Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Jolyn Canty & Far Above Rubies

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Far Above Rubies by Jolyn Canty, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Please join me in welcoming Jolyn to the blog today to chat about her new book! George MacDonald has long been one of my faith heroes, so I’m looking forward to reading this biography of his wife soon!

FAR ABOVE RUBIES: The Life of Louisa MacDonald
Author: Jolyn Canty
Publisher: Azure Star LLC
Release Date: April 14, 2021
Genre: Biography

Her husband—a friend to Mark Twain, mentor to Lewis Carroll, and the man C.S. Lewis called his “master”—was one of the greatest Christian writers of the Victorian era. She was his hidden gem, the bulwark and bastion on which he could lean. Though she was an accomplished musician and singer, an advocate for the poor and neglected, and a published author, she didn’t need the spotlight, but was content to be her husband’s biggest fan and companion. She bore eleven children and adopted and cared for several others. Enduring hardships few of us will ever experience, this petite woman faced them with courage and strength.

Her name was Louisa MacDonald.

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Hi Jolyn! Welcome to the blog!

Jolyn: Definitely Dogs!  I adore my two goofy golden retrievers (Allie and Gibbie) and Henry my handsome sheltie.

Carrie: I want a golden retriever!

Jolyn: I have always been enthralled by the mountains.  In fact, we live on ten acres on a mini-mountain, surrounded by fragrant ponderosa pines and our frequent visitors: our friendly black bear, mama moose, and many deer who like to traipse past our kitchen windows every evening.

Carrie: oh man! I would be in heaven living in that setting!

Jolyn: While I do own a Kindle, I prefer the touch, the smell, the beauty of a well bound book.  I have a delightful collection of the classics which I often read and re-ready.

Carrie: I prefer having a print book of the books I’ve loved, too, but I read almost exclusively on Kindle now. Much easier to read in bed when my hubby is trying to sleep 🙂

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Jolyn: If I had a superpower, I would want it to be the ability to match each foster child with the perfect forever family of their own.  My heart breaks for the lost, abandoned, and lonely children who languish in foster homes.

Carrie: that would be a beautiful superpower to have ♥

Q: If you knew you were only going to be allowed FIVE books for the rest of your life, besides the Bible, which five would make the cut?

Jolyn:

Unspoken Sermons by George MacDonald
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Pilgrim’s Progress by Paul Bunyan
My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

Carrie: love those selections!

Q: Writing spaces are as diverse as authors and books. Where is your favorite space to write?

Jolyn: When I am writing you will find me in my comfy reclining/rocking chair that sits in the rotunda window area in our bedroom.  I always wear my comfy maxi dress and have a “cuppa” on the table beside my chair.

Carrie: A comfy recliner is the best work space 🙂

Q: Which person in Far Above Rubies was most difficult to write about?

Jolyn: Lilia MacDonald, their firstborn child, was difficult to write about.  She seemed almost too good to be true.  She spent her life caring for everyone around her—especially children.  She died at the age of 39, after caring for a dear friend with tuberculosis and thereby contracting it herself.

Carrie: aww I had forgotten about that :-/  George & Louisa went through so much, didn’t they?

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from Far Above Rubies?

Jolyn: It is my hope that my readers will desire to be His “Voice”, and not a “Name”.  By that I mean it is very fashionable to want to become a known “Influencer” or to have a popular “Ministry.”  But John the Baptist, and I believe Louisa MacDonald as well, were content to be a Voice crying in the wilderness, and not a name.  May we all learn to die to ourselves and live for Him.

Carrie: Soli Deo Gloria ♥

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Jolyn:I recently finished illustrating a children’s poetry book that was originally published posthumously by Lilia MacDonald.  We are hoping to get it in print within the next few weeks.  My newest project is a biography about Lady Emily Tennyson, the wife of the famous poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Carrie: Both of those projects sounds really good!