Readers throughout the world have a 9th-grade creative writing teacher to thank for recognizing the God-given gift of Jill Roman Lord. Jill has produced hours of delight for children and those young-at-heart for over twenty years. After being called out of class to speak to her teacher, she was handed a beautiful blank journal and told, “You are a creative writer. Keep writing.” Her teacher’s prophetic words gave her the confidence to believe she could write—and so she did.

Whether this award-winning North Carolina writer and St. Louis transplant sets out to pen a book, run a marathon, or assist as a nurse anesthetist, she approaches life head-on and holds nothing back. 

Although she attended a top journalism school, her love of science won out, and she graduated with a degree in nursing instead of journalism. After returning to get her master’s in anesthesiology, she worked as a nurse anesthetist for four years. “It was then the  Lord placed a fire within me to write!” While working and caring for two children, three and under, she wrote her first book in six months.

“The Lord provided time for me to write. He absolutely did. I could not have made that work on my own. I hand-wrote my story in 1996 before I knew how to use a computer. I took a computer class, learned how to use word, and typed it up. I bought a book on how to get published, followed it step by step, and sent out my proposal. I got one year’s worth of rejection letters before it was accepted and published in 1999.”

Since the first of the year, Jill has released two books and will publish three more in 2020. On January 28th, The First Easter Day, a remake of her first Easter book with new super-cute illustrations was published by Worthy. While reading, children can imagine what they would have done if they had been present when Jesus arose.

On February 4th, B&H Kids released The Quiet Crazy Easter, a joyful celebration of the risen Lord and a sequel to the Christmas book, The Silent Noisy Night. The story explores what it may have been like as all of creation celebrated the resurrection of the King of Kings. It encourages children to celebrate this miraculous event in their own special ways. (Tap links or images to order.)

When asked for her advice to aspiring authors, Jill said, “Keep writing! Keep researching how to send out proposals correctly. Attend conferences to learn from professionals and make connections in the writing world. Don’t wait until you have it all figured out to begin writing. Starting your project is the hardest part. Just start writing.”

When not writing, this children’s picture book author runs. “I love running! For over thirty-five years, it’s been my escape, my release, my time with God, my creative time, and time I get to spend with my Golden Retriever, Poppie, the best running dog partner, ever.”

Today, she juggles her dual career of anesthesia and writing. “I love them both and hope to continue as long as the Good Lord allows!” Looking ahead, Jill’s desire is to add children’s screenplays to her resume. She invites you to connect with her on her blog at www.jillromanlord.com and to check out her books on her Amazon Author page.

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“I’m part of God’s creation who can jump and shout with glee
and celebrate that Christ arose to give new life to me!” — The First Easter Day

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