Author Interview ~ Alison Strobel

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Alison began writingstories in elementary school, following in the footsteps of herjornalist/author father, Lee Strobel. She moved to California in 2000,which provided her with the idea for her first novel, "WorldsCollide." She lives in the infamous OC with her husband, Daniel, andtheir daughter, Abigail.












What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

My newest release, Violette Between, poses the question, “Would you give up your future if you could relive your past with a loved one you’d lost?” Violette finds herself stuck in her memories with her deceased husband, and must choose whether to remain with him or lose him again by going on with her life. Complicating matters is Christian, the man with whom she is currently involved, and he’s not willing to give her up that easily.





Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I’ve been writing ever since I understood what a sentence was. I distinctly remember composing a story in first grade and being frustrated with my small vocabulary, because there were things I wanted to describe but just didn’t have the words for yet. All through school, writing was my sole academic passion. I didn’t care if it was a research paper or a creative story, I took every opportunity I could to write. My fourth grade teacher had story starters for us to work on when we’d finished everything else, and I became famous (in 4B, anyway) for the ideas I came up with. That was when I got my first taste of the satisfaction that comes with seeing other people enjoy what I’ve written. From there on out, writing for others became as much a passion as writing for my own enjoyment.

In 2000 I moved to California, and on my first drive through Hollywood I came up with the concept for Worlds Collide. I wrote the book over a year and a half in my free time. I never planned on submitting it anywhere, because I knew how difficult it was to get published and I didn’t really have any other ideas for books—I saw this as a personal project that would end up living on the top shelf of my closet and never be seen by anyone but my mother.

Also, I worried that, if I did try to submit it somewhere, publishers would see my last name and think either A) ”This is our chance to get the Strobel name in our catalog!” or B) “Maybe if we’re good to her we can get her dad to sign with us, too!” I also worried that people in general would assume I was only published because my dad had pulled strings for me and that I was just riding on his coattails.

In 2002 Waterbrook Press started trying to recruit my dad to write fiction with them. During one of his conversations with their fiction editor, Dudley Delffs, he mentioned that I’d written a book, and Dudley asked if I’d let them see it. I sent it to him with a note saying I wasn’t interested in publishing with them if they were only interested in the last name on the cover.

Six weeks later Dudley called and told me they were interested—and would be just as interested if the author had been listed as Jane Doe. There were a few weeks of editorial and publishing board meetings for it to get through, and on October 8th, while on a bus with my fellow teachers from the private school where I worked, I received the call from Dudley that they not only wanted to give me a contract for Worlds Collide, but for a second book as well!

I remember sitting there with all my coworkers staring at me as I nodded dumbly to what Dudley was saying. One of them whispered, “Do you think it’s good news?” Someone else said, “I see tears, but she’s smiling!” It was so much fun to be surrounded by friends when I got the news—they’d all been praying for this for the last few months, and to be able to jump up and say, “You are not going to believe what they just offered me!” was priceless.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

ALL THE TIME. I think every serious author realizes there’s always room to improve, and with that knowledge comes the realization that what you’re doing right now might not be that great. I worry that my friends and family are the only ones buying my books (or bullying others into buying them, too), or that I’m never going to get another contract, or that my first two books were total flukes and I’ll never be able to finish another writing project again. Oh yeah, plenty of self-doubt.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

Well, honestly, I didn’t seek publication; it kind of came seeking me. I do wish, however, that I’d tried to get an agent when I saw that a publisher was interested, because I didn’t have anyone to be my advocate when it came time to review my contract.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Being a writer means there’s always room for improvement. Find a mentor, go to conferences, and read, read, read, read, read.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

I read something recently about how you should never start a book with the main character in the kitchen, driving a car, or waking up. But that implies that no one’s imagination is good enough to come up with a way to make those things interesting. You could start a book with someone in front of a firing squad, and if you’re not a good writer or not very imaginative, you could make that scene as dull as reading stock quotes. If your book opens with the main character driving a car off a cliff—well, that’s definitely got potential to be interesting! I also read something about not “head hopping”—changing points of view between characters.

I did that with Worlds Collide between three characters—and I also changed tenses!—and I’ve yet to have anyone think it was confusing. Telling someone they shouldn’t write a certain way is bogus, I think—write the way you feel led to write, the way the story comes to you. If you don’t do it well but you’re humble and open to critique and help from an editor or other writers, then they’ll be able to help you fine-tune it so that it works.

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

It’s better to go to your editor at the beginning of a story to hash things out when you’re stumped or things don’t seem to be flowing than to wait until the end and end up having to change 200 pages of text instead of just a chapter. With Violette Between I had difficulties from day one, but I just kept writing and trying to tweak it and experiment, and three months before my deadline my editor and I finally sat down and said, “What on earth can we do to save this thing?” Dudley came up with the angle that worked, and I ended up trashing everything—180+ pages—and starting over. Only one scene was salvageable (the reveal of Violette’s new studio, for those of you who decide to read the book). As I lugged myself to the library all summer to work I kept thinking, “Why didn’t I talk to Dudley earlier?!”


Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

So far it’s been a pretty short career; other than having to rewrite my entire manuscript in three months things have gone pretty smoothly! Right now my biggest struggle is just finding time to write—our first child was born in December, and she’s at the stage now where she wants you to play with her; she’s not content to sit in one of her activity centers or on the floor with her toys for long. When I’m really in the mood to write, it’s hard to set the laptop aside and read (or rather, recite from memory) “The Belly Button Book” for the hundredth time. I just keep reminding myself that writing will always be with me, but Abigail’s only a baby once!

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

Ooh, I love to recommend books! Okay, let’s see…Microserfs by Douglas Coupland, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith, A Voice In The Wind by Francine Rivers, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Idoru by William Gibson, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson…although my answers might be completely different in a week; it kind of depends on the mood I’m in at the time.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

My first novel, Worlds Collide, because it was the first book I ever finished writing. I tried writing novels when I was in college, and I never got past the first couple chapters. I remember typing out the last line of Worlds and bursting into tears because—well, because the ending of that book always makes me cry when I read it, but also because I’d done it, I’d written an entire book. It was a shock. Even if it had never gotten published I would have been proud of it because it was such a huge personal accomplishment.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

I’m really frustrated with the limitations put on authors in the CBA. It’s very difficult to write authentic characters when you’re told you can’t use certain words or let your characters engage in certain behavior.

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

I wish I could—that would mean I have a typical writing day! It used to be that I would write in the late mornings into the afternoon; that’s my most productive time. Now it’s whenever Abby is napping and there’s not eight piles of laundry to be done or a sinkload of dishes needing to be cleaned. Or it’s when my husband is able to take her for a few hours. It’s been harder than I expected to get back into writing after taking a break when Abby was born, so I’m still trying to figure out how to get back into the swing of things.

If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

Easy: Jodi Picoult’s flair for figurative language. It’s wonderful. She was a poetry major in college and it shows. I love almost all her books—but there’s no one book that I like more than the others, which is why none of hers are in my list of favorites. Actually, may I have two? The second would be Terry Pratchett’s ability to describe so much with so few words. William Gibson has the same strength. I covet their economy of words.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

I wish I could live off my writing. Every writer’s dream, right? I know it’s a long shot, but to be able to make a living doing only what I love would be heaven.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Not yet, but ask me again in five years and I’m sure there will have been at least one time, if not many!

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

My favorites: Creating new realities. Being able to live vicariously through my characters. Exploring the consequences of things I’d never do in real life. My least favorites: Editing. The discipline writing requires. Reading something I’ve written and thinking, “I know there’s a better way to say that, I just can’t figure out what it is.”

How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?

Not as much as I should. I get overwhelmed by marketing. And I feel like I’m blowing my own horn and bragging when I do it. I’m afraid people will think I’m prideful, like I think this is the greatest book ever written or something. I wish I had advice—I feel like I need other people’s advice!

Parting words?

I have a blog on my website (blog.alisonstrobel.com), and I’ve started getting in on some blog tours, so stop on by to win free books and hear about some of the new stuff coming out from other Christian authors.

For those of you in book clubs: I’ve started doing Q&A sessions via the phone or in person (if you live close by) with groups that read my books, so if you’re interested please contact me through my website (alisonstrobel.com). It’s been so much fun to hear what people read into what I’ve written, and we’ve gotten into some great discussions.