Are you guys ready for this??? Today, I am talking with Deeanne Gist!!! With her highly anticipated, new book, Tiffany Girl, about to release, Deeanne is on FIRE!
I am not even going to go through how many awards she has, but they include:
A lot, right?!
Ok, make sure you check out Tiffany Girl when it releases on May 5th!!!! Link is in the pic.
Ok, before we get started, I want to address something really important. I am not deaf to the talk that’s been going around. In fact, not everyone was down with the idea of me even doing this interview now that Deeanne has moved over to a secular publisher. So, I have a couple things to say.
First of all, you guys know me. You know my heart and some of the struggles I’ve dealt with deciding who to face-off with and who not to. You know that I want to seek God with 100% of my being. Period. I have stated many times that it is not about the numbers for me, but about listening to God and bringing Him glory. I have also said that it is important to me to only host people that really feel the same way. Just this week, many of you saw, first hand, this whole situation play out with another author that I was supposed to host.
Secondly, I have read Tiffany Girl and I believe that it was completely clean. I gave it 5 Stars. I found absolutely nothing inappropriate with it.
Thirdly, and most importantly, God is a very diverse God and He leads us all down the path that will bring Him the most glory. If you are ever, EVER told by God to do something and you don’t do it, you are against Him. I don’t care if that means that God told you to quite teaching Sunday School and you decided it was better for you to teach it. Teaching it just became against Him.
That being said, Deeanne has PERSONALLY shared her heart and how God has lead her to reach others outside of the Christian market. 
She also has shared the amazing things that God is doing with that. Shame on us for assuming we know what is best for a person and their relationship with Christ. All we can do is seek God with our whole heart and listen to His voice. Once we hear it, we better follow. It is none of my business who her publisher is anyway. Unless I feel that Deeanne has completely gone against something God has called us to be, I would never presume to know God’s plan for her and neither should you.
Let’s start watching out for each other. In no way do I want you to ever think that love=complacency. If there was something going against God, I would be the FIRST to question it. God called us to the sick, not the healthy. So, let’s support one another.
Let me be VERY CLEAR. I stand behind Deeanne and her ministry 100%.
Shall we play?
The rules are simple: I ask Deeanne some random questions. She replies and then I give my answers. Each winning answer is worth one point and I get to decide whose answer is better.
It’s my blog.
Here we go!
1. Have you ever gone anywhere in your slippers and were too far away to rectify the situation once you realized it?
Deeanne – Oh, man. Now I’m going to have to confess that I’ve actually gone out in slippers intentionally, but never unintentionally. I would drive the kids to school, or just a make a quick run somewhere. So busted.
Charity – NICE!! haha 🙂 I love it! I actually left the house in my slippers AFTER asking you this question. Thankfully my son caught me before I made it to the car…Girl, I am a HOT MESS!!!
— Intentional slipper wearing WINS though!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 1
2. If you were going to open a shop, what would you sell and how would you lay it out?
Deeanne – My dream would be to open my very own mega scrapbook store! I have all the plans for this idea already drawn out. I think my entrepreneurial side terrifies my husband a little bit—and with good reason since most everything I’ve tried has failed. Still, I can’t seem to help myself.
The scrapbook store would have everything organized based on themes. In one area, you would find everything you could possibly need to create your own wedding scrapbook. Other areas would have all the embellishments for graduation, Christmas, birthdays, and other special, scrapbook-able occasions. It would also have an upstairs workshop area where people could come and work on their scrapbooks together. As of now, this is still a dream. My husband’s response to these kinds of things? “Please, baby, please don’t make me any more money.”
Charity – HA! Too funny. Yeah, I have that side to me as well. Our poor hubbies. They love us. They love that about us even if they don’t admit it! I am SURE OF IT!
I don’t care what it is as long as it would be bright, colorful, cheery, with gorgeous chandeliers. Clothes, candy, books… Wouldn’t matter!
— Having a plan is always better!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 2
3. Most unique wedding you’ve attended?
Deeanne – I have to say that the most unique wedding I have ever attended was my sister’s. At the time, she made her living as a mime and he as a jouster. On their wedding day, she dressed as a fairy princess and he dressed as a musketeer. It was a Renaissance-themed wedding that was oh-so-romantic and very, very fun. They even “jumped the sword” once they were pronounced man and wife. *sigh*
Charity – Oh my goodness! So cool!!! Well, mine isn’t so happy…A friend of mine married a guy that worships the different norse gods. Anyway, their wedding was ever so odd. They prayed to the four corners of Thor (I’m sure I didn’t say that right!), drank blood and all kinds of weirdness. I was FREAKING OUT. I was praying that the building would crash in on us because I was ready to go to Heaven! HAHA!
— Both so “unique”! And I thought I had this one!!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 2
4. What’s your idea of a successful marathon? 26.2 miles or 26.2 hours of a great tv show?
Deeanne – They both sound pretty miserable, but if I had to choose, I would do a marathon of my favorite TV show—which is 24 with Keefer Sutherland..
Charity – Girl, no contest. TV MARATHON!!! Bring it on! I’m in!!!!
— TIE AGAIN!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 2
5. Do you use the string or the little plastic things to floss with?
Deeanne – I have permanent retainers on my teeth that have made flossing extremely laborious. They give you a special tool that you use to thread the floss under the retainer, which takes a little extra time, but I’m a serious flosser. So, string it is for me.
Charity – Ugh! Sounds like a pain!! I love the plastic ones. My hubby hates them. We have every kind in our house because we all use different ones. Hubby uses silky ones, boys use regular string and I use plastic. HA! We are ridiculous and NOBODY cares that much about our flossing habits!
— Girl! We can’t catch a break!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 2
6. How do you strive to bring God the most glory in your life?
Deeanne – I strive to bring God glory by making an effort to spend time with Him. Not just by having a quiet time (which I’m woefully inconsistent at), but also by reminding myself to focus on Him and not on myself. Awful as it sounds, this is a challenge for me. I get so caught up in my little world that I totally forget the bigger picture. Several times a day, I find myself having to step back and leave things up to Him and His plan. The extra effort is worth it, though, because if I can manage it, I find it gives me the freedom to experience joy no matter what my circumstances might be.
Charity – I love it! So, very true!!! My theory is this: When I am so focused on if I am doing enough for Him, they focus is on “I”. Instead, just love Him and listen to Him and be willing to change or give up ANYTHING He asks. That’s it. Simple.
— GOD WINS!
Charity 0 / Deeanne 2
7. What is the best game show you grew up watching?
Deeanne – Do you remember Password? Good ol’ Betty White’s husband was the host! It was one of my all time favorites.
Charity – No!!! I don’t remember it! I used to watch Name That Tune and Supermarket Sweep. They were the BEST!
In fact, we play “Name That Hum” every winter with Christmas songs. When we are traveling or something. We will see who can go the lowest and I am always the official “Hummer”. So, they might get it down to “I can name that tune in 2 hums” and we see if they get it. We even played it with a youth party! ha!!!
— You had me at “Betty White”
Charity 0 / Deeanne 3
8. Who’s your favorite Jane Austen character?
Deeanne – Elizabeth Bennett, hands down. She never took herself too seriously and always had a great sense of humor. I love that in a character. Actually, I love that in real people, too.
Charity – Very true. I do like that. However, I have to go with Colonel Brandon. *sigh* So dreamy.
— Taking it because…well, Colonel Brandon!
Charity 1 / Deeanne 3
9. What book have you read more than any other?
Deeanne – I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve read To Kill a Mockingbird. Can we start a countdown for the sequel? This book is particularly special to me because when I first read it, I was just getting to the point where my dyslexia allowed me to read a book on my own. I loved slipping into Scout’s shoes. She was impulsive, she had a great heart, and she didn’t understand why there wasn’t more “goodness” in the world. I remember reading it and really realizing for the first time that not everyone I would encounter in my life would have good intentions. Scout’s innocence was lost in that book and I found myself learning a lot about life through her eyes.
Charity – Sounds amazing…but, I haven’t read it 😮 I have read The Count of Monte Cristo so many times. It is just so crazy how much the character plots the most elaborate revenge. Definitely no goodness in that book though!!!
— Both had good answers.
Final:
Charity 1 / Deeanne 3
once again.
Thank you so much, Deeanne! Excited about your new book.
Read it. Reviewed it. Loved it.
If you would like to read what I thought about it (even though I already answered that), just check out my review.
With three-quarters of a million trade books sold, her awards include National Readers’ Choice, Book Buyers’ Best, Golden Quill, Books*A*Million Pick of the Month, Romantic Times Pick of the Month, Award of Excellence, and Laurel Wreath.
She has a very active online community on her blog, on Facebook, Pinterest, and on her YouTube channel.
Gist lives in Texas with her husband of thirty-one years and their border collie. They have four grown children.
Charity Andrews 