Ruth O’Neil: – Author of Hope and Inspiration
If you’re looking for a clean, easy-to-read story, full of hope and promise, Author Ruth O’Neil has a variety of books which will bless and renew your spirit. I first noticed Ruth when I spotted her book “Let Go and Let God.” How many times did my mother repeat those words to me as I was growing up?
Ruth O’Neil was born and raised in upstate New York. She attended Houghton College. Her background includes working as a freelance writer for more than 20 years. Ruth also is known for publishing hundreds of articles in dozens of publications. You can visit her at http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/ or on her website at http://ruthoneil.weebly.com/.
Ruth’s mother was a great inspiration to her as a writer. She encouraged Ruth to attend writer’s conferences to learn everything she could about her craft. She not only encouraged her, she was instrumental in helping Ruth critique her works through the years.
To Ruth O’Neil’s credit, she homeschooled her three children when they were growing up. I always have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the women who commit so much of themselves to the education of their children in a Christian environment.
If you had the chance to visit one place on Earth that you’ve never been, where would it be and why?
Hmmm… I’m kind of a homebody. Maybe I would visit Ireland or New Zealand. The pictures I see from those areas of the world look absolutely gorgeous.
Ruth, what was the greatest lesson you learned from your mother?
How to be a mom. She wasn’t perfect, but she was as close to a Proverbs 31 Woman as any other woman I’ve ever known. I feel like I constantly live in her shadow, struggling to be what she was and failing miserably.
I understand you wrote a storybook when you were only nine-years-old. What was it about?
It was entitled “The Hunchback Bug.” It’s about a little girl who finds this strange looking bug on her walk home from school. It’s an absolutely horrible story – the writing at least. I was proud of that story, but it quickly came up missing. Years later, after my mom passed away, my dad gave us kids our baby books. Tucked in the pages of my book was that story. It was a treasure she returned to me. If she hadn’t kept it, it would probably have been long ago lost.
Who has inspired you the most in your journey as a writer?
Definitely my mom. She was also a writer and she took me to writer’s conferences when I was in high school and started me on my writing journey. She read a lot of my first pieces of work and gave me advice, but most of all encouragement. She’s the reason I write today, and she’s the reason I enjoy teaching young people to write. Not everyone has a mentor that can guide them in their writing, but I did, and that’s what I want to be to others.
I’ve made you wait long enough! Here’s the new release by Ruth O’Neil and Sonya Davis:
The 25 Days of Christmas Family Devotional: An advent devotional for families. Each of the 25 days of Christmas includes a story, a devotion, an activity, and a song which draw everyone closer to Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.
Tell us about your new release and what inspired the story.
It is a devotional for families for Christmas, but it’s more than that. It’s different. Each day contains a story for children, a devotion, a song, and an activity. All of these are meant to read and do together. I hope it draws families closer during the Christmas season, but I also hope it helps them remember Christ and all He’s done for us so we can share that love with others.
Ruth, obviously your faith was a huge part of your upbringing and adult life. What is one of your favorite Christmas memories?
There was one year my sisters and my dad were singing a song together in the church Christmas program. My mom made us new long, red velvet dresses. Shortly before we were to leave for church, she plunked one of my sisters and me in the tub. I knew we were rushing a little bit, so I thought I’d help and wash mine and my sister’s hair. My mom freaked out a little bit when she came back in the bathroom. She had put us in her bath water – which was soooo warm – that had some Avon bath oil in it. She tried washing our hair again, but we ended up going to church with greasy, oily hair. I never made that mistake again.
Thank you for sharing the big news on your Christmas Inspirational, Ruth. We truly enjoyed featuring you today and hope you’ll stop back again soon.
Thanks so much for having me this weekend!
We were delighted to learn about the new release! Christmas is just around the corner now.