Lauraine Snelling
10 min read ⭑
“I’ll never forget the thrill of sitting at the back of that gymnasium, the lights and action on the stage, me and the audience totally involved. … I still dream of seeing Ingeborg or any of my other characters and their stories on the screen. What an adventure!”
Award-winning author Lauraine Snelling has made her mark on the publishing world with more than 150 books and a total of 6 million copies sold. She’s written fiction and nonfiction for adults, young adults and children, telling fascinating and uplifting stories that deal with real-life issues like friendship, forgiveness, loss and even more difficult topics like cancer and domestic violence. Some of her most popular series include horse stories for young girls and novels for adults that explore the pioneer journeys of Norwegian immigrants in 19th-century America.
Today, Lauraine describes how her Norwegian heritage shapes her life, cooking and writing to this day and the “someday” dreams God has been bringing to fruition. You’ll also read about her battle against procrastination, her love of digging in the dirt and the top five books that have shaped her faith and creativity.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
It is amazing to me how my Norwegian traditions from both parents still color my life — especially Christmas dinners at Grandma and Grandpa Clauson’s three-story house in Bemidji, Minnesota. Lutefisk with melted butter, lefse, boiled potatoes, Swedish meatballs and gravy and string beans, followed by pumpkin, mincemeat and apple pies with whipped cream for dessert. Grandma always baked at least three kinds of pie. Kids could get a tiny sliver of each. I never did come to like mincemeat.
Lefse became a favorite Christmas treat, but one needed a special tool for turning it. A few years after Wayne and I were married, my dad made a lefse stick for me. He found a wood slat from an old window shade, about 30 inches long, and ground one end down, curved and smooth. Even with such a perfect stick for turning, my lefse was never as good as Mom’s, perhaps because I didn’t have a cast-iron stove to bake it on.
One fall, I bought an electric, nonstick lefse griddle to make our lefse for Christmas. Our recipe for delight? Spread softened butter on half a circle of lefse, sprinkle liberally with sugar, roll into a cone, devour and make another. However, most Saturdays through the year, I stirred up pancake batter from scratch — meaning no mix — and used buttermilk. Then I baked it on the lefse grill and served it with butter and genuine maple syrup. Then, we’d sit back and catch up on the news with those around us. Tradition!
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QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
I love digging in the dirt. And planting both seeds and plants. Gardening has always been part of my life, starting back in Minnesota as a barefoot little girl killing potato bugs by dropping them into a can of kerosene. The potatoes lasted the winter. I learned from my mother and taught my three children to eat ripe (not green) strawberries, snap beans, use our pants to wipe dirt off a just-pulled carrot and let sweet tomato juice run down our arms. We’re all washable.
One Washington summer day, 3-year-old Kevin came running into the house. “Rie a flug, Rie a flug.” I ran out to find his toddler sister, Marie, covered in slug slime. Gagging, I scrubbed her down in the bathtub, then tucked her in for a nap. De-sliming the tub emptied a can of Ajax, and I dropped her cute pink sunsuit deep in the trash. Years later, I learned ducks gobble up slugs and their eggs. And ducks, especially ducklings, are delightful.
Then, 20 years later, I watched that same courageous daughter fight to stay alive in a hospital bed, breath by breath, losing her six-year battle with Ewing Sarcoma, a children’s cancer. Memories of her riding her sorrel horse, Cimmaron; diving for the volleyball; practicing her flute; slamming the softball; feeding lettuce to her guinea pig, Reeker; learning to shift a car; walking down the aisle in her cap and gown. She breathed her final breath and leaped into Jesus’ waiting arms. I went home to dig in my garden.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
Taking a personality test can be a good experience for writers — well, for anyone who sees value in knowing themselves better. When I learned that procrastination was part of my personality type, I shrieked, “It’s not my fault!” I read the words again so they would be branded on my soul and fought back tears.
As I continued reading the astonishing information, a dream floated ahead of me. What if I changed from leaving everything to the last minute to starting an assignment the next day? That took some pondering. I was always so blooming busy. Husband, three nearly teen kids, a home on one acre that was becoming a mini farm, church, teaching Sunday school, leading the youth group, Bible study, trying to lose weight that I gained baking our own bread because it was healthier.
I was writing horse stories for girls, a newspaper column, magazine articles and query letters for more assignments. Still, our family finances needed serious help. Since the kids were old enough to manage, I found a part-time job at a sewing store because my hours could be in the evenings and on Saturdays. In our bedroom, I sewed for hard-to-fit people. I loved all I was doing, but tiredness can drag one way down. I met with two other writers every week and they became my cheering squad against procrastination.
“Please, Lord, let it be so,” I prayed frequently. God always answers our prayers, but I’ve learned the best way to recognize his actions is by looking back. Now, I can rejoice at all the writing deadlines met for those 150-plus titles, the people who came to hear me speak, the miles traveled, the joys of being on time, no longer late.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
Someday Isle — everyone has at least one and possibly several. Through the years, I often dreamed of mine. Someday … but daily living continued to get in the way. After all, I was already a wife, a mother of three teens, a writer, a writing teacher, a softball coach, a Bible study leader. So really, was my dream that important in the scheme of things? Someday …
I frequently used the “Someday Isle …” topic in my speaking. I assured those present that they each lived with one or more, too. One of mine was becoming true as I authored a growing number of novels, a few nonfiction books and my horse books for girls. I loved talking about my characters coming to life and finding their dreams.
An editor friend said to make sure each book had at least one Norwegian character. In my next book, the teenager drew with pencils, the aunt with charcoal and the old woman decorated her cabin with Norwegian Rosemaling.
I spoke at a conference that offered painting classes for afternoon relaxation. As the teacher set out the materials, I danced with delight. My Someday Isle to paint with watercolors of glorious colors had come true. Several yearly conferences later, after loving painting at each, teacher Betty offered, “You might enjoy painting even more if you did it more than once a year.” I went home, found a class and discovered she was right. Helping other people discover their God-gifted Someday Isle brings pure joy. May I help you find yours?
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
Too many of us miss out on the most valuable part of our day, those minutes when we are about to wake but aren’t quite there, when the Holy Spirit can most easily get through to us. We can hear music and voices from deep within, be bathed in vibrant colors, fragrances and feelings.
Looking back, I am more aware than ever of this extraordinary gift of creativity that can be used in any field — not just the arts but also inventing or problem solving. For example: a steaming ship sliced the gray waves smashing against the hull. The gray-clad young woman clutched the railing as a cloth-wrapped body was lifted over the bars to sink into the screaming sea. Cholera had stolen another — this time, her father.
Who, what, when, where? I lay in bed now fully awake, excitement tingling clear to my toes. Thank you, Lord. Write it down so you don’t forget, the voice of experience reminded me. I pulled open the drawer beside my bed, dug out a yellow pad and pen — oops, put on my glasses — and wrote what I knew as briefly as I could. I had to go to the bathroom. But now, I wouldn’t forget. Too many times, I’d lost ideas because I’d assured myself I would remember. Don’t take the chance. My working title for this new series was “The Rutabaga Years.” The final title is “Home to Green Creek.”
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Sometimes life dumps us on our fanny, literally in my case. I still say it was the toilet’s fault, but I ended up with a broken femur and an implanted steel bar the length of the bone. Life changes in an instant. Surprise! Did I really need a timeout?
I had always loved learning, and now, I needed to try creative new things. My cowriter, Kiersti (one of God’s gifts to me a couple of years earlier) and I had a manuscript to finish. Since typing was now difficult, even with a laptop, I switched to my cellphone. We brainstormed, she wrote, and sent me the manuscript to edit. Back and forth, we met the deadline. It fascinates me how God had put all we needed in place for us so much earlier.
Looking back and remembering are always the best ways to recognize God in action. He meant it, not only for the Israelites but for us, too. So when I go searching in his word, his love and wisdom wrap around me, a constant reminder that he has my back.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
“What books would you keep if five was the maximum number allowed?”
What a bizarre question! I stared at my friend, surely my mouth hanging open. Where’d that come from?
A Bible, of course. That popped up before taking a breath. The version didn’t matter.
The second one came more slowly but was still solid. “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young, an amazing devotional book written as letters from Christ himself. I have no idea how many times I’ve read it, shared it and bought more to give away. I love rereading the notes I wrote in it, many written in various colored inks.
“One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. I started my own lists of blessings because she pointed the way.
Ah, getting stumped. We — my kids and I — called the alphabet picture book by Dr. Seuss, “The A book.” “Aunt Annie’s Alligator, a,a,a.” There was number four.
I was stymied. For days, my mind rummaged through bookshelves, lists and catalog stacks. Number five. What books had I read more than once, quoted, shared and talked about? Finally, I smiled and nodded. “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne. My list was complete.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
I have learned that I have a hopefully treatable case of technophobia. It is not contagious, and it responds well to patient instruction. I find that clicking the off button eases the tension, but never taking said instruments of torture out of the packaging is the best recourse.
If one is bitten by the horror, drink two cups of tea and go watch the birds. An alternative is to cuddle your dog or cat and read a book with background music. Stay away from the refrigerator.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Readers often ask if I ever think about turning my historical novels into movies, starring Ingeborg Bjorkland and the characters of Blessing, my fictitious town near the real town of Drayton, North Dakota. They mention other books that have been set to film. My reply is always, “I wish.” And I do.
But one year, I took a weekend class on script writing in case I decided to turn one of my stories into a script. That class also made me aware of the magnitude of movie production.
One year, when I was in Drayton teaching classes on novel writing, someone asked me about writing plays. I’d written and produced plays for Vacation Bible School at church, so I said I’d help if they wanted. A few weeks later, I got a phone call, saying, “What about a play? Could you help with the script?”
We pulled scenes from the first three books and combined them into three acts. Between the local Ox Cart Historical Society, the Drayton school and the community, Ingeborg and cast entertained sellout crowds. A local photographer filmed the production, and the historical society sold the DVDs.
I’ll never forget the thrill of sitting at the back of that gymnasium, the lights and action on the stage, me and the audience totally involved. Whoever dreamed … Yes, I still dream of seeing Ingeborg or any of my other characters and their stories on the screen. What an adventure!
“Looking back and remembering are always the best ways to recognize God in action,” Lauraine said earlier in today’s interview.
The Bible agrees.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord,” the psalmist writes, “yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and remember your mighty deeds” (Ps. 77:11,12, ESV).
What “mighty deeds” has God done for you in the past, friend? How could thinking deeply about them ignite your faith for what you’re asking God to do today?
Lauraine Snelling is an award-winning author of more than 150 books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults, young adults and children. Her books have sold more than 6 million copies in English, Norwegian, Dutch and German. She makes her home in the mountain valley of Tehachapi, California, with Basset, Lucy and LapCat inside. Outside, she has Bitty Kitty, Zero and three aging hens, Buff, Floozy One and Floozy Two. Birds flock to her feeders, hummingbirds especially providing seasonal entertainment. Reading is her favorite sport, and watercolor painting her restoration, along with gardening in pots due to gophers.