Interview with Dawn V. Cahill

By Priscilla Bettis
It’s Priscilla with you today. I am interviewing author Dawn V. Cahill. As you’ll see, Dawn
is a brave writer who’s not afraid to incorporate contemporary hot topics in her fiction.

INTERVIEW:
Priscilla: Welcome to Brave Authors, Dawn! Do you consider yourself brave, why or why
not?

Dawn: I am not at all brave, which is why I chose to write under a pen name when I
embarked on this writing journey. Because no matter how tactfully or sensitively an
author might handle a “hot topic,” there will always be someone who wouldn’t hesitate to
throw eggs at their house!

Priscilla: Probably true! In your Golden State Trilogy, you tackle such issues as the
fentanyl crisis, LGBT relationships, dysfunctional churches, unwanted pregnancies …
and more! What compelled you to write about such topics?

Dawn: I started the Hot Topic fiction series because there was very little Christian
Fiction that dealt with these topics. But I had a burning question on my heart that I
couldn’t find answers to in the mainstream CF market: How does God want His
followers to navigate these new issues that didn’t exist thirty years ago? I felt the Lord
was telling me to go ahead and be that author. I simply let my Christian characters tell
their stories as they faced tough, real-life situations so common in this world. How do
we be Jesus to our gay sons and daughters? How do we trust God after our son is
caught in the crossfire of a school shooting? How do we reach out to the homeless folks
on the corner without enabling their addictions? If you live in a big, godless city like I do,
these are questions that sooner or later you may have to answer.

Priscilla: In Paint the Sunset (the third book in the Golden State Trilogy), Myla steals the
scenes she’s in. She’s one of my favorite characters in the whole series. Myla is
Mercurial, scared, full of bravado, and a drug addict, and she lives in a homeless camp
on the sidewalks of Sausalito. What kind of research did you do to create her character?

Dawn: I have joined in homeless outreach ministries in the past and have personally
met Mylas. I also know what it’s like to be addicted, to experience those gnawing
cravings Myla experienced, since I myself recovered from alcohol addiction many years
ago. The cravings are so intense, the addict will do ANYTHING to satisfy them. I also

researched the current laws and policies in my community and state, and in the setting
where the book takes place–Marin County, California.

Priscilla: I thank God you are recovered! How have your readers reacted to Myla, your
other characters, and their real-world stories?

Dawn: Thankfully, mostly positive. I was determined to put out a story as well-written as
possible, knowing the risks are huge, and even more so if the story isn’t written well. A
common theme among reviewers seems to be the reader can’t tell my personal opinion
on the issues, which is what I strive for. As a conservative, Bible-believing Christian, it
would be all too easy to subtly or not so subtly push my own agenda in my fiction. But I
realized that would not build bridges because not everyone who reads my books comes
to them with the same worldview as me. Just like my characters. Just like in real life. I’m
surrounded by neighbors who see life very differently than I do, and in order to reach
them, I have to be able to “speak their language,” so to speak. Like the Apostle Paul
said, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”

Priscilla: You’re a wise woman, Dawn. Okay, solve the age-old argument for us, waffles
or pancakes?

Dawn: IHOP’s buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup! But I’ll eat a waffle if it’s offered.

Priscilla: The book covers for your Golden State Trilogy are beautiful. Who’s
responsible?

Dawn: My cover designer is Dineen Miller, but unfortunately she is retiring her design
business to focus on writing. I agree, she’s very talented, and she will be missed!

Priscilla: Is there anything you wanted me to ask, but I didn’t?

Dawn: My favorite dessert? Dutch apple pie!

PRISCILLA’S REVIEW OF PAINT THE STORM BY DAWN V. CAHILL:
Paint the Storm is a contemporary Christian novel with a bit of a mystery and a lot of contemporary
hot-topics, mainly mothering a gay child.
Meg is a middle-aged divorcee. She’s a mom and lives on the California coast. Linzee, Meg’s
lesbian daughter, has moved in with her girlfriend. Meg doesn’t understand what went wrong
because she raised Linzee in the church.

An anonymous person starts harassing Linzee, but who is it … a person from Linzee’s past,
someone from the hate-filled church downtown, or is it someone closer to home? When the
harassment escalates and the police are stymied, Meg, Linzee, and Linzee’s girlfriend try to solve
the mystery. Their investigation is bolstered by prayers from Meg’s Christian support group.
Meg is not very good at reading people’s intentions, and it gets her into trouble. Cahill gives the
reader red flags that Meg misses. It just ups the tension because when you’re reading you know
there will be a shoe to fall or a tragedy to occur, and Meg will certainly be affected.
The mystery is fantastic. I thought I knew who the bad guy(s) was(were), but I was SO wrong, LOL.
Cahill addresses themes of Christian parenting, loving those who believe differently, and the power
of prayer. It all comes together for an eye-opening, encouraging read.
Paint the Storm is a thought-provoking, entertaining book in a thought-provoking, entertaining series!
Paint the Storm is available on Amazon.

AUTHOR BIO:
Author Dawn V. Cahill writes “Stories of Victorious Faith for the 21st Century,” nearly
always with a crossword puzzle, sudoku, or dark chocolate nearby. “The characters in my
stories face situations that would have been unthinkable even 20 years ago. We live in a
vastly different world than our parents did, and that’s the world I write about.”
Seeing an unfilled niche in the Christian market for edgier fiction, Ms Cahill created Hot
Topic Fiction (HTF). HTF isn’t afraid to explore the question, how does God want us
Christians to live out our faith in this not-so-brave new world? Without insulting the reader
by offering pat or easy answers–because there aren’t any–HTF tells stories of ordinary
Christians following hard after Christ in an upside-down world.
Cahill has written several newspaper articles, six Christian contemporary novels, and more
limericks than she can count. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers
(ACFW).
Email Ms Cahill at dawn@dawnvcahill.com, or find her on Facebook or at
dawnvcahill.com.