Kate Battistelli is all that she writes about, a spiritual woman with a kind heart and purpose to uplift everyone she meets. And she is proof that God can and will use anyone if they’re willing to be used. She’s the author of the bestseller, The God Dare: Will You Choose to Believe the Impossible and Growing Great Kids: Partner with God to Cultivate His Purpose in Your Child’s Life.

Kate also is a multi-talented lady. Best-selling author, speaker, the third member of the popular “Mom to Mom Podcast,” entrepreneur, an actress on Broadway, understudy to starring as Anna in the Broadway National Tour of The King and I opposite Yul Brynner for more than 1,000 performances. And yes, she’s the mother to GRAMMY award winning artist Francesca Battistelli. But most important of all she is a wife, mother, grandmother and friend. And Books Uplift readers are no doubt as thrilled as I am that she was kind enough to share more of her story and life as an author.

You are an author, but is it your day job? Actually, I’m an accidental author! Never in a million years did I think I would write one book, let alone two! But God had a different plan and when He dared me to step out and write my first book back in 2011, I found the courage to do it, got the help I needed, found a publisher and got it published. It made no sense at the time, but it worked. Now, I spend a lot of time writing but I’m also a podcaster. I’m one third of the popular Mom to Mom Podcast, and I’m a grandmother to five grandchildren, ages ten to ten months.

Did you always want to be an author? No! I always loved writing and I did well in English classes in High School and I’ve always journaled, but I never dreamed I’d be an author. In my brain I thought you had to be an English major with a college degree to be an author. I went to four colleges in two years and didn’t graduate from any of them, although I did get on the Dean’s List! Back in those days, I didn’t really want to be in college. I wanted to be a Broadway star, so I ended up moving to New York to pursue a career in musical theatre. I ended up starring opposite Yul Brynner for three years in The King and I on national tour where I met my husband. I pursued theatre for a while until I met the Lord and He made it clear He had a very different path for me and my husband.

What is your most recent book and what inspired you to write it? My most recent book is The God Dare: Will You Choose to Believe the Impossible. It’s all about those crazy dreams and ideas God drops in your spirit that you know are too big for you, dreams that will cause you to come way out of your comfort zone. We keep our dreams locked away but what if we said “yes”? I’m convinced God has a secret, wild, preposterous, impossible dream just for you because I’ve learned that with God anything is possible. My goal is to see men and women become all God created them to be because I truly believe each of us is here to change the world. None of us are here by accident!

How do you hope your book uplifts those who read it? I hope it reminds them that they are here for a reason. A God Dare is simple. It’s God’s yes, His gigantic smile and nod of the head, His holy high five beckoning you to believe, begging you to take Him at His Word, to once and for all let go of fear, doubt, guilt, and pride and say yes to His yes! It’s God’s offer to each of us to choose to be chosen–to say yes to His magnificent plan for your life! Your part is to trust Him and to step into the unknown place He’s been asking you to consider for some time…maybe years…

What are you most excited about with this book? I’m thrilled that lots of people are reading it, it’s in its second printing, and many are using it for Bible study. The book has memoir and Bible teaching together—I connect each chapter to fourteen different Bible heroes and the different ways God dared them. Each chapter ends with God Dare Secrets, Scriptures to Think About, and Discussion Questions the reader can use to go deeper into the Word.

How did writing a book help your career take off? It’s helped in the Christian writing community to bring a bit more notoriety and also helped me to build a bigger platform on social media. I love how writers support other writers. There’s a wonderful community, especially among women writers, in the Christian non-fiction writing world.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to succeed in your professional industry? Write. Write all the time. Get on social media and start building a platform. Publishers look at numbers, it’s simply part of life and they want to know how many followers you have and how many books you can sell. Also, go to writer’s conferences and network and meet other writers. Join writing groups. So much of the world is about connections and who you know. Also, be patient. The writing journey takes time. Don’t be in a rush.

How do you handle setbacks and criticism? They’re part of life. For writers, rejection is part and parcel of the deal. You’ll be rejected by agents and publishers so expect it. It’s just how it is. Every single one of us has dealt with it so if you know that the greatest writers have experienced it, it won’t hurt as much. Don’t take it to heart but try to learn from it. Keep working and learning and improving. Read all kinds of different writers and keep writing.

How do you hold yourself accountable and achieve the goals that you set forth? Keep going and working hard. I’m at the point where I have a literary agent and she keeps me in line. She and I set goals and I have to meet them. And once you get a book deal, you are under a strict timeline to get your book done. I’m pretty strict with myself in general so, it’s not hard for me to stay on task.

How do you structure your day and make time for writing? I don’t write all day, I’m not that kind of writer and there are days I don’t write at all but when I write I’ll write for a few hours. I try to set a word count or a chapter amount and get it done. I’m a list maker so, if it’s on my list it will get done!

What do you find most fulfilling in the career that you’ve chosen? I love that my words are having an impact. It’s gratifying to have someone contact me and share what my book has meant to them. I love when they tell me it has motivated them to take their own God Dare!

What book uplifts you? Honestly, more than anything, the Bible. I start every single day with it! I can’t imagine not being able to read and study every day.

Anything else you’d like to share with your readers? If you listen to Christian contemporary music, you might have heard of my daughter, Francesca Battistelli. She’s an amazing young woman who has had a remarkable music career and has given us five incredible grandchildren! I’ve been married to my husband, Mike, for 37 years and he’s an awesome husband, father, and grandfather! We live in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville.

Reach out to Kate and be inspired by all that she is doing to make a positive impact in people’s lives. You can learn more, get her book and follow her social media at www.KateBattistelli.com.

Images Courtesy of Kate Battistelli