I’m
22-almost-23-years-old, which is rather frightening, and a homeschool graduate
who loves the Lord, lives at home, writes, works part-time, teaches martial
arts, and is interested in many different kinds of things, like studying the
Bible, studying history and classic literature, and playing piano, to name a
few. But really, there are so many things to learn and to do, and my
experiences are limited yet! I live in Texas but I adore seeing new places. The
Lord has given me the opportunity to work with two online youth magazines as
well – Imagine Mag and HarvestMag.
Tell
us how you learned about Homeschool Authors.
When
I first became interested in self-publishing, my friend Sarah Scheele, who is
also a writer and homeschool graduate (she’s even been featured on here), told
me that Homeschool Authors might be encouraging and helpful to me.
Everyone’s
homeshooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?
I
think what made it special was that my mom herself loves learning so much that
she worked very closely with my brother and me on every subject. We didn’t use
many textbooks (mainly just with the more regular subjects, like math and high
school science) but instead learned from what she assembled from various
sources. We got to make notebooks of history and science, draw pictures, do
crafts, read books, write creative essays, and dress up. She had a lot of great
ideas; she’s a tutor now, so you can see how much she loves teaching!
How
did being homeschooled prepare you to write?
My
parents read a lot of books aloud, made sure we were well-stocked with our own
reading material, and took us to libraries, bookstores, and special book sales,
so I was exposed to a great amount of good literature. They encouraged us to be
creative, too, so when I was very little I made my own books and wrote and
illustrated them. My favorite assignments were creative writing, including the
sentences I got to make up in my grammar books. Blessedly, it all came
naturally to me –
even grammar and spelling.
What
caused you to start writing?
I
suppose it was all that exposure to literature, but I don’t remember that first
thought of “I’m going to write my own story!” I just always loved the written
word. My first pieces didn’t have a plot. But I would act out stories with
toys, and so one day the idea of plot must have hit me and I realized I could
write down stories similar to what my dolls and animal toys acted – and they could be just as exciting,
even if they weren’t physically acted out, because it all happened in the
imagination! From then on I would write – or at least attempt – stories every so often until I was a
teenager and knew writing fiction was something I wanted to make a lifetime
pursuit.
What
inspired Family Reunion?
I wanted to write a real story, the kind that I
could finish and try to publish. My historical fiction and fantasy stories at
the time seemed insurmountable, so I grabbed hold of the advice to “write what
you know” and began Family Reunion, which I was calling Six Cousins
until I published it. As I wrote, my excitement grew … I could enter fully into
this story because I knew or could easily imagine many of Marielle’s (the
protagonist) thoughts or experiences. At times it was like journaling, or
journaling as my fourteen-year-old self.
My inspiration was multi-layered; I brought together a
number of things that had always been in my well of fiction-ideas. I love
everyday life – it has a lot of wonder, beauty, and potential if we get to
searching – so I didn’t want my story to stray too far from that view of the
world. I started this story in spring, and ever since then the homey,
brilliantly-colored central Texas spring was in the background, inspiring me.
I’ve always been intrigued with treasure hunts, mysteries, and the rich,
character-driven atmosphere of family reunions. And then there had to be
conflict, so I hiked up the contrasts among the six girl cousins and let them
loose into the world I’d created.
I really wanted my main characters to be homeschooled
because, having been there myself, I know that homeschoolers’ lives are often a wealth of imagination, literacy,
thoughtfulness, and interesting experiences that make them well-suited as
fictional characters.
What
is it about?
The
family of fourteen-year-old Marielle Austin is hosting a week-long reunion at
their home. She has five girl cousins – Emma, Caroline, Abby, Kailey, and
Reanna – and their grandfather creates three projects for them to accomplish
together to win a secret prize: a treasure hunt which has clues all the girls
must solve; the cleanup of an old shed; and an inspiring biography of a retired
missionary living in town. They must do it with love and understanding, but
Abby, Kailey, and Reanna make every task difficult! Marielle and the others
have to learn the meaning of friendship and practical love to give the reunion
– and their relationship – a happy ending.
Who
will enjoy Family Reunion?
Adult
women have said they’ve enjoyed it, even though it’s written for a younger
audience, but generally any girl from age 10 or 11 on up would like it. I know
of boys out there who have enjoyed it, however, if their sisters were reading
it, so I wouldn’t rule them out, either!
Where can people buy it?
Do
you plan to write more books? If you are, when can we expect the next one?
Yes!
I love writing novels more than any other activity (with the exception of Bible
study, however!). Family Reunion has a sequel that I hope to publish
this fall.
Do
you have any final thoughts?
Well,
for one thing, I’m so glad you had me! I’m very grateful. If any of you are
interested, I’d love for you to visit me at my blog, Kelsey’s Notebook – we
talk about books and writing inspiration, among other things! And I just want
to encourage all you writers out there to keep it up! It’s difficult to create
a publishable piece but if God has laid it on your heart to do so He will make
a way. That’s what I experienced. It can also be discouraging to realize how
full the market is with books, and how hard it is to get your voice heard, but
we as Christians have a responsibility to write good literature that
will impact our readers, and the market can never have too much of that. We
each have something unique to say, so let’s do our best for God’s glory!
Kelsey is giving away one copy of Family Reunion!
Your book looks really good, Kelsey! I want to read it! What's your writing routine like?
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet-looking book! :) Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading this post. Thank you for posting this Sarah, and thank you for doing the interview Kelsey!
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
His Princess,
Bekah
I didn't post a question. How old we're you when your first book was published?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emily Ann! I write whenever I can. Usually that's everyday ... sometimes it's not on my novel, but maybe an article, blog post, or letter. I seem to do my best writing at night or on a free afternoon!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement, Anna!
Bekah, thanks for reading! I was 22 when I first published ... this book is almost brand-new! : )
Thank you all, ladies, for commenting!! God bless!
Your mom strikes me as a good teacher type. :) It's interesting you guys only used curriculums with things like math and science. We homeschooled the same way. :)
ReplyDeleteLove your statement about the beauty of every day life. Only the smartest minds can appreciate how complicated real life is, and only the best writers can write about it. :)
BTW, love your pic! Your hair is super pretty...:D
Thank you, Hannah!
ReplyDelete