LIZ
CURTIS HIGGS (Bad Girls of the Bible, Grace
In Thine Eyes):
When I started driving, my mother cautioned me, “Nothing good happens
after midnight,” and she was right. Alas, this Former Bad Girl
ignored her wise counsel for a decade . . .
CRESTON
MAPES (Nobody, Dark Star):
My mom's father, then my mom, always said: “Moderation is the key—in
everything.”
ANGELA
HUNT (The Fine Art of Insincerity):
This one’s easy: “Read!”
JOHN
AUBREY ANDERSON (The Cool Woman):
I could make this longer, but I can’t make it any better. My wife
and I have known each other since kindergarten, but we didn’t date
until we were in college. A year or so after Nan and I started dating,
Momma told me, “You’d better marry that girl.” I’m
in my late sixties, and I’ve known for years . . . I won’t
hear wiser words on this side of eternity.
RENE
GUTTERIDGE (Possession, Listen):
The best advice my mother gave me was to work as hard as I can on what
I love. It's paid off :)
NIKKI
ARANA (As I Have Loved You, The Fragrance of Roses):
“Marry the man who loves you the most.” I did, and you can
read about what happened in my book The Winds of Sonoma.
TAMARA
LEIGH (Nowhere Carolina, Leaving Carolina):
I offer the following advice that my mother gave me--all good, though
sometimes I still mess up. “Never forget that words have the immense
power to not only encourage, but discourage, others.” (Borderline
prophetic, hmm?) “When dealing with others and what you perceive
to be their shortcomings, try to 'walk in their shoes'.” (Have
this one down, for the most part, though sometimes in hindsight) “Try
to listen more than you talk.” (I do, though I have been known
to drift.)
SHARON
HINCK (The Restorer):
My mom always says, "Keep your chin up . . . But don't stick your
neck out." She also says, "Moderation in all things... Including
moderation." But her greatest advice has been lived, not told. All
her life, she's been faithful in her daily prayer, Bible study, and worship
life. And her modeling of that has been her best counsel to me.
NANCY
MOSER (An Unlikely Suitor, ):
She told me I could achieve anything I set my mind to--with hard work.
She (and my father) believed in all of us kids, and lived out this advice
by setting their own sights on many diverse projects. The downside to this
advice is that I often took on too much, because I truly though I could
do whatever needed to be done. It's taken some adjustment to learn how
to say no, to let others do, and to use my time to do what I do best. Just
because we can doesn't mean we should.
My Mom's Best Advice
23 Authors Share Theirs
by C.J. Darlington
"The
best advice she gave me—the best advice anyone has given—was
'Don’t let anyone say you can’t do it. Don’t even
tell yourself that.'"
--
Robert Liparulo
She gave you life, brought you into this world. As you grew up, chances
are she also dished out some juicy nuggets of wisdom. The mothers
of these 24 authors certainly did. Let's sit back and learn from
them.
BRANDILYN
COLLINS (Over the Edge, Exposure):
It wasn’t a stated piece of advice. It was one my mother lived. She’s
loved me unconditionally, and through her modeling, I’ve learned how to
do the same as a parent, regardless of the trials that have arisen.
JERRY
JENKINS (The Brotherhood, Riven):
“Work before you play, but don’t forget to play.”
DEBORAH
RANEY (Almost Forever, Forever After):
I remember when I was the tender age of almost--18, loving my life and lamenting
having to grow up. My mother looked me in the eye and said, “Debbie,
don’t you ever feel afraid of getting older! Every year of my life
has been better than the year before.” Her words have definitely been
true for me. My forties were the most fabulous years of my life, and so far,
my fifties are shaping up to be even better! I have a very wise mom who is
still enjoying life to the hilt at 74.
KRISTIN
BILLERBECK (A
Billion Reasons Why, Perfectly Dateless):
This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but it's true. One night in college,
I had a boyfriend who had taken my Mustang convertible out and not come
home. I was so angry and my mother said, "Are you worried about the
car or the boyfriend? That tells you something." Yes, I was worried
about my precious car. Needless to say, it spoke volumes about my choices
in life. I became a Christian shortly thereafter. :)
KAREN
BALL (What Lies Within, The Breaking Point):
To celebrate the little moments in life. Mom was a master of celebrating,
be it birthdays or holidays, or just a walk on the beach, she made every
moment special. She reminded me what a gift each day was, and that you should
spend it with a heart of gratitude rather than one of dissatisfaction. She
helped me see that life's glass isn't just half full, it's overflowing!
JAMES
SCOTT BELL (Watch Your Back, Writing Fiction
For All You're Worth):
The best advice my mother gave me was to be thankful. How right she was.
Gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life.
MELANIE
WELLS (My Soul to Keep, When the Day of Evil Comes):
It's a long and winding road. Enjoy the journey and don't worry about what's
around the bend.” My second choice for mom advice was a retort my
mom made once when I was mooning over a boyfriend who I thought I was so
in love with. I think I was 16 or 17. My mom's response? “Melanie,
you're not in love, you're just happy. The sooner you learn the difference,
the better off you'll be.” Ouch. She was right, of course.
LORENA
MCCOURTNEY (Here Comes the Ride, My Chariot
Awaits):
I think my mother's most helpful bit of advice to me was, "Just send
it out again." This may not sound profound or world shaking, but it
has stood me in good stead over many years of writing. My mother had done
some magazine article writing, so I very early on tried writing stories
and sending them out to kids' magazines. They were mostly quite unimpressed
with my efforts and sent them right back. So Mom's advice was, "Just
send it out again." You don't let one or two - or a dozen! - rejections
make you quit. Eventually this paid off when I made my first "professional" sale
while I was still in high school.
JENNY
B. JONES (Save the Date, So Over My Head):
"Put your initials in your underwear." Just kidding. It wasn't
any specific thing that stands out, but that my mom was always telling me
I was pretty and smart and a good person. Believe me, I'm no Ivy league beauty
queen, but my mom always did everything she could to instill confidence in
me and let me know I was cherished. So while I might not have totally believed
her when she said I was something pretty, I believed that she believed it.
And that was all that mattered. I hope all moms are telling their girls "You
are the package deal."
SIBELLA
GIORELLO (The Mountains Bow Down, The Rivers
Run Dry):
When I was working as a reporter, and completely enthralled with my job,
my mother said, "A great job is a good thing, but it won't keep your
feet warm at night."
TRICIA
GOYER (Beside Still Waters, Love Finds You
in Victory Heights, WA):
The best advice from my mom wasn't something she spoke often, but lived
with her life. It was, "Everyone is worthy of being considered a friend." My
mom is the type of person who you sit next to on the airplane and at the
end of the flight you're exchanging addresses. And she will write, I promise!
My mom is friendly and caring. She proved with her words and actions that
people matter--all people, not only those the world considers important.
ROBERT
LIPARULO (Dreamhouse Kings series):
My father and mother were complete opposites as far as life advice went.
My father, the CPA, said, “Play it safe. Get a degree and a corporate
job. Buy a house, open an IRA, have 1.3 children.” My mother, on
the other hand, always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, however impractical.
The best advice she gave me—the best advice anyone has given—was “Don’t
let anyone say you can’t do it. Don’t even tell yourself that.
Follow your passions without giving up. Everything else—money, security,
what other people think—doesn’t matter so much, as long as
you’re doing what you love.”
C.J.
Darlington's
first
novel, Thicker Than Blood, was the winner of the 2008 Christian
Writers Guild's Operation
First Novel contest. Her second novel, Bound by Guilt, has recently
released
from Tyndale,
and
you
can watch
that trailer today! When
she's not writing, she's reading. Her hobbies include horseback riding, oil painting,
and book collecting.
She is also a contributing editor at Family
Fiction Magazine. Visit her online
at her
author website and at her
blog where she talks about books, writing, and publishing. You can also look
her
up
at
Twitter and Facebook.
