Women Who Inspire – Judy Ann Koglin
Article Written by Joy Mathis Chadwick
If you have teenage or preteen girls in your life, Judy Ann Koglin has written a series of books that will be not only a good read, but an inspiration to girls from every walk of life. Christian Women Living Magazine would like to introduce Judy Ann Koglin, author of “Summer Entanglements” and “The Guesthouse Girls”. Judy has an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resources; her last position was in the Maui tourism industry, but due to the pandemic, her life took a different twist, which will be detailed below. She has lived in Maui for about four years since moving there from Washington state. Her passions include Jesus, her family, travel, and sunshine.
Judy became a Christian at a young age. She states, “Jesus just made sense to me, and He still does. I was fortunate to not have a lot of doubt. I just believed that the Bible is true and Jesus was the Son of God and I accepted His free gift of salvation. I know that a lot of people don’t have that same experience and sometimes they spend a lifetime of questioning and doubting before they come to this conclusion. I do remember one time when I was about six or seven years old and I was in Sunday School and I knew I had already asked Jesus into my heart and, as they explained it, ‘He washed my sins away.’ However, I kept sinning, so I was really confused. One time, when I was alone with one of my Sunday school teachers I asked, ‘If you are a Christian, do you still sin?’
He answered, ‘Yes, but your sins are forgiven.’ Oh, what a relief that was to hear. I had been so worried about that because I knew that, despite my efforts, I was not even close to being perfect. Now, I realized that I never would be perfect but Jesus offers His righteousness to us, if we are willing to accept it. It is His righteousness that bridges the gap between our sinfulness and the perfection needed for Heaven. Ever since then, I had the confidence of knowing that when I die, I will spend eternity in Heaven.”
As a child, Judy loved books, and as soon as she was eligible to become a library helper in fifth grade, she signed up for that privilege. Not only did she love to read, but it was during this time that she knew that she also wanted to write her own books. That desire was put on the back burner over the next few years and did not resurface until 2011 when she took a sabbatical from work, with the intention of beginning her writing journey. As circumstances would have it, life took another turn, but God still had a plan. Although the 2020 Covid pandemic proved to be life changing in many disastrous ways for millions of people, it was because of Judy’s furlough from work that her dream of writing her first book came to fruition. Her desire to write about the girls in Chelan, Washington became her first book entitled “Summer Entanglements”. She stated that as she sat down to write, the words just flowed, and one book led to a series of books called “The Guesthouse Girls”. Judy went on to say that the success she had with the fiction books just might give her the courage to venture into some non-fiction books in the future.
After writing a few books and learning a bit about the process, Judy realized that she didn’t want to go through the discouraging process of being turned down by dozens of publishers before finding one who was willing to take a chance on an unknown author. This led to her “jumping into the self-publishing world with both feet”. She stated that she did her share of researching the topic by being part of a number of online author forums; the crowd-sourced wisdom proved to be a valuable resource. Judy states, “We learn from other’s mistakes and successes. One tip I can give someone who is planning to self-publish their book is to find a good editor. Even if you feel that your punctuation and syntax skills are above reproach, you will still benefit from an editor who has experience helping authors develop their stories.” Judy details this and much more in her blog at www.mauishorespublishing.com.
Judy states that “The Guesthouse Girls” are somewhat different from many other books for young girls because there are four main characters, and most girls will be able to find a favorite character among the four Guesthouse Girls. The Guesthouse Girls are more innocent than many teen girls in high school these days, but this was by Judy’s design so that these books can be a positive, carefree escape, based on a fun contemporary setting. Judy wanted the truths from God’s Word to be woven throughout the experiences the characters go through. She wanted young girls to learn that they should pray in all things: when their back is up against the wall, when they are faced with a hard decision, or when they have a big win. “It is always the right time to talk with God”, Judy stated. The readers of Judy’s books will learn about forgiveness, both the forgiveness that God offers us and the forgiveness that we benefit from when we offer it to others. “So many lessons, so little time”, she stated.
When asked about her writing process, Judy shared that she had been fortunate to have not yet experienced writers’ block, as some authors are plagued with from time to time. Her only frustration was that the steep learning curve of the self-publishing and marketing processes has kept her so busy that she doesn’t feel that she can write as quickly as she did when she first began her books. Judy relayed that the stories in her books “just came to her”. She went on to say that a lot of the scenarios and emotions that the characters experienced were things she had lived through herself in her teen and young adult years, especially in the workplace. She stated that sometimes while writing she has no idea what will happen next; “I just start typing and pretty soon there is a cool new chapter. I think the Lord just gives me ideas and words to help me write my stories.”
Judy also states, “I did not consciously create my characters, they just came to me in fully-developed form, like imaginary friends. It’s like they are real people, with built-in strengths, weaknesses, and preferences, even though none of them are based on anyone I know. I love these characters and it was fun to get to know them and introduce them to my readers in the first three books. It is also really fun to dig deeper into each girl when she returns to her hometown, as we get to do in the upcoming Autumn collection.”
Judy’s goal for the remainder of this year and into 2021 is to release a new book each month to keep the momentum going. She wants to follow the girls through their junior and senior years and possibly on into college. She stated that things will happen in each of the girls’ lives that will challenge them, such as letdowns, scary scenarios, and danger. The main focus of these delightful stories is that God will be with the girls in every possible situation.
Judy Ann Koglin is a fresh new face in the young adult fiction world and offers a Godly perspective to her stories of the lives of four young teenage girls. If you have a preteen or teenage girl in your life and need another gift to put under the Christmas tree, you can’t go wrong with “Summer Entanglements” and “The Guesthouse Girls”.
Get to know Judy through social media at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theguesthousegirlsbooks,
Instagram: @judyannkoglin_author
@mauishorespublishing
Blog: www.mauishorespublishing.com
