The Story Behind Serah and the First Christmas with Tama Fortner

What is your therefore factor in your writing? Today’s guest shares the story behind her book and tips to empower your writing.

Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I’m your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. I’m so glad you’re listening in. During this episode, you’ll learn the story behind Serah and the First Christmas

Today’s guest, Tama Fortner, is an ECPA award-winning author of more than sixty titles, including her latest, Serah and the First Christmas (Zonderkidz, 2026). She has collaborated with leading voices in Christian publishing to create inspirational books for all ages and lives near Nashville with her husband and two feisty pups who are convinced they’re people too.

Tama, please share the story behind Serah and the First Christmas.

1. What was the inspiration for Serah and her story? How do the biblical stories of Rachel and Rebekah factor into both the inspiration and the plot of the story? 
 
 2. Why does Serah feel invisible? How is feeling invisible a universal feeling? How does Jesus rescue us from invisibility?
 
 3. What is the “therefore” factor? How should it affect our approach to the stories of the Bible, as both believers and as writers?
 
 4. When we struggle with feeling invisible ourselves, as writers, what hope can we take from Serah’s story? 

Tips for Writers:

1. Turn off the noise. Allow time and space for stillness. It’s in the stillness that God speaks and creativity blooms.
 
 2. Don’t be afraid to write ugly. The best writing happens in the rewriting and editing process.
 
 3. Embrace the power of the question “What if?” and ask it often! (What if lots of women were shepherds in Bible times, not just Rachel and Rebekah? What if a little girl wanted to be a shepherd so that she didn’t feel so invisible? What if she snuck out to the fields one night and heard the angels’ message about Jesus? What if she found not only Jesus that night but discovered a whole new way to live?) 

What will the listeners gain from your book? My hope and prayer is that readers (and writers reading the book) will remember that not only are we and our efforts never invisible to God, but we also have the joy of seeing others and helping them know that they, too, are never invisible to God.

 Listener giveaway…https://www.tamafortner.com/freebies

Serah and the First Christmas. Available wherever books are sold or at https://www.zonderkidz.com/book/9780310167907/serah-and-the-first-christmas/ 

You can find out more below.

https://www.zonderkidz.com/book/9780310167907/serah-and-the-first-christmas/
https://www.tamafortner.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TamaFortnerBooks/
https://www.instagram.com/tamafortnerbooks/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamafortner/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tama-fortner
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/589006.Tama_Fortner
https://www.tiktok.com/@tamafortnerbooks

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