Amputated: A Book by my Sister

Hi there,

This week I have a very exciting blog post. My older sister, Jordy, will be publishing her third book very soon. The book is titled Amputated and is set to be released in the first week of April. To find out when it releases follow her blog! She is doing a blog tour this month in preparation for the launch and I have the honour of hosting her today. I chose to do an interview with her to help to to get to know both her and her new book a little better. I hope you enjoy reading this as much I enjoyed putting it together.

The cover of Jordy Leigh's newest book titled Amputated

1. How do you personally relate to the main character.

Oh, I relate to Louise in so many ways. Sometimes it's hard for me to distinguish my thoughts from hers. For starters, we relate in terms of our upbringings. We both grew up in a "Christian culture" within our respective homes. By that, I mean that our parents loved the Word of God and devoted themselves to bringing us up according to its principles. We both had to come to terms with whether we were simply following tradition because we knew nothing else, or whether we had a personal relationship with Christ. Pride is a weakness that Louise and I both share. And we both have this paradoxical internal dynamic in which we are emotionally sensitive, yet we try to rationalize it. Louise's keen awareness of her need for relationships in Amputated reflects some of my own recent revelations after a childhood of trying to be strong and self-reliant.

2. How has writing this book—or the process of publishing this book—been different from the others?

So, the dynamic of each book's writing/publishing process depends on what other projects I'm juggling in life at that particular time. Besides being an author, I'm also a daughter, sister, friend, church member, volunteer, employee, etc. While publishing Amputated, I spent a significant portion of time in Cambodia. At one point, I had to put the book on hold to help manage Dad's café, and then I went to serve at a Bible school in Japan. Originally, I had intended to publish Amputated in May 2019. Its publishing has been a hard process that has lasted almost a year longer than I'd hoped. BUT God is good, and I'm ready to celebrate the release of Amputated to the world.

3. What was one challenge you faced with this book, and how did you overcome it?

I touched on this as I answered your last question, but perhaps I can go into more detail. I'd originally planned to publish Amputated in May 2019, knowing that I'd be serving intensively in Japan afterward and that I wouldn't have the time to publish. Then something came up in our family's lives—something which, by the way, has proved to be a beautiful turn of events which is worth a story of its own, because God is good and knows what He's doing. In any case, some of our family left the country for a time, and I chose to help our family business by picking up extra responsibilities at the expense of my publishing. How did I overcome it? I just pushed back the publish date, I suppose. It's a comfort to realize that God knew the big picture all along.

4. What has been your favorite part of writing and publishing this book?

Ah, this the positive counterpart to the above question! I've loved working on streamlining my publishing process. When I published Isolated, I was just figuring things out. Mandated was my second book. Though I had an idea of what I was doing, there's so much that goes into self-publishing a book that I didn't feel much more sure-footed than the first time. Now, with Amputated, I have been able to create some schedules, timelines, lists, in-depth notes on procedures, etc. It's been a lot of fun on the administrative side. No, seriously! I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I do enjoy doing this! From a creative standpoint, I've loved having my own "aha-moments" where I get an idea that fits perfectly into the plot somewhere in the middle and just helps tie the whole together so fittingly.

My cute big sister and author

5. Did you have to do any research for this book?

I did, although I could very quickly give away significant spoilers by sharing what the subjects of my research were. I'll keep it vague by saying that I learned about a particular medical condition and certain survival measures.

6. What is your goal in writing these books?

My goal is to write quality, entertaining suspense fiction that promotes good values and God's truth. Christian media is sometimes known for being lacking in the area of professionalism. But God is a quality God, and I want to uphold that in my novels. He is a God of ingenuity and originality and beauty. I do also want to uphold other aspects of His character. In Amputated, for example, I want to shine a spotlight on His omnipresence—the fact that He is everywhere at all times and that He manifests His presence in an extra special way for His children.

7. What do you hope the readers of your books walk away with?

An enriched relationship with the Lord. For some readers, that may mean meeting Him for the first time. For others, it means getting a fresh glimpse of the wonder of God. I hope that many "cultural Christians" will read my books—people who grew up in homes much like Louise's and who have enacted the "Christian life" since childhood without it meaning anything to them. And I hope these cultural Christians will open their hearts to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior for the first time.

8. Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get into writing?

To you would-be writers out there, take a good long moment—perhaps free up an entire morning or an afternoon—to consider why you want to get into writing. Writing can be beautiful, energizing, and life-giving. It can also be empty and futile. What makes the difference? Your drive. Do you write for yourself? For others? For recognition? For money? Or do you write because you see a place for your writing in the work and purposes of God? Writing can—and does—glorify His name when we are in vibrant, healthy relationship with Him. When this happens, it's truly beautiful. Devote yourself first and foremost to your relationship with God. Seek first His Kingdom, and the other things you seek in life will be given to you as well—in appropriate measure according to His wisdom. Whether you eat or drink—or write—or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

9. How long have you been working on this book?

I wish I could remember when I braved the unknown and typed the first word. I know that I finished the first draft of this book some time before I published Isolated, the first title in the series, back in 2017. SO I'm going to take an educated guess and say that it's been a work-in-progress for three-and-a-half years, now.

10. How did you choose the title for this book?

I smile when I receive this question from you, of all people, Darcy-Rea, because I know you were there. Originally, I was going to name my books Omniscient, Omnibenevolent, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent, based on the attributes of God that I really wanted to highlight in each book. Even today, the four books still focus on the attributes for which they were originally named. But I wanted to change the titles and go for names that were more commonplace in the English language. I also wanted titles that were better suited to the suspense genre better. I noticed a trend among suspense fiction; some books are named in the past participle of a verb. So you and our brother were brainstorming. You hadn't read the books at that point, but you were throwing out ideas of past participle verbs that rhymed. Hence, we came up with Isolated, Mandated, Amputated, and Liberated. I've since had multiple people ask about the title. Does Louise actually have a limb cut off? I'll leave it to each reader to find out whether the title literal or figurative.

I'd like to say thank you to Jordy for always being an encouragement and inspiration for me personally. I am sure there are many others out there in this world that feel the same way. You never fail to show me Christ in everything you do and I couldn't ask for more. Thank you for sharing with all of us a little bit to do with your new book, your writing process, your hopes and dreams and your world. And thank you for everyone reading this. Both my sister and I couldn't do what we do without your support and love. Thank you for all your prayers and for following along in our crazy journey called life. If you'd like to read Jordy's blog, get to know her better, find out more about her new book or her other ones please follow this link to her website and blog. I hope you enjoyed this fun little interview with Jordy and I should be posting again soon with anew blog!

Until next time friends,

Darcy-Rea