The basis for Some Through the Fire is a short story that I wrote 25 years ago. I’d just graduated from high school, and like Violet Sweet, was a little unsure about what was next but was trying to trust the Lord’s plans for my future, especially when it came to finding a mate. I worked on the book in my twenties, as a side pursuit while working as a tutor and later in vocational ministry. I was able to go to the Atlanta History Center and even the Library of Congress as I conducted meticulous research. I attended a major writers’ conference, and sent query letters to traditional publishers. At some point, I just put it aside as something I didn’t have time to pursue any further.
I got married in 2010 at almost 32 years old. In 2015, I had my third child in three years. I couldn’t keep up with a work from home job anymore, so I thought, “Why not put that manuscript out there on Amazon?” Their self-publishing option was fairly new at that point, and while the book wasn’t an amazing financial success, the responses I got from readers were very encouraging.
In 2019, my husband and I were living far from family; we had four really young kids and were going through some very difficult financial and job stuff. I had a fulfilling editing job that I did from home, and I’d also ghostwritten some clean romance novellas. Seeing these stories (that were pretty cliche and unpolished) get positive reviews, I really longed to go back to “real” writing fiction again. Writing Great Waters, the second book in my series, was very healing for me personally, and when I lost my editing job due to pandemic cutbacks in 2020, I decided to push forward and publish it.
About that time, I got on Instagram and met a lot of awesome bookstagrammers, readers, reviewers, and indie authors. One of these new friends, Kelsey Gietl, redesigned my covers, which made a huge difference. Last year, I got connected with a Christian Mommy Writers network, started by author Bethany Cox. It has been a tremendous community for encouragement, resources, and help.
Thanks for sharing Jennifer Hunt and her story behind the story! A talented writer and an inspiration to other indie authors.
There are so many indie authors who write great Christian fiction. (That includes you!) I am so glad that I continue to discover them. I definitely enjoyed Jennifer’s books!