Writers-on-Wednesday: Marcia Laycock

Marcia Laycock is one of the many wonderful writers I’ve met through Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. Over the years since I met her, I’ve had the privilege of working with her, reading her devotionals, and last year, attending in the launch of her first novel, One Smooth Stone.

Marcia writes a weekly devotional that goes out by email to about 3,000 readers around the globe, articles for City Light News in Calgary and Living Light News in Edmonton. She is also working on the sequel to One Smooth Stone. Every now and then a poem will sprout in her brain and demand to be written down. Recently, she took the time to answer three questions for me and be the first author in my Writers-on-Wednesday series.

TKM: When did you know you were a writer?

Marcia: My mom used to say that I was born with a pencil in my hand. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t write, but when I was about 11 years old, an aunt gave me a copy of Emily of New Moon by Lucy M. Montgomery and I discovered that some day I could call myself a writer. It has taken a long time to reach that point but I think when people started stopping me on the street and saying they’d appreciated my latest article in the newspaper, I began to believe it.

TKM: What inspires you to write?

Marcia: Usually it’s something I see or hear or read that sticks in my mind. It might be a casual comment or something more serious in a conversation. (One Smooth Stone was birthed in a discussion about abortion.) Sometimes the seed takes a long time to sprout but eventually it ends up in a piece of writing of some kind. I am greatly inspired by good writing. I have a hard time getting through good books because I keep wanting to write as I read.

TKM: What author do you most admire and why?

Marcia: Oh boy, that’s a hard one. I admire a great many who write in various genres, both Christian and secular. I would list these among my favourites, in no particular order: Rudy Wiebe (a bit hard to read but worth it), Guy Vanderhaeghe for his portrayal of history, Walter Wangerin Jr. for the richness of language, Luci Shaw for her imagery, John Piper, Ravi Zacharias, Oswald Chambers, Mark Buchanan and C.S. Lewis for their wisdom and insight, Sigmund Brouwer, Leif Enger, T.L. Hines, Karen Hancock, Linda Hall and Phil Callaway all for their ability to spin a great story and keep you reading.