MAKING ROOM TO HAVE A VISIT WITH JIM. YOU'RE INVITED

Welcome to you Jim. So glad you could join us at A Pen for Your Thoughts.

Jim Rubart is a husband, dad, and marketing professional in his day job. He loves to water ski, play guitar, jump off cliffs and dirt bike with his boys, and go for long weekends and long walks with his wife. Jim and his family live in the Pacific Northwest.


SDC: So glad to have a nearby neighbor here this week! I read a little about you before I made plans to have you here, Jim. I was blessed by looking at some of your beautiful photography, I saw that you were from the Pacific Northwest, much like me, and the third thing I noticed was the creative way you wrote about the guy who sold his soul! Wow! What an interesting concept to write about. Now, you make me really curious about your books. As you open up to tell us about your book coming out soon, I’d also like to find out what makes you tick. What gets your subject matter going in your brain?

Jim: So cool that you read Sold My Soul To The Company Store! That was my first attempt at writing a tale that reflects my, uh, unusual take on story. I suppose my writing comes from being a kid that loved comic books and adventure stories growing up, but was at the same time sensitive to the under currents of powerful emotions and relationships.

SDC: Ah! Those wonderful comic books. I lived on them till I switched to books. Tell us, what kind of responses to you receive from readers or people who listen to you speak who have not yet come to know the Lord, or who have been influenced greatly by your witness and how do you make faith, love, and hope work together in your stories?

Jim: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. In other words I don’t know how I make them work together, they just do. God is in me. He’s given me the gift of writing, so weaving those things into my stories is simply Him coming out in me.

In sports, athletes talk about being the zone, where they’re not thinking about what they’re doing, they just act. That’s how my writing is. I feel like I’m not much more than a scribe. This isn’t false humility. I work hard at rewrites and polish, but the initial story flows out of me as if I’m watching a movie, so I have to turn to God and say thank you for giving me the gift of writing, You’re awesome!

SDC: He is indeed! What made you decide to write in your particular genre?

Jim: That’s a great question, because no one can really decide what my genre is. This was one of the reasons ROOMS didn’t sell initially. No one knew where to put it. A Seattle software tycoon inherits a home on the Oregon coast that turns out to be a physical manifestation of his soul. What genre is that? Suspense? Supernatural? Plus there’s a big romance. I wrote the story because that was the one inside that demanded to come out. It’s a story of healing and freedom, and I wrote it because it’s a story I needed to read. I need more freedom, more healing. But to answer your question more directly, I love contemporary settings flavored with the supernatural and the power of God

SDC: After a long day of writing or doing revisions in a story what is the very first thing you do?

Jim: Hug my wife. She’s such an amazing support. Wise, compassionate, understanding. I couldn’t do this writing gig without her.

SDC: What do you say to encourage other authors who get rejection slips, and how have you reacted in the past when, and if you have received one?

Jim: After they’ve had some time to work through the emotion I ask them if God can be trusted. If he can, then he is in control and knows what He’s doing, whether it’s a rejection or acceptance.


How do I handle rejection? I throw a massive tantrum worth of a three-year-old. Just kidding; my tantrums are very mild. (When my wife reads this she’ll say some peple will take that seriously.)


When I first jumped into the pub world my skin was paper mache thin. But after one particularly devastating rejection I stood with my wife and said, “I have to make a decision. I have to choose to not care what other people think. I need to decide once and for all if I’m a writer or not. I think we all have to come to that point to survive in the industry.

SDC: I do too! What excites you most about your writing experience?

Jim: Everything. It’s been incredible. I feel like I’ve been put at the top of this massive 60 foot wave on a surf board I’m on the ride of my life. But I have to say the most rewarding part has been meeting so many amazing people in this industry; authors, editors, agents … the only thing we’re certain to take in the next life is relationships, so I’m glad to be blessed with some wonderful ones.

SDC: I understand you have a book you would like to share with one of our readers. I appreciate that so much. What question would you like one of our viewers to answer to help me select the winner, Jim?

Jim: Here it is. What is the fear you know you need to step into that will bring you more freedom? And what actions are you going to take to step into that fear?

SDC: What a great introspective question for reflection! I'm anxious to see the responses that come in to that. Thanks. I must tell you, it’s been great having you here. Let us know where we all can reach you, Jim, and where we can find your books as they come out! I am really looking forward to reading some myself.

Jim: Thanks for having me! You’ll find ROOMS now, and my other books later on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and CBD, as well as in LifeWay, Family Christian storesMy author site is: www.jimrubart.com and my marketing Web site is: www.barefootmarketing.com Live free!

SDC: We look forward to all your responses as you write in with your comments. Don't forget to share your thoughts with regard to Jim's great question above. And please include an email address in case your name is selected. 

Congratulations to Julia Reffner of Fairport, New York! You have just won Jim's new book! Be watching for your gift in the mail soon!