with the way they experience the world?

As an autistic Christian, I have a deep desire to be part of something beyond myself, to follow the teachings of Jesus and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. I may not be able to communicate with an anthropomorphised God, but this I know: God is love, and autistic people are just as capable at giving and receiving love as anyone else. Many autistic adults face a life of isolation and misunderstanding; churches can offer a community of inclusive love for such individuals.

It must be noted that I do not speak on behalf of all autistic Christians. Autism is heterogenous, meaning every autistic adult presents differently, and therefore the extent to which they struggle to conceptualise a personal deity will vary.

I finish with a quote from a local priest: “I’d rather be an ‘unbelieving Christian’ living by faith than an ‘unbeloving Christian’ living by beliefs”.

This article was originally published in issue 33 of Progressive Voices, magazine of the Progressive Christian Network

Studies cited:

Caldwell-Harris, C., Murphy, C.F, Velazquez, T., and McNamara, P. (2011) ‘Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism.’ Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 33. Available at:  https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6zh3j3pr 

Hutson, M. (2012) ‘Does Autism Lead to Atheism?’ Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psyched/201205/does-autism-lead-atheism 

Norenzayan A., Gervais W.M. and Trzesniewski, K.H. (2012) ‘Mentalizing Deficits Constrain Belief in a Personal God.’ PLOS ONE, 7(5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036880

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N.P. Beckwith is a professional chiropractor, former educator, casual artist, and undocumented theologian. Occasionally, on a dare, and at great risk to those he loves, he writes a novel.   He believes that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and that children are a heritage from the Lord.  That being said, he is currently satisfied with the heritage he has received, and is not seeking additional heritage.  He is a world traveler, his conquests including Texas, Holland, India, Japan, and at least one alternate earth.  He currently resides with his good thing and his heritage in his home state of Maine.

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I’ve always written short stories. In school, creative writing was one of my favorite subjects. The idea that I could say whatever I wanted to say in my own words was liberating. I don’t see myself ever writing a technical manual. But as for writing on the scale of a novel, Martyr was my first. True story, my wife saw me playing a video game one day and said,”Why don’t you do something more productive?” So I decided to write a novel. That was around 2008. I was in chiropractic school at the time. I wrote about 20 pages and quit. I got busy, lost interest. A couple of years later, while practicing in the Netherlands, I took it up again. I didn’t stop until it was finished

2) Out of everything you have written, what is your favourite piece and why?
Given my previous answer, I’m going to have to go with Martyr. I learned a lot about writing through the process of writing Martyr. Some of the lessons were painful, like being told that I use too many big words. “But I love every one of those words!” I thought. But I realized that the reader isn’t going to be impressed with my vocabulary, they are just hoping to find a good story and get lost in it. And I was making them stumble over my words to get there. In Martyr I was able to explore some of my philosophical and theological tendencies while writing a story that I hoped would be engaging and uplifting. I also think I was able to convey much of the emotional impact that I wanted in a way that was fun for me. Plus, obviously, the world of Martyr is real and when I found it, I just had to write about it.

3) Which author is your biggest inspiration?

Stephen R. Lawhead, particularly his Song of Albion trilogy. That series showed me that Christian fantasy could be done in a more subtle way, without losing its impact. In Albion we see God through a lens of Celtic mythology, but (especially if you read book 3 to the end) there can be no doubt that it is the God of the Bible that is in view. The God of Martyr, Chaer-Ul, is a mysterious deity, revealing himself through dreams and visions that are not always clear. Later, he speaks more plainly. This led one reviewer to conclude that he seems to evolve throughout the story. I would argue that it is the protagonist’s understanding that evolves, and Chaer-Ul simply accommodates himself to that growing awareness. I see a similar progressive unfolding in the pages of Scripture.

4) How does your Christian faith inspire your writing?

I don’t think I could write a novel purely as entertainment or escape. While Martyr does not have an evangelistic message per se, I do challenge the reader to wrestle with some of the tough questions of faith. Is God good, even in the face of suffering? Can I trust him? Will he keep his promises? Does he truly have my best interests in mind? These are questions every believer must try to answer at some point, and the characters in my books are no different. For the most part, though I raise the questions, I don’t attempt to answer them explicitly. I think part of the Christian walk involves finding our own answers to the tough questions. In the process, we may experience fear, doubt, even anger. There may be times when we rebel because we don’t like the answer we are given. My characters wouldn’t be real if they weren’t capable of this full range of human emotion and behavior. We all come to God as sinners. We don’t ever truly rise above our fallenness as long as we live in this world. My faith helps me to create characters that display this tension.

5) What are your plans for the future? Are any more books in the pipeline?

Well, Martyr is intended to be Book 1 of a trilogy. I’m calling it The Other Earth Chronicles. Work has begun on the second book, but it won’t be out this year. One reason for the delay is that I have done a complete re-edit of Martyr, including a new cover design. The Kindle version is already updated, and a matching hard copy will be available soon. The other reason is that I have been working on a YouTube trailer to promote Book 2. We’ve actually shot most of the scenes, and just need to edit and polish it. With a budget of approximately zero dollars and an all-volunteer cast, this has been an interesting journey, to say the least. Did you know that it is a bad idea to sneak onto airport grounds and start filming broken-down aircraft? It is. I did not know that. I’m kidding, I didn’t actually do that. But the project did involve acquiring permission to shoot at various abandoned locations. Not to mention devising an easy way to travel to and from Other Earth with equipment and crew. Look for the result on YouTube in the coming year.

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Shirley-Anne McMillan lives in South Down with her family where she works as a writer, and schools worker. In 2014, she won the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition with an extract from A Good Hiding which was published by Atom in August 2016. Set in Belfast, A Good Hiding is Shirley-Anne’s first traditionally published Young Adult novel.

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I remember asking my dad when I was wee how to write my name. I think I’ve enjoyed it since then. I wrote stories but mainly poetry when I was a teenager. Then song lyrics. Then I went to university and wrote more poetry, and I tried and failed to write a novel. It was around that time, aged about 18, that I decided I wanted to be serious about writing as a career (although I didn’t tell anyone that for a really long time). So I was sending away work and getting rejection letters for around 20 years before I had my work accepted by a publisher. But in the meantime I wrote lots of things and I always really loved it.

2) Out of everything you have written, what is your favourite piece and why?

That’s a really hard question to answer because I usually find that I’m enjoying the thing I’m working on best. Writing a novel is like having a really great secret and you can’t tell anyone until it’s completely finished. So I think I’m going to say that my favourite piece is the one I’ve just started and I literally just started it today!

3) Which author is your biggest inspiration?

I’m not sure I can narrow it down but Melvin Burgess, Nick Hornby and David Almond have all written books which I tend to return to and which I wish I had written myself.

4) You took part in the most recent Belfast Book Festival, how was that experience?

It was lovely. I was on a panel with Sarah Mussi and Andrew Moore and they were both really kind and interesting. It’s great that the Belfast Book Festival features Young Adult writers and I hope I can do more events like this. It’s also really cool to be at an event with a green room and free snacks. I think I will always be excited by free snacks.

5) What are your plans for the future? Are any more books in the pipeline?
Atom bought two novels from me: A Good Hiding and another one. I’ve just finished the first draft of the other one and so I plan to spend the next few months working with the editors at Atom on it. It should then come out in the summer of 2017. It’s another Young Adult novel about a girl called Tilly who is well behaved in school and who plans to go to university, but she’s also really bored, and she has a secret hobby; at night she sneaks out of the house and goes free climbing. She climbs up cranes and tall buildings without ropes or harnesses. One night she’s out climbing and she meets a boy called Brew who lives in a derelict building. He introduces her to his gang of anarchist activists and they get up to all sorts of shenanigans in Belfast and the surrounding area.

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E.L. Pearson has rarely been seen without a book in her hand. Naturally, this opportunity to share with others the story God placed upon her heart has represented the apex of her life’s dreams. From early on, this natural born author has been fascinated by the art of telling stories; her favorites to this day include White’s The Once and Future King and Scott’s Ivanhoe. According to those who know her best, the first literature that truly made her imagination blossom were in fact Bible stories… especially those involving Angels. As her fascination with these celestial beings grew, so did a yearning to weave a compelling storyline and thus, the bedrock for Prodigal Lost was born. Through her own trials and failures, E.L. Pearson has seen the influence of darkness in this fallen world and has herself felt the burden of those who feel suffocated by it. But through her faith, she has also felt the joy of God’s grace and mercy, a redemptive power which pulled her from her despair and set her to work reaching others with a life-saving message. E.L Pearson desires but one thing – to let the world know that no matter the sin, no matter the stain from the past, Jesus Christ is the cleansing power of redemption. As her relationship with God has grown, so have her blessings, which include a patient and loving husband and twin sons who remind her just how much God loves her. Together, they do life in Nebraska.

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I have been writing since I was very small, probably still in elementary school. I have always been fascinated with how words put together formed more than just a sentence, they formed emotions, and could build pictures in my mind. I started writing because my imagination was full of so many beautiful things, and I needed to share them! I admired fantasy fiction from the start, and have always had a soft spot for Arthurian literature. Robin Hood has long-standing been my favorite hero, and I always yearned for a story like his and Maid Marion. I started writing because I loved the way books made me feel that I could go anywhere, or be anyone, without spending a dime.

2) Out of everything you have written, what is your favourite piece and why?

Prodigal Lost is definitely my favorite piece. I have written many other articles for blogs and emagazines, but it’s by far my best work. A close second is a feature I wrote on my childhood growing up in the infamous sandhills of Nebraska. I love writing about things with which I’m familiar, yet I love to research things that fascinate me, so I can learn more about it. It usually ends up in a story somehow, much like the Loretto staircase in Prodigal Lost was something I stumbled across while I was researching angels, and low and behold, Mason became the person I imagined would build something like that.

3) Which author is your biggest inspiration?

Francine Rivers is a huge book-crush of mine. I took my initial steps toward novel-writing after reading her Mark of the Lion series. Hadessah was such a strong character to fall in love with, and the Atretes character made me dream about Rome. So much so in fact, that I decided to write Prodigal Lost in ancient Rome! Little known fact, Prodigal Lost’s dreams/flashbacks were all written prior to the New Orleans frame was ever even conceived, Rivers’ work inspired me that much. And of course, I can’t forget some of the classics, as that’s what I focused mostly in my collegiate career. World-builders like Tolkien, game changers and wordsmiths like T.H. White and Thomas Moore. I could read their work over and over and still be inspired.

4) How does your Christian faith inspire your writing?

Without my faith, I wouldn’t have writing. I believe God gave me a gift, and I feel I have a perspective that most people take for granted. I write simply, and I choose my words very carefully. But at the end of the day, I don’t write a single word of it. I’m not made for the simple life, I’m made to make an impact, and the way I impact people is to tell stories. I’m blessed to be a Christian, and be a part of telling the greatest story ever told!

5) What are your plans for the future? Are any more books in the pipeline?

Lots of plans for things – I’m currently working from a fleshed out outline for Prodigal Lost 2. I write by scene, so, I’m working backwards compared to Prodigal Lost: Oasis of the Fallen, and I’m actually constructing the present day story, then I plan to weave in the dreams/flashbacks. Also in the works is a fiction novel that strikes close to home that looks at divorce in the modern world, through the eyes of a traditional ranch family. Beta reviewers have likened it to The Shack, so I’m pretty ecstatic about continuing forward with that piece. I also am buttoning up a non-fiction piece for parents of premature multiples, as I was a parent with children in the NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit). It’s a devotional to help parents cope with a longer hospital stay, and gives an account of someone who’s been there. I’m excited to get it into some hospitals in the US here to share with other families encountering the same difficulties I did. I also have several different children’s series’ in mind, and am starting to get them down on paper, and am searching for an illustrator to work with!

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Jane Talbot is a writer and storyteller based in County Antrim. Promoting storytelling and reading aloud as important means of human connection, she creates written narratives that follow conventions associated with the oral tradition and that are designed for reading both ‘in your head’ and out loud. Jane’s first book, The Faerie Thorn and Other Stories [Blackstaff Press, 2015], is a collection of seven dark faerie tales set in Northern Ireland’s beautiful North Coast area. You can visit Jane’s website here. When Jane is not writing, she runs a coaching and training business.

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I started writing on 8 July 2014. On 1 January 2014 I started a year-long project called ‘The 365 Days of Adventure’. The plan was to have a mini-adventure every single day for a whole year. On 6 July 2014 I went on a faerie hunting adventure, camping out near a lone hawthorn tree on our farm. Although I followed the standard protocols in full, I did not see any faeries. However, after my dawn visit to the tree, I fell asleep and when I woke up I had a complete story in my head : The Faerie Thorn. I wrote it down and that was that!

Although I hadn’t really written much before, I have been an oral storyteller for a very long time. I write as I would normally tell ‘aloud’, so it was a relatively small leap for me.

2) Out of everything you have written, what is your favourite piece and why?

My favourite piece is a short story called ‘The Terrible Tale of Fillan McQuillan’. It’s one of the stories in my short story collection, ‘The Faerie Thorn and Other Stories.’ It’s my favourite because the baddie in the story is just so bad! He was great fun to write and he gave me a lot of chuckles. He lived in my head long after the story was finished: I was quite sad when he ‘packed up and moved out’.

3) Which author is your biggest inspiration?

I’ve a huge admiration for writers who use language in new ways: Roald Dahl is one of my favourite authors, and Russell Hoban’s ‘Riddley Walker’ is, from a linguistic point of view, astonishing. As a child I enjoyed Ursula K Le Guin, Alan Garner and Joan Aiken [The Kingdom Under the Sea and Other Stories] – and anything Grimm-ish or Andersen-ish, of course. I still immerse myself in faerie tales, folk tales, myths and legends on a regular basis [it keeps the faerie in me well fed].

4) You also founded the group Women Aloud NI, can you tell us more about it?

I set up this initiative in December 2015 to raise the profile of the women’s writing scene in Northern Ireland. On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2016, Women Aloud NI 2016 happened: 130 women writers took part in 17 events! We read, and talked about, our work in theatres, bookshops, arts centres, pubs and libraries across the country. Thanks to a group of dedicated coordinators and to all the women writers who took part, Women Aloud NI 2016 was a great success. We’re already looking forward to Women Aloud NI 2017.

5) What are your plans for the future? Are any more books in the pipeline?

The exciting news is that The Faerie Thorn and Other Stories is being adapted for the stage and the production will be touring the UK and Ireland in April/May 2017. As for writing, I have a lovely project that I’m going to be working on from November onward. It’s an ambitious retelling of a little-known Hiberno-Scottish legend.

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Glison Angela Lehto lives in rural Maine, where she was raised by wild lake-mermaids. Although she has dreamed of being a writer ever since she could hold a crayon, she also greatly enjoys her work as an orthopedic physical therapist. Other than creative writing, her hobbies include running, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, outdoor swimming, amateur film-making, piano, dance, and hosting ridiculous themed parties. Glison is blessed with wonderful friends and family who encourage her in Christ and do not judge her for wearing pirate hats to church.

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I’ve been writing ever since I could scribble words with a crayon. In young childhood, I would staple some blank pages together and create little storybooks. As an adolescent, I always had a few creative writing projects saved on my mom’s computer. When I was in higher education and didn’t have much free time, poems and short story projects would randomly burst out of my head into my journal. I believe God has given each of us special gifts, which can no more easily be suppressed than suppressing who we are in Christ. I started writing simply because writing is part of who God created me to be.

2) Out of everything you have written, what is your favourite piece and why?

Choosing my favorite piece of writing is like asking a mother of multiple children to choose which son or daughter she loves the best. Though some of my pieces obviously have more potential than others, I can’t choose which is my favorite. I believe that my favorite piece of writing is whichever one I happen to be working on at the time.

3) Which author is your biggest inspiration?

I love C.S. Lewis, for his Narnia series as well as his science fiction trilogy. I love the stories, but I more love the way his Christian identity pours through his works. J.R.R. Tolkien, another classic, inspires me as well, especially because he never intended his works to be Christian allegory. Again, writers such as these express truth through fiction, simply by being themselves. Other than these two classic authors, I enjoy fiction by Jan Karon, Francine Rivers, and Stephen Lawhead. My childhood favorites included Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, and Ursula K. Le Guin. However, being more of an avid writer myself and less of a reader, there are many wonderful authors whose works I’ve not yet read.

4) How does your Christian faith inspire your writing?

I believe that writers write about what they know. Though we can shroud our experiences in layers of fiction, metaphor, and imaginary situations, our stories are necessarily birthed from our personalities, life experiences, and essential spiritual nature. Perhaps a skillful writer can disguise his or her heart, so the story seem to be less directly related to the author, but just as the creation of the Universe sprang from the life and personality of God, I believe that any creative work springs from the life-source of its creator. Therefore, the Christian message necessarily expresses itself in my writing, when I am simply being myself and writing from my heart. It would be painfully tedious to try to disguise the truth of God’s love, the gospel, and the redemption we have in Christ. To do so would be to try to write as if I were not myself.

5) What are your plans for the future? Are any more books in the pipeline?

My future plans include a sequel to my first novel, in which the adventures of Miss Aqua continue. I also have ideas for a third novel to make Miss Aqua a trilogy. At some point, I also want to write a pirate tale.

If you are an author interested in being interviewed, please contact me.

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Ellie Rose McKee is author of four books. Lover of travel, art, and chocolate cake, she loves making mess and YouTube videos.

Find out more about Ellie at ellierosemckee.com

1) How long have you been writing for, and why did you start?

I think the earliest things I wrote were some poems and short stories for primary school, so I guess I started because I was required to and I continued because I loved it.

2) Out of all your published works, what is your favourite and why?

My favorite thing is the novel I’m currently working on but, of my published works, I guess I’d have to pick Four Season Summer & Season’s End (which is a novelette in two parts). If I was to do it again I’d probably expand on it, as I think it’s a story with a lot of potential.

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I write science fiction and fantasy in a little corner of Northern Ireland. Sometimes I write about Earth, sometimes my space opera world of Abendau. I have a healthy interest in lots of things like reading, and writing, and gardening. I have an unhealthy interest in sexy space pilots, aliens and all things Space Opera. When I’m not writing I run a management consultancy and run after children, dogs, fish, not neccesarily in that order, ably supported by my husband.

Find out more about Jo at jozebedee.com

It seems unbelievable that in a few weeks, I’ll be finished telling that story and moving on to other characters and worlds. I think I might need a tissue or two the day I push the final send command.

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