Welcome to the first of a new series of posts on The Penny Drops: my Author Interviews! 
Each month I'll be interviewing an author I've bumped into over my years as a writer. Some of these authors you may recognise, others will be brand new. Some I've read, others I haven't. I'll interview writers of fiction, memoir, non-fiction and children's books (of course!). But despite their varying genres or stages as a writer, what they all have in common is their Christian faith. And this is strategic from my part, because what I really wanted to learn about was how their faith influences their writing, and what lessons are learned as they work on their very different projects.
To begin this series, I got to chat with Vanessa Foran. Vanessa is a psychologist living in Melbourne, Australia who loves thinking about the relationship between faith and mental health. Her first book - a creative memoir - rose out of her experiences traveling around Australia with her young family.

Failure is Peter. Leaning over the edge of the boat; squinting at the shadow.
No. The man… The Lord! 
It's Jesus, walking towards the boat. Walking on the water as if it was solid ground. His clothes flapping in the evening breeze. 
‘Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you!’ 
And Peter leans. His faith is new. It’s untested. High and heady in this adventure of following Jesus, who could be the Christ. And what if he is?
​That would change everything. Absolutely every-
‘Come!’ ​

​Those who receive my author newsletter have probably heard a little about some of the other writing projects I've been working on in the background to my part-time PhD. I tend to have a few projects on the go at the same time even as I chip away at the big ones. This way of working, however, does have its challenges because the more projects you have on the go, the more ups and downs you encounter, as well as multiple versions of uncertainty.
And here's the thing, uncertainty is just part of the game when it comes to creative pursuits. We make, we hope, we dream, we build and then - with tentative imaginations and wistful expectations - we send that creativity out into the world.

Little Music Church is a brand new children's ministry resource that combines music, movement and age-appropriate encouragement for children learning about God (and all with an Aussie accent!). I got to know Steph, the program's creator, a while back when she contacted me to chat about Christian children's books. As you know, I love talking about kids books and had a few suggestions she could use with young children at church. However her vision wasn't just limited to books. She wanted to create an early childhood curriculum to support young children as they explore the Christian faith, and she wanted to use music and movement too. I loved hearing her story and heart for encouraging kids in their faith, so when I heard Little Music Church was being launched I was pretty excited. Even though my kids are all grown up, I know the songs and music they learned as little kids stuck. That's how children learn! And when the songs they engage with contain truths about following Jesus, it's even better.
I had the chance to interview Steph about Little Music Church the other day. Here's what she had to say...