Bookmarks and Coffee Mugs: June 2016

Over the course of the last semester, I had the opportunity to participate in a Bible Study with a number of other women on my campus. We read The Whisper Theory by author Amber Albee Swenson, who is a member at one of our WELS churches in Rochester, MN. We would read sections of the book and then meet periodically over lunch or dinner to discuss it. We also had an ongoing online discussion that we could contribute to at any time. After we finished reading, we all had the opportunity to sit down with Amber and pick her brain about the book. She provided us with a lot of great insight to the inspiration behind The Whisper Theory and the process she went through to write it! We decided to share this interview with you! Enjoy!

Q1: Which came first? The story or the Bible Study?

AS: The story. It sickened the people in my Creative Writing class in college because it kept on coming back again and again. I learned that you need some space. And the antagonists were just vile! My creative writing teacher told me that no one would read my story if the villain wasn’t somewhat lovable.

Q2: How much of this book is autobiographical?

AS: The plot is partially autobiographical. It was inside of me for 19 years, and it took me another 7 to write. In college, I met the wrong guy, and I thought I could save him. After that experience I totally understand addiction. I didn't back when I was your age. He had justifications for everything, and I took them hook line and sinker. The character of Jeff is nothing like that boyfriend. People ask me all the time “Are you Meghan?" She is a beautiful conglomeration of everyone I know. The self-righteous part of Meghan was something that I definitely had to deal with going to a public university. I didn't realize that it was a sin until after speaking with an older member of my congregation.

Q3: Describe your process for writing the bible study included in the book.

AS: The "Whisper Theory" itself comes from the account of Elijah as he's outside Mt. Horeb at what was the lowest point in his life. God sent a great wind and a great earthquake, but He himself came in a whisper. The theory is that God comes to us in little ways just when we need him the most. It might be in a card or in a sermon we hear, but we see God's message shining through it. I didn't want to just write the book and put it out there for anyone to interpret, because I didn't want to give them the wrong idea that they needed to be looking for these big signs from God, so I wrote the bible study to guide them through the book.

Q4: Are you Meghan in that she apologizes for using words that people don’t understand?

AS: I still am! I usually put two words together, and then no one understands what I'm talking about! I truly do use the words in the wrong situations. It’s one of my quirky traits that my friends know about that I like to add in when I write.

Q5: Who was your intended audience?

AS: Young, college-age women. I wish someone had given me this book when I was that age.

Q6: Did you have just WELS girls in mind?

AS: Not necessarily WELS girls but definitely Christian. What I have learned to do with my work, speaking or writing, is pray that it glorifies God. Then I send it off and pray again that God lets it do what it will and not lead people astray.

Q7: Tell us about the upcoming sequel!

AS: The sequel is called The Bread of Angels and it's all about secrets. Everybody has them. Megan is 4 years into her marriage, and she finds out that her husband is keeping a terrible secret, and she no longer thinks she can stay married to him.

Q8: One of the big themes in your book is marriage. Do you have any marriage advice that you would like to share with young women who might be looking to date or get married in the future?

AS: Dating is more than just spending time and having fun together. It’s intentional. I think one of the most intimate things that you can do with another person is read God’s Word together. Be very intentional about it. Be discerning. You need to discern if this person is the type of person that you want to marry. Then take the steps to put up the proper boundaries. Start praying together and building that relationship together. Even in a marriage you have to work together to fall in love with each other again and again and again. I don’t care who you’re married too, but you will have times when your husband hurts you. He’ll do something stupid and you’ll question everything. And vice versa. Marriage is two very flawed people trying to live together. In a Christian marriage you pray together and work it out.

Thanks again to Amber for letting us sit down with her and bombard her with questions! For information about Amber and her books The Whisper Theory and its sequel The Bread of Angels, visit her website at www.biblemoms.com.

Title: The Whisper Theory
Author: Amber Albee Swenson
Published: December 28, 2011
Genre: Christian Fiction

During first semester this past school year, one of my professors approached me with an idea. He had received several copies of The Whisper Theory from the author and wanted to put a group of ladies together to review it and participate in the accompanying Bible Study. Of course I said yes, and as the resident blogger of the group, I volunteered to post the review and an interview with the author Amber Swenson on my page!

The Whisper Theory follows a young lady named Meghan as she navigates her way through her first year of college. A devout Christian, Meghan has had no trouble standing firm in her faith. Then she moves in with her new roommates Carol and Jeff, who are not believers. It doesn't take Meghan long, under their influence, to start trying things she's never tried before, and soon she's breaking more rules than she's keeping. What's more, she begins to fall for Jeff. When a murder occurs in their apartment building, Meghan has to decide where she stands and what voice she's going to follow. After each chapter, there is a set of Bible study questions that pertain to the topics referenced in the chapter.

I think I speak for the entire group when I say that we thoroughly enjoyed participating in this Bible study. We had lots of meaningful discussions both on our online forum and in person. The topics we covered were all mentioned at some time in the book: underage drinking, sex, dating, and relationships with family and friends (especially with those of opposite faiths). This is definitely a book for Christian, college-aged ladies, and I think they would enjoy the discussions as much as we did.

The novel itself was realistic for the most part. The challenges that Meghan faces are similar to what I think a devout Christian college student would face. Things got a bit muddy when the murder in the apartment building comes in. That particular plot arc just seemed to distract from the rest of the book. That detail aside, we'd recommend this to anyone looking for a Bible study for a teen or college-age group.

Kaylee says: