Interview with Author Elena Paige
Y'all, this girl is as sweet as can be!
Elena Paige is a middle grade author who started her author journey by writing therapeutic books to help her kids sleep. She decided the books she had wrote for them might be able to help others so she published them. Not too long ago she began writing stories that she found were fun to write. She has been writing and publishing ever since.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Elena Paige late last month. She is in Australia so it was really fun trying to figure out time change and which day either of us would be in when we spoke.
And then there was the joy of working with technology (which most of you know is not my forte!) and so what should have been a smooth 2 minute thing turned into around 25 minutes of trying this and that until finally we were able to speak! On the interview I just jump right into it as if I'm afraid to waste any time, perhaps nervous that it all might "go away" at any moment! But we were able to conduct a proper discussion/interview and talked for almost two hours! With edits the actual podcast episodes equal to around one hour, however, it was delightful to connect with someone so lovely. If you'd like to hear the interview please head over to Storyteller Station and have yourself a listen. There will be two episodes with her. I hope you enjoy them! If you'd like to learn more about Elena, please visit her website at: elenapaige.com
You can also find her on Facebook where she often will read some of her stories just for the fun of it!
It was so fun to talk with Elena as she is a mental health counselor by trade, as am I. She is in her mid-forties, as am I. She practices Qi Gong, as do I. AND she loves to write middle grade, as do I! The similarities were rather uncanny and if you listen to the interview you will hear us marvel over it time and again. I especially enjoyed hearing Elena's heart and mind behind her stories, what it is she hopes to convey. In all her stories she has her characters learn something in their lives, to grow and show courage. What I love about her writing is that the reader is instantly drawn into the character's plight. In The Splendid Secrets of 66 Lilly Pilly Lane I found myself rooting for the main character, Chia, from the first page even though I didn't know much about her yet. If you enjoy engaging, easy reads, I highly recommend checking out Elena Paige's work. As for me, I look forward to talking with and working with Elena in the future!
Here are a few images of the books we reference in the interview:
