Welcome Katie Ganshert!

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

WELCOME

Katie Ganshert

I had the pleasure of featuring Katie when she first got Rachelle Gardner as an agent. You can read that post here. I am thrilled to have her talking about her debut release:

Wildflowers from Winter

which I will be reviewing next week. 

Let's get to know Katie!

I love the story of how you met your husband. Can you give us a quick version of that? 

Ha! I love it too. He was the extremely good-looking delivery guy and I was the enamored receptionist. He’d come in once and day and we’d pretty much say hi and how are you? Then one day, as I’m walking out for lunch, he’s walking into our office. I expected him to go on in, but he did an about-face, walked with me to the elevator, and asked me out. My suave response was, “Do you even know my name?” Of course, I’d been signing for the packages every single day. Only my signature is perpetually messy. So he thought my name was Kate, even though I’d always been Katie. I didn’t correct him. I wrote “Kate” and my number on a gum wrapper and the rest is history. (Ten years later and he still has the gum wrapper.) 

You left your teaching career to write full time. How scary was that? Do you miss the classroom? 

Super scary. Especially since most industry professionals would advise against it. But I felt pulled in way too many directions. I was trying to be a wife and a mother and a teacher and a writer, and all the while, I felt like our son was growing up way too fast. I felt like God was asking me to step out in faith. Ryan did too.  After a whole bunch of prayer, we took the step, knowing we would lose half our salary and the great benefits that come with being a teacher. On paper, it didn’t seem like it could work. But God is faithful. He never leads where He won’t provide. It’s been the best decision for our family. One of the reasons I know is because as much as I loved teaching, I don’t miss it.

What has been the best part of this journey for you?

Oh boy, lots and lots of things! Getting to know so many amazing writing friends (like you!:)). Working with my agent. Working with my editor. Working with my marketing director. The people at Waterbrook/Multnomah are a dream team. Seeing a lifelong goal come to life. 

And getting to connect with readers! But, since you asked for the best, which implies only one thing, I’d have to say how keenly I’ve felt God’s presence throughout. This journey has drawn me so incredibly close to Him. It’s shown me that as wonderful as dreams are, ultimately, my hope and my joy and my worth are found in Him.  

What has been the most surprising (good or bad) part of the journey? 

The insecurity! I totally thought getting a book contract would take care of that for me. But I promise, it doesn’t. I feel like the further along I get in this journey, the more severely insecurity attacks. Which is why the further along I get in this journey, the more and more I have to put my hope in God. I’m such a people-pleaser. I want everyone to be happy with my work and happy with me. God is teaching me some (tough) lessons about letting that go. 

How is the adoption process going? Can you talk little bit about your decision to adopt and what the response has been? 

Good! We’re getting super close to sending our home study over to the Congo. Once it’s over there, we’ll be put on a referral list and the waiting begins.

We decided to adopt because God says to take care of orphans. He’s so clear about that command. It’s non-negotiable. That doesn’t mean everyone has to adopt to do so, but for us, that’s what it meant. We wanted more kids. It wasn’t happening the natural way. We didn’t feel pulled to go the infertility treatment route, and our lives kept intersecting with people who were either in the process of adopting or had already adopted. 

Then one day, the whisper in my heart was undeniable. It was as if God were saying, “I have a blessing out there for you, Katie. Don’t miss it because you’re too scared or too lazy.” God was working on my husband’s heart too. When he came home from work, I said, “I think we should adopt.”  And he said, “Me too.”

So here we are.

What's next for you as a writer? 

Book 2, Wishing onWillows, which releases March 19, 2013. It’s the continuation of Robin’s story from Wildflower. Readers don’t have to read the first book to follow the second, but I do think it’ll be a lot more meaningful if they do. I’m hoping readers will enjoy seeing familiar faces and places. 

Where can we connect with you? Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter

My website

My blog

Facebook

Twitter : @KatieGanshert 

Thank you so much for sharing with us, Katie.

So, what else do you want to know about Katie? Jump in and ask!