Lighting the Way

Local Author Inspired by Childhood & Faith

Story by Jen Calhoun

Catherine Green went through a good part of her life thinking the creativity gene had passed her by. But something changed a few years after her husband, Charles, died in 2012.

“When you’re in such grief, you want to stay busy,” says Catherine, a Henderson-based children’s book author and insurance broker. “That was my prayer. I told God I could get through this if I could stay busy.”

It wasn’t a difficult task. At the time, the couple owned an oil and gas business, as well as a wedding and special events venue situated on 200 acres of land. After Charles’ death, Catherine did the work of two busy people until she could sell both companies.

During her downtime, however, she would take a drive or ride her bicycle to manage her grief and stress. “I’d drive around and talk to God,” she says. “Then I’d imagine these stories.”

Most of the stories were inspired by a childhood spent outdoors with siblings, she says. Those were the days when rural kids like herself would leave the house in the morning and spend the day exploring, playing, and pretending.

“Back then, it seemed like from the time you were awake until dark, we were outside and didn’t want to come in,” Catherine says. “We’d play all these games using our imagination.”

Those memories helped form the idea for her first book, “The Popcorn Tree.” Set in the countryside, the book is about a 5-year-old girl named Claire who sets out on an adventure one day.

“All of the characters in the book are kind of representative of my family,” Catherine says. “I built the characters into who we were as kids with our mom raising us.”

The first book also set the stage for what would become a trilogy of books about the family, their adventures, and the people and animals they meet along the way. Her second book, “The Barn Light,” sees Claire join up with Nate on a quest. In the third book, “The Bridge Key,” Claire and Anne set off on another outing.

Each book offers glimpses of Catherine’s Christian faith, but the message could appeal to a broader audience, as well.

Next Steps

If anyone had asked Catherine about writing her own books 10 years ago, she would’ve laughed. “I never thought I had a creative bone in my body,” she says.

Still, the signs had been there all along. When her daughter, Crystal, was a little girl, Catherine made up stories on their drives to school. “She was so inquisitive,” Catherine says. “She would ask all these questions, like, ‘Why is the sun yellow?’ I’d just start telling a story about how it got to be yellow. It was such a fun thing, and then we’d get into all these conversations.”

It wasn’t until she and a friend were attending an event that the thought of publishing truly took shape. The friends ran across an author named Patty Wiseman, who was promoting her own books at the time. During a conversation with Patty, Catherine remembers blurting out, “I’ve got a book.”

“I hadn’t actually written a book,” she says. “I just had the idea for a book. I don’t know why, but the words just came out.”

We have to go out and be in nature, look at the flowers and trees and study the animals. These are all such beautiful gifts. —Catherine Green, author

Patty was not deterred, however. The writer took Catherine under her wing, encouraged her, and introduced Catherine to her publisher. Catherine also found a friend and mentor in a writer she met while on a trip to Israel. “I call him Papa Joe, and he encouraged me,” she says. “So, by the time I met Patty, I had an idea formed in my head, but nothing written down. She connected me with the next steps.”

Embracing Life

Catherine plans to continue writing more books, but they might not all be children’s books. She’s interested in writing devotionals and possibly a memoir of her childhood with an absentee father. She connects with readers through her website, catherinegreenbooks.com, and with writers’ groups on Facebook. She also continues to promote her books at book readings and events.

And while she doesn’t know what the future holds for her and her writing, Catherine isn’t too concerned. “We have to embrace the time and the life we have,” she says. “I believe that God has enriched each of us with our own gifts. To utilize those, we have to be still. We can’t always be so busy. We have to go out and be in nature, look at the flowers and trees and study the animals. These are all such beautiful gifts.”