Author interview: Debbie Fuller Thomas

Debbie Fuller Thomas has just published Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon. An interview with her follows:

Your story is about a mother whose daughter was switched at birth. How does Marty find out that her child was switched?
Marty's daughter, Ginger, is the victim of a fatal genetic disease, Neimann Pick Type C, which often strikes every sibling in a family. Marty is concerned for her other 2 daughters, and when it's determined that she and her ex-husband are not carriers of the disease they know something's not right.

Where did you get the idea for your story?
My inspiration for the book came straight out of real life from a news story I heard about two families fighting over switched-at-birth babies when one child is orphaned. Of course, the circumstances and setting in my story are different, and the characters are completely fictitious. But I knew it would be a heartbreaking dilemma for any parent, especially for one who had suffered through the death of a child she thought was hers.

Do you have a favorite character?
I would have to say Andie, because even at 13-years-old, she doesn't become a victim. She's a little quirky, and she's had to mature quickly. Even though she's developed an attitude toward God and her situation in general, she keeps it to herself most of the time, and we understand her need to vent occasionally.

On what level do you think women will identify with Marty, her biological mom?
I think most moms would understand the panic of discovering they had the wrong child, and the guilt at not realizing instinctively that something was wrong all along. On another level, Marty is a caregiver who sets aside her own dreams to nurture her family. As women, we often set aside our dreams out of necessity, guilt or lack of support from our families, but like Marty, we don't have to abandon our dreams completely.

The story is set at a drive-in movie theater. What led you to choose that setting?
I think there's a nostalgic winsomeness about drive-in theaters and I want to encourage families to take advantage of the few drive-ins that are still in operation. I remember the smell of hot coffee when my mother poured cups from the thermos, and falling asleep in the backseat with my pillow and blanket. There's a sense of intimacy and togetherness that comes from being alone with your family, even though hundreds of other people are watching the same movie. I also used the run-down condition of the Blue Moon Drive-in as a reflection of the relationship between Marty and Andie and of the condition of their spiritual lives when they first meet.

What is the meaning behind the title: Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon?
Tuesday night is family night at the Blue Moon Drive-in. Andie needs a family, and the desire of Marty's heart is for her dysfunctional family to be a whole again.

Who are some of the other interesting characters in your story?
Andie is sandwiched in the birth order between Winnie, the needy younger sister, and Deja, an older teen who is bitter about the situation. Some interesting dynamics that take place when the three of them interact, especially when mom has to work long hours and there's too much unsupervised together-time.

What is the message that you would like your readers to take away from Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon?
I believe that God is our Father and that we were created to commune with Him on a deep level, but sin orphans us. When we're open to it, God is ready and willing to re-claim and restore us as his children.


How did you begin your writing career?
I operated a home day care for 6 preschoolers when my children were young, and I was in desperate need of a distraction to keep my sanity. So I began to write a novel during their naptimes. I finished it in about 2 years. It was my 'practice novel' which gave me confidence and helped me plot the blueprint for Tuesday Night.


What advice would you give to someone starting out as a writer?
Don't quit. I sold the first article I ever sent to a publisher and didn't sell another thing for 19 years. It's not going to happen overnight. It's an apprenticeship - a craft to be honed. When you're tempted to give up, remember the encouraging things other writers, agents or editors have said about your writing. If God has given you some talent, what acceptable excuse can you give Him for not using it?

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Being like

Can you imagine it? Unburdened by time or tired feet, Jesus reigned in righteousness and glory as a plan ripened into perfection. Meanwhile, those who breathed the breath of God, formed with gentle hands and declared to be “very good,”[1] were in a cold and silent place. Desiring to be like God, they had torn the fabric of love and exposed themselves to the thorns and darkness.

Unlike those first beings, who lived in the middle of God’s abundance and fruitfulness, Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.[2] He left paradise to close the fabric that was really a gaping ugly wound, exposing all to the ravages of rebellion.

God, the Creator King, the Conquering Lord, the Righteous Judge, shed divinity to become one with the stricken, paying our debt and opening the path to his side. He looked down on the lowly and the poor and the captive – and became that in our place.

This day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, who chose a humble beginning to reveal a humble life. He came not to rule with glory and power. That was for later. This time, he came to be emptied, to be burdened, to act in righteousness.

We consider equality with God a goal to hunt but Jesus regarded equality with us a door to renewal. We try to heal the wound by elevating ourselves. Jesus healed the wound by humbling himself.

Today, every day, rejoice in his obedience and in his life. We are set free by his humility and grace.

By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Luke 1:78-79

Painting used by permission from the Genesis Project. Thanks again, Ann!

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[1] Gen 1:31

[2] Phil 2:6

Yearning for order

Chaos just repels. Whether it’s my son’s jumbled bedroom floor or the drug addict’s shattered life, my heart cries for harmony. Maybe yours, too?

I think it’s been that way since the beginning. Literally.

Eugene Peterson’s translation of Genesis 1:2 calls the beginning “a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness.” Other versions describe it as “formless and void” or “formless and empty.”

That’s chaos. But there was hope, for the spirit of God was hovering, about to act.

To the ancient Hebrew, this account showed how God shattered chaos, bringing order where there had been none. Even the days of creation illustrate the structure of God’s hand. He formed time from nothing, order from disarray.

There’s no other way. The soup of nothingness doesn’t coagulate into gardens and rivers by itself. God’s Word was the catalyst, for he spoke harmony into being. From chaos came order.

That concord only lasted until Eve took the fruit in the garden, but it was God’s plan and we still yearn for his order. The story of the Bible is the account of God's plan to restore order to our lives, plucking us out of our chaos.

From turmoil can come harmony, as God’s Word works. That’s good news for my son’s bedroom but even better news for the addict and the mourning and the captive.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Gen 1:2