Iola's Christian Reads: Blog Tour and Author Interview: M Ann Ricks

Hello! I’m M. Ann Ricks, a woman, redeemed and set free by the life-giving and life-changing blood of Jesus Christ. I’m a wife, mother, Christian Fiction novelist and “Godspirational” speaker, endeavoring to live for Christ ON PURPOSE as a literary vessel, providing Christian literature that will not only entertain but encourage, enlighten, emancipate and prayerfully restore!

Do you feel like your background or upbringing influences your writing style? If so, in what way(s)?

My upbringing had a great deal to do with my writing style. I was always strongly encouraged to read and did. Everyone in my family did. We all also love the Lord as He is and has always been an integral part of our lives. It would only make sense that I would write because I love to read and that I would write about Jesus. I loved reading historical novels, harlequin romances, etc. Words have the power to influence and that has always intrigued me, even as a child. As a result, being very descriptive while telling the story is a large part of my style. I want the reader to find themselves immersed into each scene and words, adjectives especially, have a wonderful way of granting the reader deeper access into the story.

Describe your novel, THE SHIFT, in 10 words or less. God is transitioning the impossible and unbelievable into possible and believable.

When and why did you begin writing? I have always enjoyed and had an interest in the art of writing. It was a “hidden love” for many years. I actually never thought I would be an “author”. Not until the pregnancy of my eldest son almost, (almost eighteen years ago), did I feel a need to unearth my hidden love and write. I began to simply write about the way I felt about the child growing inside of me and the love that I felt for my husband. When I resolved to reconnect with the Master and sought to draw nigh to Him, the desire to write became stronger and strangely, to my surprise, an urgent need. My yearning to please Him with the stories that I created increased. I realized that this could be my way of bringing souls into the Kingdom of God. Writing is a way to reach people and impact the reader and to leave a lasting impression. Inserting the word of God can in many cases transports you into the presence of God and weaving words them together to take a reader on a life changing journey is something that I find most rewarding.

Is there a central message or theme in THE SHIFT that you hope readers will come away from the reading experience with?

It is my hope that people will realize while reading THE SHIFT that God is not just an ideal or unapproachable entity. God, the Creator of everything is REAL and most importantly Jesus is waiting. His love is unending. He is an EVER present HELP and ANSWER in the time of our greatest challenge. We have the awesome opportunity to be everything God says we are because of Jesus’ unstoppable and unshakable affection towards us. He can suddenly change (hence, THE SHIFT) our lives into ones of true purpose. Lives that will give Him glory! All He desires is a YES!

What has been the toughest criticism you’ve received as an author? What has been the best compliment?

My toughest criticism was that people didn’t want to read a book with Jesus as the focal point.

My best compliment was that my writing made the love of God so real and so wonderful that my novel could be used as a tool to bring people to Christ! (GLORY to God!)

What’s next for you? What can readers look forward to from M. Ann?

I hope to begin my fifth novel, “Not Even Death” in the next couple of months.

How can we find you online and where can we pick up a copy of THE SHIFT?

Interested readers may find my novels on all online literary websites. (i.e.: www.amazon.com / www.bn.com). Additionally, feel free to visit my website, www.mannricks.net to purchase any of my novels.

If you had to go back and do it all over again, is there any aspect of writing your novel or getting it published that you would change?

I would be a little bit more patient with the process. I wouldn’t have been as anxious to get my book into print. Leaning to my own understanding was definitely a mistake. God’s timing is always perfect.

What has been the most effective method of marketing and/or publicizing your books so far? Why or how?

Word of mouth coupled with giveaways. If one person tells someone about a book that has impacted them, a ripple effect is then started. Yes, Facebook, Twitter and even booksignings are great but one person can cause ten people to buy your book in a matter of an hour. One free book has the potential to garner interest and if positive reviews are received, the ones who didn’t receive the book for free, will still pay for it and tell a friend! Connecting with book clubs is also an excellent way of publicizing one’s novel.

About The Book

There is a sense of urgency in the atmosphere as God is transitioning what the world has deemed impossible and unbelievable into the possible and the believable. Don’t be alarmed by the "sudden" moves of God.
Pastor Douglass and his family have been positioned for such a move but because of the dense fog of deception that seems to surround them, some in the Douglass family have created their own beliefs, fabricating their own sense of self; negating the truth, God’s truth, even when truth is staring them in the face. They, like many, are living lives devoid of the knowledge of who they really are and robbing themselves and those they love of their true identity and freedom. Deeply embedded lies from enemy have blinded eyes, impaired hearing and hardened hearts and Angels from the army of God have been deployed. The assignment: the execution of God’s divine design. Dreams, supernatural revelation and actual attacks from man's ultimate foe will expose all and confirm God’s plan for Xion, Veronica, Zeborah, Bo and Pastor Douglas. Can they handle the truth and surrender? Will the infrastructure of unbelief crumble? The lives of the Douglass family will never be the same and neither will you, because of THE SHIFT !

About The Author

M. Ann Ricks, (Melissa Ann), is a Christian Fiction novelist residing in Bear, Delaware with her excellent husband and two awesome sons. She is a graduate of Rider University and formerly a national accounts insurance executive. Using Jesus Christ as her example, as He shared many parables, she creates stories with fictional characters that contend with real life issues and inserts the Word of God to communicate the genuine and unfailing love of God while making it abundantly clear that Jesus is the ONLY answer. M. Ann is determined to tell the world how wonderfully awesome Jesus Christ is and can be in our lives if we just allow Him to be. She is honored to be used by God to spread His message with the stories she creates with the leading of the Holy Spirit, knowing that He will provide her with stories and the insight that will lift up the name of Jesus as He promised that if He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Him. She is the author Awesome Wonder: The Gift of Remembrance, The Son and THE BLOOD DONE SIGNED MY NAME.