Church of Christ Women Authors: Meet the Author Cindy Colley

Cindy Colley is a Bible class teacher, ladies day speaker, mother and writer. She is married to Glen Colley, the pulpit minister for the West Huntsville church of Christ in Alabama, and together they serve the kingdom in several ways.

They have worked together for the cause of Christ for many years, and have been "active in missions having been blessed in an amazing way to work in Trinidad, various areas in Africa, India, Ukraine, Colombia, Jamaica, New Zealand and Argentina." Not only does Cindy speak on ladies days, but is active in speaking for teen girls. Together with her husband, she also speaks on marriage and family seminars. (The Colley House)

In Depth with Cindy Colley:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I guess I always enjoyed writing, but never really "began the journey." Writing "found" me rather than the other way around. I put together some materials for a girls' class and those materials eventually became the first of my books.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It takes me years to write a book because I have to do it just a little bit at the time. Life is so full of work in the kingdom! However, recently I spent about five days in a relatively remote location for the purpose of writing and I actually completed half a book in those five days!

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

The writing schedule is extremely varied.

Do you have an interesting writing quirk?

I don't guess this is a quirk, but it is definitely interesting to just me. I have whacky dreams about things I am writing. In my sleep, I have the perfect plan for a book, a poem, an article. It's all very logical when I'm sleeping. I wake up and try to tell my husband how great this piece is going to be. That's when I first realize it's total nonsense.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

I get information primarily from the inspired writers of the Bible. But I also draw heavily on family experiences.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

When not writing, I'm busy speaking and maintaining the Digging Deep Bible Study for women.It's grown to be a great blessing that takes a wonderful large chunk of my time these days. My favorite just-for-fun thing to do is to spend time with my grandson, Ezra. He's the sunshine of my life right now! I love smocking, sewing, reading and my marriage (not in that order!). Glenn Colley provides everything I need. He's a rock.

What would you tell other Christian women who want to write?

If you want to write, realize that it's work. If you want to get something out there, you have to do enough study and research to know what you are talking about, even if it's fiction. You won't get it done if you don't purposefully set aside time for work. When you finish your manuscript, give Publishing Designs a look. Good people and great books over there at"Publishing Designs They didn't ask me to say this. They're just good and their products are sound.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I think I have authored a half dozen books and co-authored about as many. My favorite is "Picking Melons and Mates," a children's book, because I believe it has the potential to give kids a gift that has eternal consequences. It teaches parents how to do Family Bible Time in a simple parental guide section in the back of the book. That's why I think it's an important book.

Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so what are they?

If you want to be a better writer, be a better detailer. Be willing to take the time to peruse every.single.sentence and ask yourself "Is this the very best, most succinct, yet interesting way to commute this thought?" And then find someone as supportive as Glenn Colley to be in your corner and tell you that you're a good writer!

What do you like to read?

I like to read the Bible, of course. Then political biography, classics, and clean current southern fiction like Jan Karon. And I love reading all things from my sisters in Christ. I read aloud to my husband as we travel because he loves it....He's quirky like that. We cover a lot of miles in good books. Right now we are reading "A History of Hawaii" by Queen Lilioukalani. It's an understated story of the overthrow of the Hawaiian nation by the US at the end of the nineteenth century.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

As a child, I wanted to be a great mom. I had this great mom who put that into me! I had a great father, too, who had this game he played with me. He would give me random topics, like "bananas" or "mailboxes" and ask me to give a three minute extemporaneous discourse on their importance to the world or their meaning to the modern American, or some such....It was great training for what I get to do today.

Fun Fact

I won a US history essay contest in the seventh grade and the prize was a silver ID bracelet. I still have that little bracelet. Now, I know that essay wasn't brilliant. Neither is anything I write today. But that little bracelet was an important confidence builder for me. Perhaps it's a lack of confidence that inhibits many from getting to the task of writing for others. You never know what influence you could have over the eternal part (the only part that matters) of some reader somewhere. So go write!