Interview with Lisa Samson
about "Quaker Summer"

Added May 14, 2007

Joyce: In the Library Reviews welcomes Lisa Samson!

You packed the pages of Quaker Summer with a variety of ideas and people. Readers will meet Quakers and Episcopalians, drug dealers and saints, young people and the very old. I almost feel that this novel is like one of Heather's cakes, combining different ingredients to bring forth a delicious result! What do you want your readers to take away from this eclectic mix of faith and faces?

Lisa: I like to provide readers with a different experience. So different faiths, varying ages, gives a nice, interesting blend to a piece. I've always done strong ensembles. As someone who believes in the power of community, I think it's important to surround my protagonist with her own influencing group of people. Also, I realize my readers come from different walks of life and I hope to provide some character or setting they find familiar.

Joyce: Do readers sometimes object that you don't stay within the 'party line' of a specific Christian religion? Personally, I find the blending of beliefs and people to be a breath of fresh air in this genre.

Lisa: Not many objections! One reader felt I shouldn't show a celibate gay man and let me know it. But other than that (I don't read my on-line booksellers' reviews so there are probably more objections there than I realize) I've had little pushback. Because I've never adhered to a party line anyway, most of my faithful readers would probably object if I didn't move boundaries and ask questions. Also, I like to explore what it would really look like if Christians who differ in beliefs actually gave one another a break. For too long we've had these checklists of what a "real believer" looks like, which is primarily what they believe. But I find more and more that how people behave in light of what they say they believe is more telling of their relationship with Christ. I remember growing hearing that Catholics were going to hell, and then of course, Catholics saying that Protestants were going to hell. I want to show that Christ works in and through all stripes of people and to that we can say, "Yes and Amen!"

Joyce: Your novels take the pulse of contemporary Christianity, which contributes to their success. Do you feel there are a lot of Heathers out there, longing for more of Christ and less of the customs of Christianity? Where can someone begin to search for a genuine life in the Lord?

Lisa: There are a lot of Heathers out there. I am one and I know a lot of them. The sad thing is, that Christ and the customs of Christianity can meld together beautifully. But it's easy to make the customs of more importance than the Christ and that's where we get into trouble. A genuine life in the Lord, at least as I see it, is found in relationship: relationship with God through Christ, relationship with His Church, and relationship with our neighbors, whoever they are and wherever they are. Jesus was pretty clear in the parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbors aren't just next door.

Joyce: Heather Reeves was a wealthy woman, yet she felt impoverished in her spiritual condition. Do you feel this spiritual discontent affects the affluent more?

Lisa: No. I just think spiritual discontent evidences itself differently to various segments. I've noticed among the poor a real spiritual connection and gratitude that is amazing considering their circumstances. Why is it that those who have the least seem to be filled with gratitude to God? It's something I want to explore.

Joyce: Did you base the novel on a passage of Scripture?

Lisa: Two scripture passages have affected my own life very deeply regarding how our faith works together with issues of service and social justice and were influential for this book. Micah 6:8, in which God tells us doing justice, loving mercy and walking in humility with Him are the three things He requires of us; and Isaiah 58 which speaks of God calling us "to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke . . . to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood."

Joyce: What do you want readers to know about Quakers and their contribution to the Christian faith?

Lisa: A lot of American Christians have become so political about their faith, especially now that we are at war. I'm not a pacifist, and I'll leave my opinions about our present war off the table here, but I wanted to show that there is a vast heritage of peacemaking in Christendom and that maybe it would do us all a world of good to step back from our political leanings and really see what the Bible has to say and let the teachings of Christ color our politics and not the other way around.

Joyce: What advice would Heather Reeves give to believers?

Lisa: Salvation by grace is free. Following Jesus is costly, but at the end of the road it's that obedience that makes our life here on earth fruitful and beautiful.

Joyce: What are you working on now?

Lisa: Two books: a young adult novel, the second in a series called Hollywood Nobody. This is my first foray into the YA world and I'm loving it. I'm actually on a research trip for it right now as I answer these questions. I'm also working on an adult contemporary novel that is enabling me to explore metaphorically how the church takes a person in and strives to conform them to the image of those around them and not necessarily the image of Christ, in essence, stripping them of who God really made them to be for the sake of God. When this happens, I believe, a certain freakishness occurs, and the Kingdom is damaged.

Joyce: Thank you Lisa for taking time to be with us. You're one of my favorite authors and I eagerly await your next novel.

Lisa: Thank you for the opportunity, Joyce!

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