Meet Donna Vanliere

We recently connected with Donna Vanliere and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Donna with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

Both of my parents grew up on farms in east Tennessee in the thirties/forties. My mom was up early to take care of the cows before eating breakfast and then walking to school. Once each of my parents were home from school, there was more work to do on the farm before dinner. That work ethic carried over into their married life, where each of them worked a full day (my dad worked at a steel mill his entire life and my mom cleaned houses) and then came home and continued to work in the garden they planted each summer, or mowing the lawn, trimming hedges, pulling weeds out of the landscaping, cleaning the house, cooking, canning, changing the oil in the cars, plowing the driveway in winter, shoveling snow from the doorways, and everything else that keeps a home running. It was well after the last dish was put away after dinner that my mom finally sat down and picked up the newspaper or a magazine. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop,” she’d say. “That’s what our teachers always taught us in school!” So, early on I learned that the work day doesn’t end when you come home from work. There is still so much more to do, especially if you have children. When my children were young, I would spend my days writing while they were at school, but I’d stop writing within an hour of them being home so that I could start making dinner. We made the house dirty so we would clean it together. I taught all of my kids how to do their laundry and they started doing their own when they were young. My husband and I have painted every room in the house, we have laid hardwood floors, hung blinds and curtains, planted shrubs and trees, mowed the lawn, cleaned windows, and I pull weeds every time I see new ones springing up. We’ve never hired help, except for the occasional babysitter when our kids were little because Troy and I both believe that if we can do the work then we will do the work!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I studied broadcasting and theater in college and did both on a local level for a while but have worked as an author and speaker for the last 25 years. I wrote a novel called The Christmas Shoes, which was picked up by CBS television as a made-for-TV movie and starring Rob Lowe. Some other novels following that were also picked up as movies including, The Christmas Blessing starring Neil Patrick Harris and The Christmas Note starring Jamie-Lynn Sigler. I love to write stories and was blessed to write the biography of Rick Husband, Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia with his wife Evelyn. Bringing the story of Rick’s life onto the pages of High Calling was a great honor for me. He was a hero but if anyone would ask him what was the greatest part of his life he would have said his love for God and family before space exploration. His story was far greater than space. Those are the most interesting stories to tell…the ones that go far beyond what we simply know of someone. We are all so much more than an astronaut or teacher or sales representative or author. When I speak in front of groups, I love to include stories because it is often a story that will make someone sit up straighter and pay attention because we often find ourselves in the story of someone else. We are really more connected than we often think. I recently finished the second manuscript on a tw0-book series. The first to come out in September ’25 is called Looking for Christmas: a Search for the Joy and Hope of the Nativity and I look at the stories of the people and places and things of the Nativity story. Why was Jesus, the King of kings born in a stable? Why would angels announce His birth to shepherds, who were on the low rung of society instead of announcing it to kings or queens or the upper echelon of the day? Why in the world would learned men from the east look up at a star and follow it? These are all great stories that speak into the story of our own lives and I wanted to flesh them out for the book. I did a limited podcast called Things Are Looking Up a few years ago for a trilogy of books I had written at that time beginning with The Time of Jacob’s Trouble and will do another limited podcast for Looking for Christmas. People are often in need of hope at Christmas time and I’d love for the Looking For Christmas podcast to offer hope during a season when many people are struggling. A few months following Looking for Christmas, the second book called Looking for God: a Search for Real Love in an Unreal World will be released. Again, I’ll take a look at how this beautiful love story touches each of our own stories and how our story comes to life within it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I have always loved to read and I believe that has helped me most as an author. Without realizing it, I was learning about writing without ever reading a book about how to write. I just simply read. I had an active imagination as a child and so it was an easy transition into theater, which ultimately helped me develop scenes as I was writing. I could hear the dialogue in my head and flesh out characters. That background was a tremendous benefit for writing. I’m also a good listener (I’d much rather listen to your story than talk about myself) and I have always found myself listening for stories. I can be in a coffee shop or grocery store and listen to how one spouse will talk to the other or how a mom interacts with her kids. I listen for the tone or inflection of their voices, watch their body language, or pick up on mannerisms. These three areas have helped me the most as a writer. Whenever anyone asks me about how to write a book I respond by saying, “Find the books you most love to read and keep reading.” If someone has an idea for a book I suggest writing an outline to help keep them on track. It doesn’t mean the writer won’t veer from it (as our maps app will often take us off course) but they’ll soon get back on course because the outline is the guide.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder where my brain sends wrong signals to my muscles, particularly in my neck, which ultimately affects my back and shoulders. I actually can’t sit at a computer and use the keyboard in the traditional way because it locks up my neck and back in pain. At the time of my diagnosis, my head was completely locked over my right shoulder. I couldn’t walk to the end of the driveway for the mail or push a grocery cart without extreme pain. I was told that I would have to have injections every three months for the rest of my life. I went through one series of shots but as the doctor was about to give me the sixth one in my neck, I started to pass out. When I came to, the doctor said, “Don’t forget to make your appointment for your next round of shots.” I didn’t even have to think about it; I knew I would not be doing that for the rest of my life. A few months into the diagnosis I decided to pray and fast (eating only fruits and vegetable) that my head would return to its normal position and that the pain would be broken. On day 32 I got up and my head was straight. I still deal with pain from time to time but I eat a mostly anti-inflammatory diet, I go to stretching classes, I usually stand and use voice dictation instead of the keyboard to write, and I still fast from time to time and continue to pray. My complete healing for this disorder is coming and it will either be here on Earth or in Heaven. In the meantime, I keep praying, writing and moving forward!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.donnavanliere.com
• Facebook: Donna VanLiere

Image Credits

Troy VanLiere (photo)