Joining us for an exclusive interview with Families.com is Elodia Strain, a new author on the LDS market. Elodia, I had a great time reviewing your book “The Icing on the Cake.” How did you come up with the idea for the story?
The basic idea came while I was stopped at a stoplight on University Avenue when I was living in Provo, Utah. I looked to my right and saw the Deseret Morning News building and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could write a column called something like, ‘Everyday Heroes,’ a column about the good, kind, inspiring people who are around us?” I guess since I was too chicken to try it, I let Annabelle do it instead! That’s how the main idea was born. Then everything just came together. Annabelle really wanted her story told, I guess.
How long did it take you to write it?
It’s hard to tell because after I had written about a quarter of the book, I experienced The Failed Hard Drive Debacle. The hard drive in my computer failed. I went to a data recovery place, and they could only recover a few words and a bunch of weird symbols. The worst part was, somehow, everything I had backed the info up on was also corrupted.
My husband tried to console me by telling me that when an ant hill is destroyed, the ants rebuild the hill bigger and better. It must have been a guy thing, because I didn’t see how calling my book an ant hill helped much. I just tried to be brave about it and tell myself that if the book was published this would be a great story to tell!
The coolest part about the whole thing is that while I was waiting in the data recovery shop, a little boy with a SpongeBob backpack fastened to the back of his wheelchair came into the shop with his dad. The boy and his dad knew the owner of the shop and chatted with him. I’ll admit it, I eavesdropped. And as they talked, and I watched the boy, I knew I was finding inspiration. I took a few notes in a notebook, and about a month later I wrote Angel. I made sure he had a SpongeBob backpack attached to his wheelchair.
On your website, you mention a high school English teacher who inspired to you become a writer. What did he say/do that influenced you so positively?
His name was Mr. Hedlind, and he was such a fantastic teacher. I knew I loved to read, but it was in his class that I first thought maybe I could write. We read books by a lot of great authors, and it was the discussion that really got me energized. Mr. Hedlind often talked about the power of “black marks on paper.” He led college-style discussions in our little high school classroom and during those discussions I really felt the power of words. And I knew that I definitely never wanted to be too far from “black marks on paper.”
Then we read this play called “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. There was just something about it. It was so incredibly genius. It had it all: Mistaken identity, humor, a little romance. It was just amazing. After that, our class assignment was to write a play of our own. It was the longest thing I had ever written. I wrote about a group of friends who learn the “leader of the pack” is ill. Writing those characters and their story was just the most fun I had ever had. I still have that play. It’s pretty funny to read because the male lead does things like, “Brush his long dark hair out of his brooding eyes” and “Strum his guitar with his gorgeous calloused fingers.”
I love “Earnest!” But moving on . . .
You also talk about how books helped you through a difficult time in your life. What books did you find the most helpful, uplifting, and distracting? Who are your favorite authors?
Reading in itself was such an incredible therapy. Lyle Mortimer, the founder of CFI once said in an interview that the arts are cheaper than therapy. I totally feel that way. And for me, laughter was cheap medicine. Lord Byron said that long ago, and I couldn’t agree more. I think books that combine humor and inspiration are little powerhouses. That’s why I feel so strongly about writing those kinds of books.
I read a lot of books in the chick-lit genre, since that’s what I write, and my favorite authors in that genre are Sarah Mlynowski, Kristin Billerbeck (a Christian chick-lit author) and Sophie Kinsella—I have to mention her because she is an absolute comic genius. I also think Amy Sherman-Palladino is brilliant. She’s a screenwriter, and I never really paid much attention to screen writing until I started my first novel, but I think she is so super talented. I wish she would write a novel!
Outside of my genre, I like John Steinbeck (I love reading about Monterey, which is where The Icing on the Cake is set) and Pearl Buck.
I also really like to read non-fiction. Anything that inspires me will do. I love The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I also like Norman Cousins. He writes a lot about using humor to deal with illness. In one of his books he made a list of funny books and movies that all hospitals should have on hand. I love that. At least once a month, I play the piano at a care center for the elderly. I try to bring songs that make you want to chuckle. Last week, I played the theme song from Davy Crockett. It just sounds funny. They loved it. I think humor is so powerful in all its forms.
Thanks, Elodia!
We’ll continue our conversation with Elodia Strain tomorrow. In the meantime, visit her website to learn more about her.
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