Renee Fisher, the Devotional Diva®, is the spirited speaker and author of Faithbook of Jesus, Not Another Dating Book, Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me, and Loves Me Not. A graduate of Biola University, Renee’s mission in life is to “spur others forward” (Hebrews 10:24) using the lessons learned from her own trials to encourage others in their walk with God. She and her husband, Marc, live in California with their dog, Star. Learn more about Renee at www.devotionaldiva.com.
Writing for Young Adults
Posts Tagged "dating"
Glass Girl is only 99-cents this week!
As we count down the days to the Perfect Glass release on June 1, Playlist Fiction is offering Glass Girl for only 99-cents at Amazon! Don’t miss the chance to download the new, revised Glass Girl and read it before you read Perfect Glass!
Love,
Laura
second chance for a free glass girl download
Congratulations to Anna Schaeffer who won last week’s free download of Glass Girl! Are you ready to try again? I have a feeling your odds will be better this time so don’t forget to register for the drawing! Only twelve days left until the release of Perfect Glass!
Best of luck to you on finals!
Love, me
free download of glass girl happens NOW!
We’re getting so close to the release of Perfect Glass (June 1 from Playlist Fiction)! To celebrate, I’m giving away THREE free downloads of Glass Girl!
I’ll run three giveaways (One starts today! One starts Monday, May 20! And one starts Monday, May 27!) Winners will be chosen on Thursdays (May 16, May 23, and May 30).
To enter the first drawing, follow this link!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Note – this is my first time to use Rafflecopter, so please comment below if you have trouble registering for the drawing and I’ll work on it!
I’d be honored if you would post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble if you get a chance! Also, Perfect Glass is on Goodreads and ready for all of you to select it as “to read.”
Thanks for all you’ve done for me!
Love,
Laura
Meet Rajdeep Paulus — Playlist Fiction’s newest YA author
Rajdeep Paulus is the newest debut author with Playlist Young Adult Fiction. We’re thrilled she joined us because she brings a lot of heart, energy, and humor to the group.
And she’s thoughtful—when we chat by phone, she always throws a y’all into the conversation in my honor. Although her Canadian/Chicagoan/New Yorker accent makes ‘y’all’ sound a little different. And I hardly ever say y’all anyway, so it’s especially funny.
Her first novel, Swimming Through Clouds, releases June 1. Look at this gorgeous cover!
Can’t wait for you to read this book. It’s intense and emotional, but also incredibly hopeful. You will pull for her narrator, Talia, and you’ll fall for sweet, sensitive Lagan (pronounced La-gone).
Here’s the synopsis—
When high school cell phone disruption forces a classroom ban, the words on a Post-it note spark a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. Transfer student Talia Vanderbilt has one goal at her new school: to blend in with the walls. Lagan Desai, basketball captain and mathlete, would do just about anything to befriend the new girl. One Post-it note at a time, Lagan persuades Talia to peel back her heart, slowly revealing her treasure chest of pain—an absent mother, a bedridden brother, and an abusive father. In a world where hurt is inevitable, the two teens search for a safe place to weather the storms of life. Together.
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I love that Lagan writes notes on paper to Talia. I miss those days.
I invited Rajdeep over today (all the way from Locust Valley, New York) so you can get to know her before her release. You’ll want to follow her blog, her Twitter, and her Facebook, too, to get all the latest news about her upcoming releases.
So who is Rajdeep Paulus? It’s such a beautiful name. What does it mean?
Funny story about my name. Apparently when I was born, my mom yelled out to the neighbors, “Hey, what was it you guys named your 
baby girl?” [born a week or so earlier]
“Rajdeep,” someone yelled back.
“Rajdeep, it is.”
And that’s how I was named, more or less.
Determined to give a little glamour to the story, I researched its meaning so I could salvage my less than glorious beginnings. Raj comes from “Raja” which means “king,” and “deep” is the Punjabi word for “light” so at face value, my name means King of Light. Kinda corney, right? So the writer in me decided to tweak and nowadays, I tell people, “Since you asked, Rajdeep means ‘ruled by light.’ 
”
Where did you grow up? Are you from a large family? Did you move around a lot?
I was born in India, celebrated my third birthday in New York City, and then we moved to Canada, where I spent most of my growing up years. Moved across the border from Windsor, Ontario to Livonia, Michigan around my senior year in high school. I don’t have a huge immediate family, but I grew up surrounded by cousins, aunts and uncles. Family is very important to me.
You approach life with a great sense of humor. Where does that come from?
I love to laugh and I have lots of memories being the cause of laughter, simply because I’m a klutz and a tad blond under this dark head of hair. But, early on, I think I just learned it’s a lot more fun to laugh at yourself. Life’s short. Hafta laugh!
But I’m a crier, too. Movies, songs, or when someone shares his or her story. Doesn’t take much.
Were there things in your childhood that taught you to be resilient and to roll with the punches? How are you teaching your girls to be resilient?
My parents always approached life with an attitude of “when life knocks you down, get back on your feet and try again.” My husband and I try and teach our girls the same thing. Life’s about second chances. And third, and fourth and so on. Grace is key. To give and receive—the constant challenge.
What books from your childhood and teen years were most influential on the person you are today and the writer you are today?
I have always loved stories that pulled me into a world I’m not familiar with, but leave me feeling like I totally lived through the lives of the characters. Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, and even stories like Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt and I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier were some of my favorites. And in more recent times, Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns really blew me away.
If you could do one thing over in your life, what would it be?
Wow! Just one! Truth is, as much as I think erasing or undoing a moment in my past would make for a prettier story or cleaner resume, I know that each moment has shaped me to become who I am today. A work in progress.
At times, I do wish I had spent more time with my grandmother while she was alive. Some things you can’t get back. Like time. Miss her a lot.
Do you have a secret ambition that not many people know?
Haha. So many!
I’ll narrow my list down to
1. Official Taste Tester for Godiva.
2. Personal Assistant to Denzel Washington (Laura here . . . I was glad to find out Mississippi Masala is one of Rajdeep’s favorites. I loved this early one of Denzel’s.)
and 3. And of course, ballgirl to the Chicago Bulls would be a dream come true!
What’s the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?
Forgiven me. Given me grace. Every day. That would be my hubs. Yep. Doesn’t get much sweeter than that.
What makes you sad?
A lot of things. But I think near the top of my list are children being trafficked for sex, a person who refuses to forgive, and when I forget to call my mom.
What’s your favorite room in your house and why?
My bedroom. Because I love sleep! And dreaming.
Some of my favorite scenes come to me in my dreams.
And I love my red blanket. [Thanks, Mom!] I also love the paint on the wall. It’s a sandy pink on two walls, a deep purple on a third, and the signature wall has a sponged combination of the colors. I worked on it for a whole day and I love how it turned out, my one canvas if you will.
The walls have portraits from our wedding day, as well as a fun collage from our ten year anniversary. It’s also the messiest room in our house (the last frontier, we call it) but it’s where hubs and I have some our best heart to hearts. And my youngest snuggles with me every morning. And I love my pillows. I could go on…
What’s the view out of the window closest to you right now?
What a fun question! It’s a drizzly Monday morning in Glen Cove, where I can see cars whizzing by on School Street. I’m at the Gly Cafe, where I do most of my writing.
What’s one piece of clothing you can’t live without?
My royal blue tank top.
Is there something you did as a kid you regret? Want to apologize for it right now?
Haha. Sorry baby sis for the time I ratted you out to our friends about the cotton ball incident. Yeah. Enuf sed!
Do you think writing is fear-inducing? Or is it all a rush?
Neither, really. I think rereading a scene I finished can be a rush. While I’m writing, I try not to get caught up in the emotion of it because that slows the flow. And fear hasn’t played a factor, yet. But then again, I haven’t exactly lived the deadline-driven writer’s life, yet.
Tell me about the germ of the idea for Swimming Through Clouds. What made you want to write about a family in a dark crisis? Have you known people in a situation as dire as this one?
The truth is when I started writing Swimming Through Clouds, I didn’t know where I was headed. I had already completed my first Young Adult manuscript, in which the main character had a secret he kept from his best friend. So as I started Swimming, I was searching for that secret, a story that made sense to keep in the dark. I’m hoping I pulled it off.
Are there places or names in your book that come from your real life?
Nothing except for the location—the suburbs of Chicago. I attended Northwestern University and lived there for a few years afterward. But that’s literally it.
What’s next on your horizon?
I’m working on a second book to follow Swimming Through Clouds. It’s Jesse’s story—he is the main character’s brother in Swimming.
On a personal note, I’m joining my hubs and bunch of friends on June 1st to face my first Tough Mudder! So the day Swimming Through Clouds launches, I’ll be up to my knees in mud! Hoping I make it out alive to hear what the readers think!
On behalf of all the Playlist Fiction authors and agents, let me say we’re really happy you’ve joined us and that we get to share in the joy of your debut book with you!
Thanks for having me, Laura. Still laughing about the fact that we sat next to each other in Chicago for a lit agency meeting, and I had no idea I’d be working with you and the Playlist Fiction team a month later! So happy to be part of the team!
where’s the ‘up’ in breaking up? renee fisher and he loves me not.
You’ve heard me say this before–learning how to break up with someone is an important lesson. (See Ray Charles and Yesterday.) It’s a necessary part of becoming an adult. It happens. It can be no big deal or it can be ugly and awful. It can happen early on in the relationship or it can happen in the dressing room of the church before you walk down the aisle. If you’re with the wrong person, the breaking up thing needs to happen before you say, “I do.” You’ll save yourself and your significant other heaps and heaps of heartache.
When I write on this blog about break-ups, I inevitably receive tons of emails about how to do the breaking up and how to survive the breaking up. I know it’s on your minds and I know you have a lot of questions about it.
Well, good news! Renee Fisher’s book on all things break-up released today and you’re going to want to get your hands on this ebook! It’s called Loves Me Not: Heartbreak and Healing God’s Way. Renee has been there. She’s giggled with her friends over that first crush. Thrilled to the pressure of her hand in his. Lost herself in his kiss. Dreamed about the proposal and imagined the day they’d become husband and wife. And she’s had those dreams come crashing down around her. Like sitting down to coffee with a best friend, Loves Me Not offers the hope and healing you need to see through to the other side. Renee guides readers through the confusion and pain of a shattered relationship and shows how to embrace the real love of your life: Jesus.
Renee and I chatted today about break-ups and I think her answers will make you want this book as a resource.
You write a lot about healthy relationships and dating. What prompted a “break-up” book?
I wrote Loves Me Not for a few reasons. After I released Not Another Dating Book, I met my husband, and I didn’t get to include our story in that book. This is good because I needed to be married for more than a year to realize how unhealthy some of my past relationships were. I can’t wait to encourage those who’ve had a bad breakup or lost a close friend. I want to help them deal with that heartbreak.
What’s your favorite chapter?
I hate to give the cliche author answer here, but it’s true that every chapter is my favorite! In each chapter I make a point or tell a story that is so personal to me. I can’t wait to hear what my readers say is their favorite chapter.
Are breakups getting more difficult and muddied with social media?
Absolutely! You see that him (or her) moving on and maybe you’re not. It hurts a lot. To this day, I’m only friends with one of my ex-boyfriends on Facebook for this reason.
Do breakups last longer or get dragged out these days because of the way we tend to “do” relationships online?
I guess it depends on how quickly you forgive those who hurt you or broke your heart. It’s easier when the breakup is mutual, of course.
What do you say to the girls who think they’ll never heal? What about the ones who think they might move on and marry someone else, but they’ll never really get over the one who broke their hearts?
I write about that in Chapter 3 – “Breaking up with Idols.” The guy I thought I was going to marry and spend the rest of my life with broke my heart in such a huge way that it took my health and I ended up in the hospital. If anyone understands the thought that life “can’t move on” it’s me. I hope my advice in the book about moving on will resonate with readers and that they’ll see that I’ve been there, too.
What can breakups teach us about life? Do they make us better spouses one day?
This question sums up the reason I wrote this book. When we lose our first love–God–it can be easy to place that pressure and unfair burden, including our own personal expectations, on someone. Breakups remind us that we need God’s help in every area of our lives. We can’t have healthy relationships apart from Him–even friendships. I do think that breakups have the potential to make us better spouses one day. I was able to learn from my own mistakes and it has made my relationship with my husband, Marc, richer.
Knowing what you know, do you think Tennyson was right? “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”?
I think that depends on the person. I wanted to get married a decade earlier than I did. In all those years of waiting, I would look at others who had loved and lost and even the heartache they were experiencing made me compare myself to them. Why hadn’t I had a love like that? Don’t do that! Live YOUR life and learn from the experiences given to you!
What do you make of the dating movement that says every time you give your heart to someone you’re losing your fullness that you were supposed to save for your spouse?
I write about this in the foreword of my book. Every decision we make in life can do one of two things–bring us closer to God or take us further from Him. If you’ve first given God your heart, mind, and soul, and strength, you’re going to make it through anything because your priorities are right.
Where is Jesus in a breakup? Does He understand? How can going through a breakup actually lead you back to Him?
Jesus is in every part of our life–we just have to acknowledge Him and seek Him first. Sometimes people use Jesus as a reason for a breakup and this can be very dangerous at times and it can be the right thing at times. My own breakups led me back to Jesus because they sent me to his Word and and to seeking His will for my life again. I became more prayerful about my future.
Where does personality fit in a breakup? Are there some personality types who handle breakups better than others?
It’s an important element. Some people have more difficulty dealing with the dramatic elements of a breakup–the conflict. Some people are able to breeze right through conflict. It helps when the breakup is mutual. I encourage my readers to think about what a Godly friendship looks like because the hope is that you’ll be able to see your ex in this way.
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Represented by Amanda Luedeke, literary agent with MacGregor Literary.
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