Today I’m delighted to welcome author Lara Silverman to the blog. Lara recently released her debut book, Singing Through Fire.
(Click here to read Keona Tann’s review of Singing Through Fire.)
Fast Five
(Where we ask our guests to choose between two typically Australasian options …)
Long black or flat white?
Long black!
Kiwis or koalas?
Koalas! My father’s side is from Sydney and I recall going to pet koalas at the Sydney zoo!
Mangoes or kiwifruit?
Mangoes definitely.
Cricket or rugby?
Cricket, though never played or watched!
Hobbits or Mad Max?
Hobbits.
Books or TV?
Books! Though I prefer the theater…
Sun or snow?
Sun.
Desert or sea?
Hmmmm. Sea! All the beautiful fish!
Plotter or pantser?
A neurotic plotter by a mile.
Getting to Know Lara Silverman
What’s something interesting or unusual about you that not everyone knows?
Well, I once played a completely deranged woman in a British operetta called Ruddigore. Nothing says “range” like belting Victorian love laments in a corset. I also love acting and singing, especially the old-fashioned, jazz-club kind of music. Think Ella Fitzgerald meets Great Gatsby. I still do musical comedy online—even from my bed! (I suffer from severe chronic illness…It’s been eight years but I’m going strong with God’s strength.)
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, which means I’m fluent in fog, overpriced produce, and knowing where to find the best Armenian pastries in the Bay Area. (I’m Armenian).
What is your town or city most famous (or infamous) for?
San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and a level of parking despair that builds character. Spiritually speaking, it’s also a city that’s both deeply creative and deeply conflicted—perfect for writing about faith in the midst of modern chaos.
What books are set in your town/city?
Tons! There’s the entire genre of startup-lit that basically lives in Silicon Valley. But I like to think my new book release, Singing Through Fire, is one of the first Christian memoirs to bring San Francisco fog, jazz music, and terminal illness into the same narrative arc…
About Your Writing
What do you write?
I write Christian nonfiction but I sneak in fiction-worthy storytelling, comedy, and music. My debut memoir, Singing Through Fire, is a raw, romantic, spiritually-rich love story between me and my late husband, written from the furnace of suffering. It’s sort of Job meets The Notebook, with hymns and hospital gowns.
Who or what are your main writing influences?
I love writers who blend theology with storytelling and unflinching honesty. C.S. Lewis, of course. But also comedy legends like Lucille Ball. I’m Armenian—we cope with generational trauma through food and punchlines. So that made it into my writing too.
Do you have any books published?
Yes! My memoir Singing Through Fire just released, and it’s a deeply personal journey through chronic illness, grief, miraculous love, and the way God meets us in the silence. It’s not a “neatly resolved” story—it’s a testimony in progress, told with brutal honesty, unexpected humor, and a lot of grace.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing in some form since childhood—mostly dramatic short stories and legal briefs during my former legal career—but Singing Through Fire is my first formally published book. I wrote most of it from bed after losing my husband to terminal cancer, because I myself am still bedridden with a severe neurological illness half of the day.
What inspired you to start writing?
Grief. Silence. And honestly, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t leave me alone about it! I wasn’t planning to write a book. I was just trying to survive my grief. But after my husband passed away, the story kept burning in my bones, and I felt God whisper: Tell it. I’ll meet you there.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
When something painful suddenly becomes meaningful on the page. When I reread a sentence and realize—Oh. God was there. I didn’t see it then, but He was. That, and anytime I get to sneak in a joke about planning a wedding when your fiance has cancer.
What’s your biggest writing challenge?
Writing from bed while sick, while grieving, while not knowing how the story ends. I’m still living it. That’s vulnerable and exhausting—but also sacred. Oh, and editing. I treat every sentence like a beloved child. I can never delete!
How does your faith impact your writing?
My faith is the writing. Not in a “preachy” way, but in a “God won’t leave me alone” kind of way. I wrestle hard with Him on the page—about suffering, about silence, about why good gifts are sometimes withheld. I don’t write from the mountaintop; I write from the ashes, with hope that’s still flickering.
Lara, thank you for visiting and for sharing your writing with us.
About Singing with Fire
What if you fall in love on the brink of death? Singing Through Fire invites readers into the Job-like true story of a young woman who loses everything—and dares to ask why a good God allows it.
When Stanford Law graduate Lara Palanjian collapses on her dream job, she never imagines it will lead to four years bedridden—or to the love of her life.
Enter Matthew Silverman: a witty, wise, and impossibly joyful youth pastor and professor facing terminal cancer. What begins with a few random encounters soon ignites an extraordinary, God-written love story that neither of them saw coming.
As their unlikely romance unfolds between medical crises, late-night laughter, and unexpected musical performances, Matthew’s unshakable faith challenges everything Lara thinks she knows about God’s goodness—and what it means to walk with Christlike faith, resilience, and joy in the face of overwhelming grief and suffering.
But with time against them, one question looms louder than the rest:
What if this gift is only for a moment?
Surprisingly funny and spiritually rich, Singing Through Fire is a modern-day “Job meets Lucille Ball.” It explores what it means to suffer, love, and even laugh and make music while your life is burning down around you. It eloquently gives voice to the aching questions many sufferers quietly carry—then takes readers inside the breathtaking story of two people who found miraculous love and defiant joy amid heartbreaking loss.
It reveals how God can use even our deepest pain to write the most beautiful love stories—even on the cusp of eternity.
Find Singing with Fire online at:
Hi Lara and Iola, Thanks for sharing your fun and insightful interview. I visited San Francisco back in July 2008 (my first USA romance writing conference) and loved touring the city. Summer fog and cooler temps worked for me, lol. Lara, congrats on your book release. Your book sounds fascinating. 😊