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About Eloise Schroder, Webmaster of The Christian Fiction Site:
Ellie has loved Christian fiction for many years, after being introduced to it back in 1990. She developed "The Christian
Fiction Site" back in 1998 under the former title "Ellie's World of Christian Fiction" after seeing the need for an online
resource site for readers to become more familiar with Christian fiction titles on the market. Since then, she has maintained
the site in her own spare time, as well as juggling a full-time job with GPH Wholesale, a distributor of Christian literature, and being
part of the worship team in her local church. Ellie lives in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with Dion, her husband of
more than 10 years.
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. . .Patti Hill
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Author Profile Interview
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Author Profile Interview
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in the Hog Capital of the World, Henry County, Illinois. I moved to Southern California with my mother and sister when I was six. I made the switch from farm girl to beach bunny without so much as a hiccup. I was an unchurched teen when we moved again to a small beach town. Without my friends, I thought my life was over. God redeemed my loneliness by introducing me to the Prince of Peace. I'm so grateful. When I graduated from high school, I attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. I met my second prince there, my husband, Dennis. We moved to Colorado the day after he graduated to start a landscaping business. We were 22 years old. I worked at a bank and did the books for the business in the afternoon. When we found out I was pregnant with our first son, all of our
entrepreneurial spirit evaporated. Dennis managed a garden center for a man who wanted to retire. Son number two came along, and by that time, Dennis and two partners bought the garden center. That was over twenty years ago. I was a happy stay-at-home mother, teaching Sunday school, quilting, performing in a puppet ministry, and leading small group studies. My husband and I also worked with Young Life. I returned to college to earn my English degree in 1995 and taught elementary school for four years. And then I attended a writing class by Lauraine Snelling on how to write great fiction. That changed everything.
2. How did you become a novelist, and did you always want to write?
God first planted the idea of being a writer in my heart the very year I surrendered my life to Him. I was fourteen years old, and I thought being a writer was the craziest thing I'd ever heard, although changing my name to Brenda Paris to be a Broadway star seemed like a realistic goal. I had some maturing to do. By eighteen, I felt nudged toward a writing ministry again, so I changed my major to journalism. I married just shy of graduating with every intention of finishing, but soon I was a mother of one and then two beautiful boys. During my early mothering years, I wrote Christmas letters, stories for the boys, Sunday School lessons, letters to the editor, and the instructions for a lawn fertilizer. When the boys got older, I went back to college for an English degree with an emphasis in writing. I taught for four years before I focused all of my attention on writing
Like a Watered Garden, my first novel. I appreciate God's patience with me and the care He took in forming me to be His writer.
3. What do you think is significant about Christian fiction?
Christian fiction provides the world with a window into the redemptive work of Jesus, the greatest Storyteller of all. In fact, God created us to respond to stories of redemption and love and adventure. The believing storyteller has a two-pronged mission: to encourage, teach, and edify our brothers and sisters and to promote the cause of Christ to the seeker.
4. How do you hope your readers react to the stories you write?
I want them to say, "Oh my, God is so much bigger than I thought He was. He knows all about me and loves me just the same."
5. What responses to your novels have affected you the most and why?
I've been praying for a woman for 25 years. Over that time, I've fought and succumbed to resenting the way her behavior has disrupted the peace of my family. She carries heavy emotional baggage, besides having a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. I never expected her to read one of my books, but she has read both and loved them. After reading Always Green, she said, "I'm going to ask God for a good day, just like Mibby." Her simple statement revealed a budding faith that believes God hears and answers our prayers. Whenever I think I've agonized over a scene too long, I think about how God used my story in her life.
6. How has being a novelist impacted your relationship with Christ?
Tremendously! I'm depending on Him in new ways and with a new expectancy. We puzzle through storylines together. He guides me like a Shepherd. It has been especially sweet to meet brothers and sisters from all over the world who are unified in presenting the gospel to the lost. I'm so blessed!
7. Other than writing great novels, what other goals do you have for your life?
More than anything, I want to hear Jesus say, "Well done."
8. What do you like to do in your spare time?
I beg my husband to take me as far away from my computer as possible. We take day trips around Colorado to marvel at God's handiwork. Red rock cliffs. Alpine meadows. Crystalline lakes. I love it all. And yes, I always have several books going at once. To take mini-breaks during a writing day, I play Frisbee with my Australian Shepherd, Tillie.
9. What can you tell us about your latest novels?
In the first book of The Garden Gate series, Like a Watered Garden, Mibby Garrett, mother and widow, is a garden designer trying to keep her head above the miry clay of grief. She is surrounded by an eclectic group of mentors and
distracters, including a handsome widower. But it's a piece of her husband's past that tests her faith and love. In book two,
Always Green, Mibby is dating and struggling to keep her business alive during a drought. Her son is glued to online games, and when she thinks things can't get worse, her gypsy mother and acerbic sister show up, just in time for Mibby to learn lessons of trust and rest. I'm writing book three right now. Mibby's back, the rains have returned, and the house is feeling crowded. That's all I'm telling!
10. What stories can your fans expect from you in the days ahead?
I have several stand-alone novel ideas percolating in my head. In one, we observe a woman's life through her birthdays. In another, a woman buys a bus ticket for a guilt trip, and the protagonist of another idea hunts for his lost sister. I keep a log of possible book titles, too. My favorite is
Odd But Familiar. I just haven't come up with the story to go with it yet.
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