BLOGWORDS – Thursday 17 July 2025 – CHAT THURSDAY

BLOGWORDS – Thursday 17 July 2025 – CHAT THURSDAY – MARIA T. HENRIKSEN

CHAT THURSDAY – MARIA T. HENRIKSEN

Please give a warm feathered welcome to author and friend, Maria Henriksen.

rem: Tell us three random things about yourself.

MARIA: Every morning I enjoy a protein, fruit smoothie packed with supplements to keep me

going throughout the day. I love shrimp, but it doesn’t like me. I feel naked if I don’t wear a ton

of jewelry.

rem: That’s so sad about shrimp! Not to worry, though; I’m happy to eat your share… What is your favorite quotation and why?

MARIA: Live, Laugh, Love is a motto I live by. Live. Live life to the fullest. I interpret that to do God’s will. Laugh. If you met me, you know I laugh heartily. Love. Life is meaningless without love. To expound, Live, laugh, love is an abbreviation of the 1904 poem “Success” written by Bessie Anderson Stanley. In its original form, the first line of the poem reads, "He achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much".

Live. While we're here on earth, we may as well make the most of our time. My interpretation of

that is to do God's will. I fervently believe I was put on this planet to spread the gospel and to

make the world a better place. Most of my adult life has been geared toward doing that. Trust in

the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to

him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Laugh. Laughter is the best medicine was the quote I used in my profile for the yearbook my

senior year of high school. There are many health benefits to laughing, even scripture supports

laughter as a tool to combat stress, worry, and anxiety. “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21

Love. Love is an action, not just a feeling. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I

have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my

disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35

rem: When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you? Your fiction pet peeve?

MARIA: Laughter, and making others laugh, is apparently one of my gifts. LOL (see?) I don’t like to read explicit sex or foul language. My fiction pet peeve is reading a

novel that claims to have a Christian worldview, yet there’s no mention of Christ. There’s no

scripture, no praying. No one goes to church. That’s not a Christian novel.

rem: Same. If a scene is getting too racy I’ll skip over it. If there are too many of “those” scenes, I’ll stop reading. Same with foul language. Mine have a rare few of the “lesser” cuss words, but on balance, there are plenty of scenes or mention of the Gospel. What are you reading right now?

MARIA: I’m in between books right now. A couple of days ago, I read and reviewed Begin

Again by Crystal Walton.

rem: You read AND reviewed in the span of “a couple of days?!?!?!?” Tell us a little about your writing journey.

MARIA: Ever since high school, I wanted to write a novel. I felt like I needed to read in order to

be a proficient writer. rem: Good thinking! The problem was that I hated reading. It wasn’t until I began substitute teaching about 17 years ago that I started to read novels. I read a novel by a famous author and thought, I can do this. I set forth to start writing as a way of checking off a bucket list. The more I wrote, the more I considered it as leaving a legacy for my family, something they would be proud of, as I didn’t feel I accomplished much in my life. The more in depth the story got, the more I realized how I could positively impact the lives of others. My debut novel became inspirational and took on the form of the type of novel I wanted to read but never came across anything like it.

rem: Twenty years ago, I thought I would be a teacher—high school English. What genre(s) do you write and why?

MARIA: I write coming-of-age of age, inspirational, edgy Christian romance set in the 1980s.

One reason I write young adult novels is the fact that my job surrounds me with teenagers. I want

to make a positive impact on the lives of my readers by equipping them with tools to help relieve

every day stress, in addition to dealing with trauma. My goal is draw my readers closer to God

through the use of scripture and relatable characters who struggle with real life tragedies. (rem: emphasis mine) If I can comfort my readers or spare them any future heartache from reading my books, then I accomplished my mission. My setting is in the 1980s because that was the time period I grew up. It was a simpler time. The music was great, and society wasn’t stuck scrolling on their phones. I enjoy writing swoon-worthy romances because they’re a great escape to read and fun to write. I wish there were books like the ones I write when I was growing up. Perhaps then, I would have been an avid reader.

rem: If a character isn’t genuine and relatable, then the story is lost. Tell us a little about your latest book? What is your current project?

MARIA: Not Again Amy's Story, book four of the Not Again series. Amy is faced with the sudden stress of a huge financial burden and will do whatever it takes to graduate college on time. While burning the candle at both ends, she grapples with the devastating death of a college student who overdoses. Was it a suicide, a murder, or an accident? This gritty, Christian page-turner takes you on an emotional tailspin of a college student's life in 1989. When actions have fatal consequences, will dark secrets, guilt, and shame destroy Amy? Find out if God's mercy will be enough to sustain her in this intense tale. Not Again, healing hearts one page at a time.

rem: What is YOUR favorite part about the book or why do you love this book? Why should

we read it?

MARIA: My favorite part of the book is the twists and turns that you don’t see coming. You

will be on the edge of your seat anticipating what will happen next, only to be led down an

unexpected path. Not Again Amy’s Story is not only entertaining, but it captures the essence of

God’s deep love for us.

rem: What is one take-away from your book(s) that you hope readers identify with?

MARIA: I want readers to know that God is there every step of the way. If you’re grappling

with something weighty, then know that Jesus is carrying you. He will never let the righteous

fall.

rem: Yes, He absolutely is. One more and then we’ll close. Do you have a life Scripture?

MARIA: I have many scriptures that keep me afloat. One that I relied heavily on in college was

1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all you’re anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Also, every day, I mentally dress myself in the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of

God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is

not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the

powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly

realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,

you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to

stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the

breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that

comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with

which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of

salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this

in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

rem: Anything you’d like to add?

MARIA: If you like what you read above, then consider being on my launch team. I have three

more novels that need to be polished before publishing them in order to finish my epic, six-book

saga.

rem: Thank you so much for chatting with us on my blog today, Maria!

MARIA: Thanks for having me!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maria T. Henriksen is a lover of reading and writing and hopes that people will enjoy her novel as much as she enjoyed writing it.

Helping others in any capacity is what drives Maria. Not Again was created with the intent of arming teens with the necessary tools to navigate life with peace, passion, and clarity. She hopes that all readers, not just teenagers, will be able to employ those methods to overcome the stress that plagues us all.

Maria has a passion for health and fitness, and exercises on a regular basis. She can be seen running on a track, trail, or along the road several times during the week, especially in the summer. Her favorite place to run is down the shore, along the bay.

This spirit-filled Philadelphia suburbanite resides with her husband, Dave, of over two decades, along with their college-age twins. As a family, they bond over their love for sports, and each member makes every effort to cheer each other on at their competitions. Maria feels extremely blessed to have such a close family and continues to find each of them as a source of daily inspiration.

Be sure to check out the book trailer for Not Again to watch the novel come alive!

For more information about Maria T. Henriksen, visit her colorful website.:

https://www.mariathenriksen.com

Not Again, Book 1 https://amzn.com/dp/B07WHKGDF7

Not Again The Fallout, Book 2 https://amzn.com/gp/product/B09YNJ8B9H/

Not Again Morgan’s Story, Book 3 https://a.co/d/7JfOcNh

New subscribers receive a FREE relaxation audio download.

https://www.mariathenriksen.com

https://www.linktr.ee/authormaria

https://amazon.com/author/mariathenriksen

authormariathenriksen@gmail.com

https://www.instagram.com/maria_t_henriksen/