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Rhythms of Grace
An Interview with Marilynn Griffith

You are well known for writing novels that have an eclectic array of leading ladies, but they all share a common bond that they are everyday heroes of the Christian faith. Could you please tell us how Rhythms of Grace carries on this tradition and a little bit about the leading lady in this novel?

MG: Grace Okoye is a beautiful woman with broken places. She once dreamed of being a dancer with Alvin Ailey or some other company but a ski-masked boy stole her dreams on her way to her first performance. For the rest of her life, Grace bent herself to the expectations of others, trying to cover up what could not be covered, things only God could heal. After twenty years, her old dance teacher invites to Grace to teach at her charter school. Though she knows it will reveal her broken places, Grace cannot say no to the woman who first made her believe...in herself and in God.

I understand that the title of the book is a play on words. Could you please describe the process in which Grace rediscovers the rhythms of grace?

Actually the title is from a scripture, Matthew 11:28-30 in The Message Bible. It reads, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me... Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." Going back to Testimony, Ohio, the town where she gained her freedom in dance, but lost her virtue to a rapist is Grace's first step to rediscovering the rhythms of grace.  

Your novel brings up an interesting issue that many couples face today which is that one person has faith in God and the other is absent in their faith. What do you recommend for these couples in order to overcome this obstacle?

For a Christian, there really isn't anyway to overcome the lack of faith in someone they love. All he or she can do is pray that the person's heart would become open to the Lord and be honest with themselves about the Bible says about being unequally yoked with unbelievers. If someone is already married, the answer is the same. Only God's love can draw someone to true repentance. Grace's first husband wasn't a believer and so though she has strong feelings for Brian, she knows how hard this kind of relationship is. She wants more.

We live in a society where there are still many women who are victims of violence who will relate to this book. Could you please explain some of the inspiring messages in Rhythms of Grace to empower these women to stay strong even during the most difficult of times?

Grace experienced violence at a young age. It changed the course of her family, her gifting and her life, but she didn't allow it to destroy her. Instead, she followed after God even harder. She sees that though tragedy took her away from the rhythm she'd always felt, God continued to play the tune, waiting every day for her to come and dance.

 How is Rhythms of Grace different from your other novels about strong women? How is it similar?

All my books deal with friends and families, but I'd say that this book deals with these themes even more strongly, adding in the themes of racism and the complexities of small town life. This novel is larger in scope than some of the others as well.

What is the most important “take away” that you would like your readers to walk away with when they finish Rhythms of Grace?

I usually have a good answer for that, but with this book I do not. I pray that every reader of this novel will walk away with exactly what she's needed but could not express, exactly what God wants for her to have.
 
Tell us about your journey as you were writing Rhythms of Grace. Did anyone in your real life inspire the character of Grace?

Oh goodness. The journey of writing this book is a book in itself. This is my true first novel, but it wasn't published until almost ten years after I started it. With my then five boys under age five and my two older girls homeschooling, it was a busy time, but not too busy for Grace, Brian, Ron, Zeely, Jerry and Joyce to get under my skin. I tried to give up on the book more than once, but in the end, I had to know what happened. No one person inspired Grace, though I myself was raped at a young age and am a birth mother. She handled her experiences differently than I did mine. Better really. I can't take credit for her though. She just showed up one day, looked at Brian and started to dance.

When did you consider yourself a writer, especially a Christian writer?

I've always written; journals, poems, starts of novels, short stories. I never considered myself a writer though. A woman, bless her heart, who'd read something of mine invited me to a writing group online. A man said, "So, you're a writer, huh?" My answer? "Well, I don't know. I'm not sure." His reply? "Come back when you are." I never came back to that group, but trust me, I'm sure. As for being a Christian writer, I'm not sure I'll ever really know what that means. I read books written by Christians that never name Christ yet He is there in the pauses and pages. Other authors write distinctly from a Christian point of view and their stories are amazing as well as minister to my soul. Which are Christian writers? Both, I suppose.

What role does your faith play in your writing? How does it inspire you?

My faith plays a huge role in my writing. God really gives me the stories. I get nervous every time because I often don't know the end or it ends up being something other than what I thought. I get my best ideas in church, especially during worship. The hard thing is that sometimes God gives me things that don't seem very Christian at all and yet I know they are from Him too. Walking with Jesus is an adventure. I don't know how people do without Him.

How do you find time to connect with God?

I don't find it. I steal it. With nine people in the house, there's no other way. :)

What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming novels?

I'm working on SONGS OF DELIVERANCE, the follow up to RHYTHMS OF GRACE. It will come out in Summer of Fall 2009. I just finished MOM'S THE WORD, my January 2009 release.

Where can someone find you online?

I'm all over the web, but it's probably easiest to find me at my website, www.MarilynnGriffith.com
 Drop me an email anytime at marilynngriffith@gmail.com. God bless and thanks for your time.

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