Friends, today I’m starting something a little different on my blog: an interview with one of my fellow Christian authors, Joy Avery Melville, who writes contemporary Christian women’s fiction. In November 2019, Joy’s debut novel and the first book in her Intended For Her Series, Meant For Her, released. Book Two in that series, Kept For Her, is slated to release this winter, Lord willing. Her book, Sown in Peace, Book One in the Operation Return to Peace series, releases today, Aug. 27 (check it out on Amazon, here!).

In Sown in Peace, Joy explores the theme of how much can one wounded soul take. Victoria (Tori) Archer has the heart of a soldier. Taken down by an IED during her fourth deployment, she’s permanently separated from her military career and left with physical scars as well as PTSD. Moving back to her hometown of Three Rivers, Michigan, she’s forced by circumstances to live with an irascible and unsympathetic aunt. Tori’s battle with pain, horrific memories, and loss of independence creates a deep yearning for peace. Will God grant her even a small measure of it? Retired Military Dog Handler Griffin (Griff) McKay turns to training dogs at his farm for wounded warrior therapy, desiring to bring former military men and women emotional and mental healing. Implementing his plan proves to be more difficult than visualized with the arrival of one stubborn soldier. Why has God placed that particular warrior in his path?

The settings of Joy’s books are near where she lives in Schoolcraft, Michigan, with her husband of 47-plus years and their 23-month-old Yorkie, Is-A-Bella Bindi (Is-a-beautiful little girl), who thinks she’s a much larger breed with tomboy tendencies. As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Joy has been active in volunteering at numerous conferences, has been an ACFW Novel Track Writing Facilitator and prayer warrior. She was ACFW Mentor of the Year winner in 2015 and moved into freelance editing in 2014. Joy loves to hear from readers, and she responds. Connect with her through the links at the end of this interview.
—By Jessica Brodie

JB: Tell us about yourself and your faith journey. How did you get where you are?

Joy: I asked the Lord to be my Savior when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember the day, the woman who led through the steps of surrendering to Him—even to what she wore—and how much it meant to me to know He would never leave or forsake me. She was very careful to explain what forsake meant, too. God has done a long series of dot-to-dots in the portrait of my life, and if I were a painter, I’d do a large map of His leading, my missteps, and His gentle nudging along my journey to joy.

JB: When did you know you wanted to become a writer?

Joy: It was the very last marking period of my eighth grade. I was assigned to write a short story for my English exam, since we’d just moved to the area, and my poor English teacher had no idea what my former teacher had been using for curriculum. Not only did I get an A for that assignment, that teacher had a heart-to-heart with me, urging I pursue specific courses in order to become a fiction writer. The following Sunday we had a guest speaker at church. He emphasized the fact we each have been gifted specific things God wants us to develop and use for His glory and to honor Him. That teacher had given me an insight to a potential gift God might have me use. From that point on, I made every effort to take educational courses to grow whatever talent God had gifted me with in that area.

JB: How does your faith influence your writing?

Joy: My intention to write and publish Christian historical romance was derailed in 2011 after I’d written and pitched a full-length novel at the ACFW National Conference. One agent went so far as to tell me she thought the story should be made contemporary romance, since it was so close to the cut off for historical. What that agent didn’t know was God has nudged me to write a Christian contemporary women’s fiction story in August, based on a news report He’d brought to my attention while I did dishes one evening. That report stirred my heart for weeks. That was just a month before I’d even gone to the conference. It took me six weeks to surrender my will for His, and the historical romance is in a box… Meant For Her is a result of that wrestling period of time between August and late October. After months of research, that story took me less than six weeks to write. God is the creator, I’m an instrument, and my stories reflect Him in a huge way throughout, even when my characters don’t know Him, or have tried to walk away from Him.

JB: When did this particular story first start stirring in your heart?

Joy: It was in 2014 that God brought the subject of PTSD to light for me. I’d heard of it, but didn’t have a clear picture of what it truly entailed. I was reading about it, and God brought another news report to my attention. Returning soldiers, those who’d fought battles in Iraq and Afghanistan… those who’d come home wounded as much in spirit, emotionally, and mentally as they had physically. In many cases, there were no outward signs of wounds. I prayed for direction, I prayed for human resources, willing to discuss their innermost pain with me, and I prayed God would give me the right questions to ask, knowing when to step back, rather than cause them more distress. He sent me two wounded warriors—two men with hearts for our country and God. Sown In Peace came to life for me through the many months of research and countless hours spent in conversation with those men.

JB: Do you have other books coming out in the future (or any you are actively writing now?)

Joy: Meant For Her led to the writing of Kept For Her (Book 2 in the Intended For Her Series) it’s written and awaiting edits. A third book is in synopsis form, with notes I took when God sat me down next to a human resource in a very unexpected one of His dot-to-dot connections at the ACFW 2016 Conference. He’s scared me spitless in this journey, asking more of me than I think I can handle. Book 2 of the Operation Return To Peace Series, Pursuit Of Peace, is synopsis form with a multitude of notes. Book 3 (untitled) is in note form with a short synopsis. I also wrote a novel, Redefined, and I believe God has been leading me to make a bed and breakfast series, since He’s given me a short synopsis for the next one (Untitled). I don’t now if the pattern will always follow, but so far, every single story I’ve written or prepared for writing has at least one character with a form of PTSD. Nothing I’ve intentionally plotted or especially wanted to write about, but it’s evolved that way through these three series.

JB: What do you hope readers take away from this book?

Joy: The same thing I hope… no, not just hope… I sincerely pray for with each book. That it will get into the hands of readers God most wants to have it and will bring Him glory. When God prompted… strongly nudged… affirmed that He wanted me to write Christian contemporary women’s fiction, I reminded Him that it’s not even a genre I enjoy reading, because so many times, there’s no romance, and the stories often end up dark. So, I asked Him if He’d allow me to write the stories He drops into my heart with a strong thread of romance, making the novels a blended genre. He has blessed me with what I call sigh-worthy endings, and each book ends with hope. My tag/brand is “Fictional journeys to joy by Joy.” Often there is a tragedy in the life of one or more of my characters that interrupts their journey toward joy, only to find the detour brings them to greater joy.