We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Starr Himmel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Starr below.

Starr, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Right now, I am completing a 2-book series. “Look Up and Kiss the Rain” was compiled following my first breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and was an encouragement to face life’s difficulties and overcome them with God’s help. I wrote my journal with the intent of it becoming a book. It includes the good days, the bad days, and the dumb days. Days when I doubted and days when I believed. All along, I kept coming back to God, who was present with me the entire time.
The second book, “Run to the Storm” will go to the printer very soon. This book recounts what happened when I was diagnosed a second time only 2 1/2 years after the first, breast cancer near the first instance. It’s about your choices when what you thought was over wasn’t. I was angry and did not want to write this book. There was a huge inner struggle and I finally realized that my story should be told. Today I celebrate victory over cancer in the wake of 4 more surgeries. Again, God showed Himself strong in my life.
I write to encourage others that there is hope, you can have faith, you can make it through, even when things don’t go the way you would like them to go.

Starr, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Real, authentic, vulnerable, and full of faith in God. That is how I would like to be known. My writing is the expression of the faithfulness of God in and through all the aspects of life’s journey. I enjoyed English class in High School and continued my studies at college in a composition class where my professor was especially tough. I learned so much from him and I appreciate how he pushed me to be better in my writing. “Run to the Storm” is my 5th book in print and will be published in the spring 2026.
My writing style is easy, candid, and understandable. I like to be personal and relatable. The reader can get to know me quickly and I also use humor in my illustrations. I have received favorable feedback from those who have read the books and needed encouragement as they or someone they know is facing struggles in their life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’d say that the most rewarding part of being creative is seeing what I have put together in books and then seeing those books be encouragement to others. When they let me know that what I said made a difference in their life it confirms this as a calling for me. God has called me to do this. To write.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I received a second cancer diagnosis, I was angry. I told God that I was not going to write! I didn’t journal; I didn’t write anything for months. I felt let down. I felt defeated. I thought the cancer journey was over at the conclusion of the last treatment – radiation session. That was not the case. It was a long time before I realized that others needed to hear my story. My friends encouraged me and God nudged me to write “Run to the Storm” to especially help those who experienced disappointment with any part of life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Starr1492