Terri Gillespie

Why I Started Writing:

Goodness. I started writing as soon as I knew enough words to write my first “book” around age six. Because of an undiagnosed reading disability, I had difficulty reading. Words tended to jump around on the page, and comprehension was tough. My parents didn’t read to us kids growing up. But, when my younger sisters were born, I began reading the Golden and Dr. Seuss books when I was a teenager.

Fortunately, my grandmother was a storyteller—and my best friend. I loved spending time with her on her porch swing, sucking on lemon drops we swiped from my grandfather’s candy jar. To this day, I don’t know if those adventurous stories about her father, the town’s doctor, were true or fable, but it didn’t matter. They ignited my imagination and hunger for more.

When I visited, she had an ancient Royal typewriter on a rickety metal table with plenty of paper set up in my room. While my siblings and cousins played outdoors at my grandparents’ farm, I was inside dreaming and typing.

I knew I wanted to be a storyteller. Over the years, I have accumulated boxes and boxes of filled journals. Writing helps me process the challenges I have faced over the years. When I discovered I could create characters who lived out similar challenges and had lives that could influence others struggling with the same issues, I was hooked.

So, my passion are stories that speak of redemption and demonstrate the love of the Father for His precious daughters. We can overcome.

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

Because of my reading issues, I didn’t read the classics until I was in my 30s. Charlotte Brontë, Hannah Hurnard, C.S. Lewis were my favorites. But it was the contemporary authors who profoundly influenced me: Angela Hunt and Cathy Gohlke.