Interview with Naomi Fata: Meet the Author Monday

Interview with Naomi Fata

Welcome to another Meet the Author Monday. Today’s post features my interview with Naomi Fata. Naomi’s book Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace released in January 2025. I have to tell you, I love the cover. It’s so inviting. And as one who learned to sew from my great-granny, I appreciate the play on words in the title. You can find out more about this 13-week devotional after the interview. For now, let’s welcome Naomi Fata to Meet the Author Monday.

Naomi, I’d like to let readers get to know you a bit. Can you tell us about yourself?

I learned to sew as a child, in my early twenties I was in a friend’s wedding. She had her wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses custom made by a mother daughter team who had a studio in the home. This inspired me to start my own sewing business in 2007, shortly after I got married so that I could work from home while my kids were growing. I have continued the sewing business ever since and in 2012, I also started writing.

My first articles were for the God’s corner section of the local paper. I have been a regular writer for this section for 13 years now. In 2014 my first book, Beyond Head Knowledge: Knowing Christ Who Satisfies Our Hearts was published. Earlier this year my second book, Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace was released. I now have three children, whom I homeschool. I live in upstate NY with my husband Tony. In my spare time I enjoy jogging, sitting by the lake, gardening, and hosting friends for coffee.

Okay. The sewing you do is much different than the sewing I was taught. My experience is limited to embroidery and hand-quilting. I admire people who master the sewing of clothing and things like that. I wanted to learn but got too fed up with the patterns. You have my respect. From what you’ve shared, it sounds like you’re a busy woman. Do you have any routines or habits that you follow for a productive writing day?

I try to commit 40 mins per day to writing, 5 days a week. This 40 minutes does not always fall at the same time. But if I plan it out ahead of time, it works pretty well. I also tend to have a lot of ideas while I’m working with my hands so I often will have paper next to me at the sewing machine.

I understand about having paper next to you at all times. I’ve found my phone’s note section is great for those unexpected jolts of inspiration. In case I was unclear in the introduction, I love the title of your newest book. What prompted you to write Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace?

Over the past 15 years I have done a lot of study working through my past. Some of that included my dad passing away when I was young. This led to a lot of financial challenges, food insecurity, and eviction. I realized I had a lot of fear and anxiety from my unresolved past, and struggled to align this with the peace that the Bible promises. I realized that even though I was a Christian I struggled to form a secure attachment to God as my Father. Through the encouragement of a number of people I wrote Stitching Your Story from where I was behind the sewing machine, using sewing stories and
analogies to draw the reader to securely “stitch” to God the Father.

I love that your book stems from multiple avenues of experience. And speaking of experience, the journey of the author is definitely an interesting one. What do you wish you knew about being an author before you became an author?

Writing is hard. It is often lonely. You have to face the fear of what people will think when they read, which is basically learning to silence the inner critic. Also there are so many components, like marketing and online presence that can be really time consuming, taking away from the work of writing. Not only do they take up time, they take up some mental space, and sometimes it can be challenging to keep the creative energy.

Those are some of the same things I hear from many in the writing world. And I have to say, in my own journey, I’ve found the same issues. It is tough, and we need people in our corner. Who is your biggest cheerleader in your writing life?

My husband has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. He believes in the work that I do 100%. My spiritual father was the one who first encouraged me to write. For my first book, I gave him every chapter to read and discuss. He passed away back in 2018, but I will always attribute my perseverance in the writing journey to him.

It’s wonderful that you had someone like that, encouraging you as you started on your writing path. I hope you’ve found others to fill that role in your life. And it makes it so much easier when our spouses are behind our work, even when they may not fully understand all the ins and outs. Part of writing is growing. What resources would you recommend to others on their writing journeys?

Renew Writer’s Conference in NY/New England is amazing. I have been to other writer’s conferences, but this one is the perfect blend of retreat and conference. The Inkwell writing Community. This is a small community of writer’s organized by Dalene Bickel, host of the Ink and Impact Podcast. I joined the community about three years ago and the friendship and accountability of the group. Books about writing such as Write for Life by Julia Cameron. Another book I’m currently
reading about writing is Pen on Fire by Barbara DeMarco Barrett.

I love that almost no matter where you live you can find great teaching paired with community through writers conferences. It sounds like you’ve found some wonderful ones. One last question for you. Reading is easier than ever to do no matter where you are. We can still hold that physical book in our hands, but we can take a library with us using our eReaders, or we can listen while we’re on the go using audiobooks. Do you have a reading preference?

I do love physical books. However, as life has gotten busier with a sewing business and kids I have come to love audiobooks because often I can listen and sew. I love these quiet hours at the sewing machine. This year I am working on reading at least a few paper books though.

I do love a good paperback book. I feel like it connects us in a different way to the story. But reading is reading, and I’m just happy to hear of people who enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you, Naomi, for joining me today. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you a bit more. Readers, if you’ve enjoyed this interview with Naomi Fata, don’t leave just yet. I want to share a bit more about her book and where you can purchase it. And don’t forget to connect with Naomi at the links below.

Connect with Naomi Fata

More About Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace

Are anxiety and fear everyday emotions? Would you like to experience peace?

Stitching Your Story is an interactive 13-week journey, helping you to walk towards peace. The journey begins with examining your relationship with God as a Good Father, revealing mindsets of distrust and unbelief.

Filled with sewing stories, Naomi teaches how the threads of life from our past, affect our mindset, connection with God and with others. Our daily thoughts and actions are part of our life tapestry, and we must learn to stitch well. This devotional is about doing the hard work of integrating faith into every part of our lives, learning to lean into the love of God, and move forward in wholeness.

Each day contains a Scripture reading, journaling activity, prayer, and power prayer. With 6 days in a week, leaving the seventh day to rest your mind and emotions from the deep work involved in this journey.

Purchase Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace

If you enjoy getting to know authors, be sure to check out my other Meet the Author Monday interviews, like this one with Ellen E. Withers.