Freedom vs. Comfort, Purpose in Life’s Detours, and Pie Matchmaking with author Tabitha Caplinger

Episode Transcript:

Introduction

CJ Milacci

Welcome, my friend. You are listening to Read Clean YA with CJ, the podcast for teens and young adults who want to explore exciting worlds, deep themes, and epic stories without the objectionable content. I’m your host, award-winning young adult author, CJ Milacci, and in this episode, we are going to dive into an author interview with young adult author Tabitha Caplinger.

Tabitha Caplinger gets way too emotionally invested in the lives of fictional characters, whether it’s obsessing over a book or TV show or getting lost creating her own worlds. Tabitha is the author of the Chronicle of the Three Trilogy, The Wolf Queen, and most recently, The Wayward. She is a lover of good stories and helping others live chosen. When she’s not writing book words, she’s reheating her coffee, binging a new show or teaching God’s word to students. Tabitha, her husband and two beautifully sassy daughters desire to be Jesus with skin on for those around them. They live to love others and for Marvel movies.

Tabitha, welcome to the show and what a fun bio.

Tabitha Caplinger

Thank you. I’m so excited to be here and yeah I appreciate that you find it fun. Writing author bios is like really hard. I would rather write a whole book than try and summarize things in like those one paragraphs and try to find the fun things that speak to who I am as well as books and so yeah that was probably like several drafts to get it but it’s true it’s all true.

CJ Milacci

I love it. It turned out great. I think it’s fabulous. Yes, it’s so great. And sassy daughters make life fun, I’m sure.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yes, I mean they come by it naturally. It’s genetic and so sometimes I’m paying for my own attitude coming back at me, but it’s great and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

CJ Milacci

So today I’m excited because we’re going to be talking about your newest book, The Wayward. So if you could just share a little bit about the story, that would be fabulous.

Tabitha Caplinger

So the wayward is kind of my readers, my arc readers early on dubbed it cottagecore sci-fi, which I loved and I would have never come up with that on my own, but when you read it, it makes sense. Just saying cottagecore sci-fi, I feel like it’s like, really? That’s not a thing. And it’s like, but I made it a thing. And it makes sense when you read this story.

It’s the story of basically Wilder and Declan who live in this mountain community removed from the dome cities of a future earth that are ruled by the Nicanians who humanity refers to as the bringers of peace and somewhere along the line they, after some tragedy and some drama, they find out that the bringers of peace may not exactly be who the world has thought they are and they have to decide whether they will continue to just live in the safety of their little community or if they will reveal the truth that hopefully will bring freedom.

CJ Milacci

Wow, I am so intrigued by this story. It’s moved very high on my to be read list. And I just love all the different elements that you’ve even touched on in your description. And I can’t wait to talk more about it.

Can you share a little bit about the book and where this story idea came from?

What is The Wayward About?

Tabitha Caplinger

It’s always interesting, my story ideas usually start with one really quick line, a quick glimpse of something that gets me asking  questions. A fun one is always my other book, The Wolf Queen. That idea sparked because my youngest daughter was like five at the time and put her little wolf stuffed animal on her head and said, Look, mommy, I’m the wolf queen. And then from there, that sparked a whole book.

And so for The Wayward, it was really kind of I feel like I was driving in my car and I got an idea for one line. And there’s a part in the book where, and I’m going to paraphrase it now because I feel like I like what did I write? I don’t know. But the line was basically about how they say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. But it’s funny what makes the highlight real.

And so that’s what kind of started the idea for this story was that line and thinking about, okay, well, who’s dying? Whose life is flashing before their eyes and what are the memories that would make the highlight real? And so actually the first character that I kind of came up with was Declan, who is one of the main characters, but in a lot of ways is more secondary to Wilder. But discovering Declan through that moment is what led to discovering Wilder and then…

I, anything that keeps me asking questions, okay, who are these people? Where do they live? What’s their story? What’s happening? And, and that led to aliens and domed cities. But it started with just that one line.

CJ Milacci

Oh, I love it. And what a fascinating line, because it just sparks your imagination. Like, oh, what makes the highlight real? I love that.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah, what? When your life flashes before your eyes, what are the memories that would stick and would pop up in that moment? And really that scene that’s not like the beginning of the book, that’s like in the middle of the book somewhere, but is one of my favorite scenes in the book.

CJ Milacci

So the seed of the idea that birthed this whole story was a line. It’s fantastic. So.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah. And sometimes it’s different. Sometimes it’s a song lyric. Sometimes it’s a random thought. Sometimes it’s a photograph. But yeah, that’s

CJ Milacci

Yeah, that’s so fun. So who do you think would love this story? Readers who like a certain comp title books that are similar to yours. I mean, your initial description was very fun. So I’m sure some readers are already sparking with anticipation here, but yes. But who else do you think, like what do you think would be good comp titles for your book?

Tabitha Caplinger

Wow. I’m sitting here thinking and I’m like, I had to come up with comp titles for this book. And suddenly I don’t remember what any of them are.

CJ Milacci

Another thing could be tropes, or just things that readers enjoy.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah, I think that readers who enjoy dystopian, because in a lot of ways it is a dystopian as well as a sci-fi, but it’s a dystopian from a Christian perspective. So It’s a dystopian that has not lost all hope. And so I think that, you know, readers who maybe kind of enjoy dystopian, but don’t wanna lose kind of the hope and light at the end of the tunnel sort of thing. I think readers who enjoy sci-fi, but maybe sci-fi on the lighter side would enjoy it.

And really, I just think readers who enjoy something that’s kind of character driven and really is about people and how we live life. And there I’m trying to think of tropes that would be in it because I love a good trope and some of my other books I could like fire them off. But this one I think is a little bit more difficult. There’s not some of the there’s not like a love triangle. There’s not a slow burn romance there. There is a little bit of romance. Romance is always a little bit of a secondary theme. And in this book, it’s a very different kind of romance because the characters actually are married. And so, or get married. And so it’s kind of a different perspective on romance there and on relationships. But I think part of it, I write stories that I love.

And so what I love about this is that it’s dystopian with hope. I love that it’s got a future earth with this mix of very vintage old world living in Wilder and Declan’s community and then very futuristic, um, utilitarian living in the Nikkanian Dome cities. And so that is something that would draw me to a story is just kind of this contrast of worlds.

And really just if you enjoy a story that’s about characters and what they’re dealing with and how they navigate just some of maybe the hard decisions in life and some of the harder things, then it makes it sound really fun. There’s some fun sassy witty stuff in there, but this is probably my most like, out of all my books, this is probably the one that is the most serious in tone. And so other books have a lot more banter, a lot more fluff and fun. And this one is a little bit more intense emotionally, but I think it balances well with hope and faith.

CJ Milacci

I love that. I write dystopian with hope as well. That’s like my favorite genre to kind of play in because I think it’s so often dystopian without hope because, you know, that’s what we see. But I love, I love that futuristic world and all the what-ifs that come with it and then weaving hope into that mix. I think that’s so important and how many people live in this world and feel like it’s a dystopian world already because their lives feel that crazy and need that hope, you know, need to know there can be light at the end of the darkest of days. So I love it and I love a good character-driven story. Speaking of characters, do you have a favorite in your books or this is like picking a favorite child? I know in some ways it’s hard to do but or really love their personality or something.

Tabitha Caplinger

And in other books, well, like I have an urban fantasy trilogy and I could pick a favorite character in that one hands down and have no regrets. I would have people be like, are you really, he’s your favorite character? And be like, I said what I said. It’s him without a doubt. He was the most, I have a character in my trilogy named Lucas and he was my most favorite character to write. And I just adore him. In the wayward, I think… that I really, I really love, I don’t think I had a favorite character. I really loved moments with characters. I loved, there are certain moments between Wilder and Declan that I just really fell in love with.

And then there’s a character, one of the Nicanians, her name is Hesperia. She’s kind of been a fan favorite character because her story arc and just how she grows and changes throughout the book is kind of really cool to watch. And you really, I think, just kind of connect with her and you root for her.

And then I like writing villains. And so I really love the main villain of this story. He’s awful. He is so awful. But there’s something fun about writing those characters and just exploring kind of that darkness and pride and arrogance and how when you do that well, it also shows off the light and the hope on the other side. Like I feel like to really show light versus darkness and to really show hope and to really show that kind of perseverance and heroes, like you have to have a good villain who really helps highlight that. And so I really enjoyed the villain. I say he was awful, but he was kind of, but he was like, he was still fun to write.

CJ Milacci

Yeah, well, it’s kind of fun to get into the head of the villain and think how to why are they the way they are? Why do they do the things they do? How far are they willing to go to hold to these very dark things? And there is something intriguing about watching that and like you said, it gives that stark contrast then to the light and to the hope and to the good things because it’s painted against such a such a black backdrop.

Let’s talk themes: What are some of the themes in The Wayward?

I know we’ve talked before about different themes and stuff in books. And I would love to hear some of the themes you’ve woven into your story.

Tabitha Caplinger

So for the wayward, the main themes that I would point to are this, the idea of truth and freedom and the kind of truth that sets people free and how sometimes that’s a hard, inconvenient, uncomfortable truth. Because there’s a big tension in the book between comfort and freedom because the two are not necessarily synonymous and writing it at a time when our world was kind of like upending in a lot of ways and I feel like we see that play out a lot on social media and we war against it because we all want to be comfortable. And so we will fight for our comfort and think we’re fighting for freedom or we’re fighting for fulfillment and comfort is not the same thing. And so creating this world where humans were very comfortable and they were so comfortable they didn’t realize they were no longer free.

And that was that was probably the biggest thing in my mind writing a story. And I don’t usually sit down and go, well, OK, here are the themes. I just write a story and what comes out. But this one, more than anything, I think very early on in the book, the theme just screamed at me like this is what this story is about. It’s about Wilder and it’s about Declan and it’s about the Nicanians, but it’s about truth and freedom. And and so it was very much at the forefront of my brain in writing it. And what does that look like? And how does that play out? And how do we actually express truth in a way that sets people free? Because you can do it wrong. And it has the opposite of the impact you want it to have. And so it’s like our intentions aren’t enough. Our methodology has to be right too. And so that was a big part of it for me. And then another theme that is most definitely in there, and I feel like it was kind of secondary, and this was one that definitely just kind of, I wrote the story and it was just there, was valuing life and valuing all life. And what is that really look like? What does that really mean? And what are we willing to sacrifice for that? And so that was that was in there.

CJ Milacci

Yeah, I love that. And I think what a powerful thought to even just sit and think about the difference between comfort and freedom. I don’t think that’s something that I’ve ever consciously sat down and thought about. But I love when books even make you think about something in a way you don’t expect to. And I think that’s so cool that your book has that in it essentially get people thinking, not that I’m saying you’re preaching through your story, but at the same time, I think books and stories have, and I’ve said this before on this podcast, have a way of bringing to light truth so that we can hear it. Because sometimes you don’t want to hear freedom and comfort aren’t the same thing.

If we went and posted that on Instagram right now a lot of people would be unhappy. They would not like hearing that. But as you read a story and you watch the reality that these are two very different things for your characters, and you get invested in these characters, and you walk through page after page and see the story unfold and watch that reality become clearer, suddenly that truth starts to sink into our hearts and our minds in a deeper way, which is why I think Jesus used parables so often, right, to show us huge spiritual truths in a story because we don’t always like to hear the huge spiritual truth but a story kind of comes in through the back door and you know teaches us something bigger.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah. I 100% percent agree with that. It’s funny because I think on my web page, I say something very similar because my husband and I have been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years. So that’s part of my heart. And sermons are part of my life. But, and I get asked all the time, well, why do you want to write stories? Like why not write nonfiction? Why not write devotionals? Which I do not wish to write, but one of the reasons, and I wrestled with that early on in my writing career was writing stories instead of writing quote unquote sermons or devotions. And it’s and that thought of Jesus using parables.

And I think that story we let our guard down with a story like you when you go into a sermon, when you go into a lecture, when you go into something like that, I think intentionally or not, we all a little bit have our guard up because we have an expectation of what’s coming at us. And I think with stories we let our guard down and a lot of times we go in solely to maybe have a moment of escape, of entertainment, to kind of get away from stress. And so because we let our guard down, there’s some truths and some things that can get behind our walls that we wouldn’t

Yeah, I mean, it’s because I really agree. Like you could say to someone, well, your comfort is not the same thing as your freedom. And they would bristle up and be like, well, what do you mean? That doesn’t make sense. But then when you paint a picture of it in this story world of, well, here’s the people that are very comfortable. But we would not say they are free and we and they’re and they paid a price for that comfort price wasn’t worth it in the long run. Like in the short term, it seemed like it was because we all, I think, want to be comfortable. There’s this piece of us that wants that. And so we will try and maintain our comfort and pay a cost to maintain our comfort. And in the short term, it feels worth it. But in the long term, we’ll see that it’s not worth it in a lot of ways. And that maybe it was just more palatable.

Maybe it’s because it is coming in the form of these characters that we’re connecting with emotionally or these villains that we’re hating and we love to hate them, you know, that we just kind of, well, it flips a switch and helps us to see it. But that’s one of the reasons that I love telling stories is I think there’s things, I think there’s things that we all share within the human experience and stories help connect us. And I think that’s one of the reasons we let our guard down for a story is because we see the connection we have just as humans and that we all feel the same things sometimes and we all can struggle with very similar things and we’re a lot more alike than we are different. And so it gets us in that space of connecting and empathizing and so we’re more open to learn.

CJ Milacci

Yes, I agree completely. And there’s those stories too, where sometimes, like a truth that we need to hear, and even something like this, where maybe somebody is struggling because they’re comfortable, but there’s a part of them that knows deep inside that they’re not free, that there are something that’s still chained, that’s still broken and totally held captive. And they are at the same time comfortable in their life. And to read then and hear that truth can penetrate. And I’ve had stories where I start crying because it’s exactly the thing I needed to hear in my life.

And that reality kind of can break through and just be like, oh, that’s what I needed right now. And for that person who maybe is starting to just have that little thing, that little thought in the back of their head, like, yeah, I’m comfortable, but I’m still missing something. You know, there’s still more and I know that, but to then walk through your story and discover what that could look like is a powerful, powerful reality. Again, different than me creating a beautiful Instagram graphic or whatever and saying the exact same thing, you know? So, yeah. No, that’s fabulous.

I love what you said to you about how stories can connect us and they do. And I think that’s another reason Jesus used parables because they did that. They crossed barriers. They crossed socioeconomic barriers. They crossed, they crossed different cultures. They cross different all over the world. You can say the same kinds of stories and they resonate with a deeper human experience oftentimes. And there’s something really powerful in that. And I love that we serve a creative God who loves stories and that he can use them to teach us. And he obviously loves stories because the Bible is full of stories.

Tabitha Caplinger

It’s a narrative. Yeah, it’s, you know, the Old Testament is the story of God’s people in quite a bit of it is in narrative form. I think that God is a storyteller and, you know as part of his creator heart and character. And that’s another facet for me, like telling stories is a way to connect with God in worship. And we can’t, because whatever we do creatively is a way that we connect with God because he is a creator. He’s the creator. And so that’s one way we are like him, is a desire to create whatever it is, any form of art or story or music, I mean, anything that we create is a connection to the heart of God. And so it’s been really cool to cease telling a story that way and that first and foremost, I just wanna sit down and write a story because it’s me and Jesus just having a moment. And then, and I think through that, he bleeds through on the pages, even if it’s not overt or…

You know, and that’s important to me and who I am as a Jesus follower. Like he’s I always say that if our life is a pie, Jesus isn’t a slice of the pie, he’s the filling and he flavors everything. So he’s he shows up and I don’t write my stories to be overt or preachy. I just write a story that I love, but he’s going to be there because I love him too. And I think that resonates with people even if they don’t believe because he is truth. And even if you don’t believe that he’s truth, that doesn’t change the fact that he is truth. And so when his truth and when his person shows up and we get even just a tiny glimpse of him through someone’s story, it resonates with us. And that can be so powerful.

CJ Milacci

I totally agree with everything you’re saying. I love that analogy that he’s the filling, not just the slice of the pie. That’s such a great picture. I love it. My dad’s a big pie fan, so whenever it’s a dessert time for him, birthday, father’s day, he wants a pie. Ha ha ha.

Pie Matchmaking

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah. I have a thing for pie, so… In my first trilogy, there’s a line where a character’s like, everybody loves pie. And so they connect over a slice of pie. So that’s kind of become a running gag for me, is everybody loves pie. And I’ll have someone that’s like, no, I don’t really like pie. And I’m like, yeah, you do. Because there’s so many different types of pie in this world that I guarantee you, there is a pie that you like.

You just, there is a pie for you. You maybe just haven’t met it yet or, and, and this might be a controversial topic. I’ve totally gone off on a tangent now, but I submit that cheesecake is in fact a pie because it’s a custard and a crust. So it’s not really a cake, it’s a pie. And so if you like cheesecake, you like pie. I will allow that as an answer in, in the pie category. But I, the number of times that pie comes up in a conversation.

CJ Milacci

Yeah. Like right now, it’s perfect. So if you’re listening and you hate pie, we wanna hear from you so that we can convince you that pie is something that you love.

Tabitha Caplinger

So that we can, and I will find a pie for you. Like I had a friend that she’s like, I don’t like pie. I was like no, and I started asking questions. Like I’m trying to match her. Like I’m a pie matchmaker and I’m like, well, do you like chocolate chip cookies? And she’s like, yeah, I love them. I was like, do you love it when they’re like warm and gooey straight out of the oven? She’s like, yes, I’m like Nestle Toll House pie. Like it’s a giant chocolate chip cookie and a crust. Like, how do you not like that? It’s.

CJ Milacci

I love it.

If you’re looking for your pie match, you have to go to Tabitha’s website, contact her and you are going to find. Yes.

Tabitha Caplinger

Yeah. Send me a message on Instagram. I will walk you, I will walk you down that road. We will find a pie for you. Hmm.

CJ Milacci

Journey to your favorite pie. I love it.

What started Tabitha Caplinger on her Author Journey?

So as we kind of come to nearing the end here, I would just love to hear a little bit about you and what started you on your author journey and why. I mean, we’ve talked a little bit about why you write and why you love to write, but I would love to hear what was that sort of catalyst moment that sent you on this road to being an author?

Tabitha Caplinger

That is always an interesting story. So I, again, I am a pastor. I’ve been in ministry for 20 years. We, well, for over 20 years, we did youth ministry for 20 years. And so students and teenagers were my thing for 20 years. That’s who I did life with and ministered to. And we, my husband, I just recently transitioned out of youth ministry into some other things and now we lead the young adult ministry at our church. So, but, and so really for a long time, like I said, I’ve been doing that for over 20 years. I’m a pastor’s kid, but, and I’ve only been writing stories for 10 years.

But kind of, I feel like God took me on a weird journey to get there. I have always loved stories. I have always had a very vivid imagination. I feel like even as a small child, I always had a story going on in my head. I was like imagining things, like building forts in the woods.

There’s always there was with the story there was always a story in my head and it was always like weird It couldn’t be like just normal. It’s like if we’re built it was we’re not building a fort in the woods we are it’s a base camp on another planet and Because I had to be like extra about it, but that was always going on in my head, but I never really considered writing as what I wanted to do for a career. I don’t think I made that connection. I also loved horses, so really early on, I wanted to maybe be an equine vet. And then, and really that was my plan for a really long time. And I can’t tell you what changed it. I cannot tell, I cannot pinpoint a moment where I got a different idea. I’m sure that one happened, but I don’t know what it was. I graduated from high school.

I went to college, I took a semester off, but then I went to college for a couple semesters. I went to Sweetbriar College in Virginia and I love that school. It’s like the most beautiful campus ever and it’s an all girls school and it’s filled with lots of tradition and beauty and it was just a beautiful place to be for that time of my life. And

I started a semester late and so I went in and somewhere during that semester off between graduating high school and going, something changed from being like a veterinarian, and I thank God for that because I could not handle being a veterinarian and he knew, to wanting to study journalism or photojournalism.

Again, I don’t know why. I don’t know where. I probably saw some movie and was like, that looks cool. But I got to the school and they didn’t really have a journalism major, because it’s a smaller college. And at least they didn’t have one at the time. This was a long time ago. And all the photography classes were full. So I’m like, what do I do? I know they want me to declare a major and I got to pick classes. And that’s what I thought I was going to do. And those classes either don’t exist or are full. And so creative writing was an option. I was like, well, that feels, it’s writing. And so if I wanna do journalism, writing is writing. I’ll just take a bunch of writing classes. That was literally my thought process. I realize now that make, like that’s not, that’s not really how things work. But at the time in my like, yeah, in my like 18 year old brain, it was like, sure, why not?

Like, let’s just do this. And so for the two semesters I was there, I took creative writing classes and most of my classes were writing classes because I had already exempted out of some of the other gen ed courses aside from like physics and fencing, which still plays in because I write about sword fights. I took novel writing and I took poetry writing and I took composition and I just took a bunch of writing classes. My professors for those classes were poets and New York Times bestselling authors.

My faculty advisor was a New York Times bestselling author and married to my other professors, John and Carrie Brown, who I absolutely loved her. I was so thankful for them. And for a lot of Carrie’s classes, we would just sit in the reading room of the library, which was this big like library room with a fireplace and sofas. And she would make hot cocoa and tea and have cookies. And we would talk about what we wrote. And we would just sit around and read each other’s writing and talk about it. And it was wonderful. And so I took all of those classes and thinking still not thinking that I’m going to like write stories. I mean, I loved it. And I think I fell more in love with writing at that time at Sweetbriar. And then God really started working in my heart about ministry and pastoral ministry. So I left Sweetbriar to do Bible college.

And it took 10 years to actually sit down and write a story. A lot of it was wrestling with the fact that can a pastor write the kind of stories I want to write. I felt like there was this expectation that pastors write nonfiction, which feels stupid, but it was very much in my brain that if you’re gonna spend time writing, it needs to be this. And it was like, it took time for me to connect that stories could be ministry, and stories could be part of that, and they could all those parts of my life could thread together. I didn’t quite get that. And we were doing full-time ministry and I was having babies. And so I just put writing on the back burner.

God doesn’t waste anything

And then like I said, probably about 10, it’s probably more than 10 years ago now, probably it’s actually like 12, 13 years ago now is when I got the idea for my first book and started writing it and wrestled with God the whole way through. And so that’s a really long answer as to how I started writing or why I started writing, but that’s it was this really weird kind of curvy road that God took me on to get there. But the funny part about it was probably about my third book I was having a crisis of imposter syndrome I should not be doing this. Like there, I am not great. Like am I even good at this? You know, you just have that moment where you just doubt everything you’ve ever done in life and you question all of your choices. And like, should I keep writing? Is this worth it? You know, there’s people that are so much better than me. And one of the thoughts that kept coming to my head is, like there’s so many of these writers that you look up to, like this is what they studied in college and they took writing courses and they have degrees and they took all of these classes to learn their craft and you didn’t do any of that. Like, so who do you think you are that you get, you can write a book when you haven’t studied this? And that was the thought that the intrusive thought that kept, I kept battling with.

And then one day I was praying and the Holy Spirit was like, but you did take all those classes. And I was like, you know what I did? You’re right. I kind of like, it was, I was so far, my writing was so far removed from those semesters at Sweetbriar that like I forgot. And the cool part about that is when I left Sweetbriar to go to Bible college, I felt like I had wasted God’s time.

I felt like I was never supposed to go there. I felt like, you know, I was behind the game on, you know, my Bible college stuff and that it had all been like this waste. And in that moment when God was like, but you did take all those classes and I was getting ready to publish my third book, it was like that moment where God was like, because I redeem all things and I use all things and that thing that you thought was a mistake and was just a waste, I knew all along was gonna end up right here. And so it wasn’t a waste and it wasn’t a mistake and that was just a really cool, that was a sidebar but that was a really cool moment for me.

CJ Milacci

Yeah, I love that. I think that’s especially for teens and young adults in that stage of life right now where they’re trying to figure things out.

And honestly, it’s really hard when you’re 17, 18, 19, to figure out what to do with your life. And you’re gonna change your mind, and God’s gonna lead in different ways. But that reality that nothing is wasted in his hands. And even like, he’s always looking to make us into the image of Christ, right? More so than have us do great things for him. He wants us to know him first and foremost, and make us more like him, so that we can be more fulfilled as we walk in the things he has for us. And I love how he led you on what you thought was a detour, but it was his plan and his training the whole time. And I think especially for young people who feel discouraged because they do feel God calling them into another route right now than maybe what they are doing, just know that like nothing is wasted with him. And the relationships you have, the people whose lives you impact and whose lives impact you and the things you learn in those seasons, in God’s hands, they’re never wasted, even when it feels like it was a detour, you know.

Tabitha Caplinger

For sure.

Absolutely. Yeah. And 19, 20 year old me leaving Sweetbriar to go to do Bible college and work in ministry couldn’t see that.

Because at that time, I felt like I was trading one for another. Like, I’m leaving this writing thing behind, and I’m doing something else. God wants me to do something else. And I felt like I had missed God.

Because we get so singularly focused. And I think because there’s this narrative that at 18 years old, you have to know what you want to do with your life. And after 20 years in youth ministry, I hate that. And I think we should stop asking 18 year olds to have their entire life figured out in college majors. Like, it’s so, like some do, some know, some just know what they want to do. And that’s wonderful. Like go you, but a lot don’t know. And there’s this immense pressure to make these choices at 18, 19 years old that are really for your whole life because they’re gonna cost a lot of money. And so to feel like you need to change plans. And like I said, for me, it wasn’t so much just changing a major, it was like leaving a school to go do something totally different. And so I couldn’t see then what I look back and can see now how God was going, you know, I’m gonna redeem this time. It’s not a waste. Like you’re gonna use this, you don’t know it yet. You can’t see it yet, but it’ll get used. And, and too, like you said, the people, there were so many people and relationships I had at that time that I know were worthwhile. And sometimes that’s the thing too, like the people are always worth it.

The people that you can impact, the people that you can share Jesus with are always worth it. It’s never wasted when we can love on someone and show them the love of God and be Jesus with skin on for someone else. But it can be really hard to feel that way in the moment. And so it was just it was that really cool thing. And so I think.

And I think that was part of it too, is going down that whole road so I could have that perspective of things too and be able to share that. And now it’s weird because now I can’t imagine not writing stories. I can’t imagine just that not being part of my life. And I think it was always part of who I was. I just was putting the pieces together and I didn’t have them put together yet.

I still don’t feel like I have them put together. There’s other pieces. Yeah.

CJ Milacci

Yeah, I know. I think once we think we have it put together, then we’re in trouble because we need to not feel like we have it put together. So when we get to that blank page or to that thing in our lives that we know God set before us, we need to reach out for him and be like, God, without you, without your spirit at work in me, I cannot do this thing. And I know that when I feel like I’ve got it all together, I’m usually about to fall flat on my face. So.

Tabitha Caplinger

Well, and I was also the person, both my husband and I were also the people like, we’re gonna be youth pastors until we’re 80 years old. Like, we never want to do anything aside from youth ministry. And then here we are in our mid-40s, you know, and really about the time we hit 40, God’s starting to change that. And we were like, no, we’re good. Like, we like this. We like what we do. And then, you know, God is always so gentle and gracious and kind in the way that He leads us through that and he’s so patient with us and in waiting on us to kind of open our eyes to really see what he’s doing. But that was a big transition too. That was another time where I thought, I know what the, I’ve got it all together. All the pieces are together. And then God’s like, no, they’re not.

The puzzle’s bigger than you thought it was. You thought you were done, but there’s this other section over here that you haven’t gotten to yet. And that’s been a really beautiful thing too. I think the older I get, the more I, the more quickly I see the beauty in those moments rather than like panic and stress and anxiety.

CJ Milacci

Right, because it’s so easy to go there. But I think the older we get, the more we can look back and see the faithfulness of God, even just knowing, oh, those detours were on purpose. Those things had, you had a plan in it all. So you who have been faithful will continue to be faithful. So it does, you know, age does help with that. So it’s a blessing of getting older for sure.

Where can you connect with Tabitha Caplinger and buy her books?

Well, we are running out of time now, but I just would love if you could share with the readers where they can find you and the wayward and all of your other books so they can dive into these great stories.

Tabitha Caplinger

Okay, well, the one stop shop for everything you wanted to know about me and my books and probably more than you wanted to know is my website, TabithaCaplinger.com. It’s got all my books. It’s got all the information about me. You can sign up for my email newsletter on my website. It goes out once a month and it does have a devotional thought. And then that’s an easy way to keep up with what I’m doing. Go there first so they get fun little tidbits and sneak peeks and updates of all my process and my projects. And then always on social media, most of the time I’m on Instagram @tab_caplinger, but you can find me other places too. I’m on TikTok doing weird like lip sync videos that are just silly, but that’s the easiest place to connect with me online.

CJ Milacci

Okay, fabulous. And we’ll have links to all of that in the show notes, so it’s nice and easy for everyone to find. But Tabitha Kaplinger, thank you for being on Read Clean YA with CJ. It was so much fun getting to talk about all of these different things with you today.

Tabitha Caplinger

Thank you so much for having me.

Wrapping things Up

I hope you enjoyed the conversation with Tabitha Caplinger. This was my first time getting to talk with Tabitha , and it was a blast to get to know her, hear her heart behind her stories, and discover her love of pie. If you lovecharacter-driven dystopian stories filled with hope, I think you’ll enjoy The Wayward.

Since recording this episode, I was able to read The Wayward, and it was a great story. There were twists and turns, and all of the elements Tabitha and I talked about were woven into the story beautifully. It’s an adventure and a great story with moments where I just had to pause and think about what I just read.

Note for Sensitive Readers

Now, I do have to say, this book isn’t strictly YA — the characters are older (early twenties) so it would fit more into the New Adult category — but without all of the bad connotations that come with a typical NA story. As Tabitha mentioned, the villain in this story is very evil, and the alien race is not kind to humans, though they pretend to be. While she’s not overly graphic in her depictions of the violence, there are some scary moments. For my younger or more sensitive readers, I would say it’s probably best to have a trusted parent, guardian, or older friend read this book first. There are intense moments and scenes that could be scary, and there’s a romance in the story that’s sweet. Tabitha also deals with the subject of infertility in this book, which I know can be a trigger for some.

A New Month and a New Giveaway!

We have entered a new month, and with it, we have the beginning of a new giveaway. Like I mentioned last week, this giveaway is going to be a little different. It’s going to be a big Christmas giveaway, and I’m really excited about it. There will be books from the featured authors of November and December, as well as a lovely candle from Lamplighter Literary Creations, and some fun times from CreateExploreRead. This giveaway will be the perfect “Christmas gift for yourself” if you win. Here’s the link: https://kingsumo.com/g/tdijpz/epic-christmas-goodies-giveaway

Tabitha has graciously agreed to include a paperback copy of The Wayward, so don’t forget to head over to the giveaway page and check it out! There will be a link in the show notes.

You can find the episode show notes at readcleanya.com.

Coming Next Week

Next week I’ll be talking with my good friend and fellow young adult author E.A. Hendryx, author of Suspended in the Stars. A girl in hiding. A boy on the run. The fate of the galaxy between them.

This sci-fi fantasy is amazing and I loved getting to chat with Emilie. She is my friend and the incredibly talented graphic designer behind my amazing covers. If you’re looking for a fun and mesmerizing read, you’re going to love Suspended in the Stars. Be sure to tune in next week to hear the interview.

Thank you so much for listening to Read Clean YA with CJ. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend so they can discover exciting, clean young adult books too.