Russell Elkins was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1977. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age 17. Although his family movedaway from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown. He and his family now live in the Boise, Idaho area.
Russell has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. It took him a little while, but eventually his eyes locked onto a beautiful blonde, and he has never looked away. Russell and Jammie were married in 2004. Years of struggling with infertility left Russell and Jammie with a decision to make and their lives changed dramatically when they decided to adopt.
Russell and Jammie have adopted two beautiful children, Ira and Hazel, and have embraced their role as parents through open adoption. Both are actively engaged in the adoption community by communicating through social media, taking part in discussion panels, and writing songs about adoption. Russell also writes a weekly post for Adoption.com and contributes regularly to Adoption Voices Magazine.
Connect with Russell Elkins on Blog ? Facebook
Interview:
Please tell us in 20 words or less, why we should read your book.
An amazing and intense ride of emotions so crazy you would think it was fiction- watching the birth of an adoptive family unfold.
What book is on your night stand now?
I love my Kindle because I love to bounce back and forth between different books. I?m always reading 3 or 4 at a time- usually something educational, inspiring, and something for fun. Right now: Hooked by Les Edgerton (educational book about writing), Journeys On the Edge: Living a Life that Matters by Walt Hampton (inspirational/self improvement), Winter Sparrow by Estevan Vega (a novel).
Do you have plans for a new book? Goals for future projects?
Oh yes yes yes. The follow up book, continuing the story of this adoption as well as telling the story of our second adoption is already written- now in its 4th draft and will soon go to the editor. I also have a novel that will be out early 2013, probably around February or March. I?ve also just finished some small eBooks on adoption and plan to publish another one before the year?s end.
Which of your characters is most/least like you, and in what way(s)?
Ha. This isn?t really a question for my book since this book actually is about me and my story with adoption, but my little boy, Ira, looks an awful lot like me. Fun how it worked out that way, although I know I would have been just as thrilled about everything even if he didn?t look a thing like me or if he were a different race.
Have you ever written anything that you thought would be controversial and found it wasn?t?
I didn?t know how ?controversial? open adoption was until I dove deep into the adoption advocacy world. There are lots of people who look down on it, saying children should always be raised by their biological parents. People who say adoptive parents can?t love an adopted child as much as they could a biological child. I?ve been called an adoptaraptor- swooping in to steal babies. That said, those ignorant people are few and far between. Most criticism about my topic is whether or not it?s healthy to have the biological parents still in the picture, but after reading my book a lot of those p?
At what point in your life did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I?ve always been right-brained. I?ve always loved to create, write, etc. I also tend to be the kind of guy who, when I like something, I?m not a spectator. I love a good story, so being the guy to create one sounded even more fun than reading. I started out in fiction, and I will always do fiction. This series of adoption related books is more because I?ve felt ?called? to writing our story. That said, the point I?d say I decided was when I finally got out of college and finally had the time.
What is your favorite Quote?
?Facts, schmacts. You can use facts to prove anything that?s even remotely true.? -Homer Simpson
What do you like to do when you?re not writing?
I play and sing in a band with my brothers. We perform together in public on weekends and LOVE it. I love to show off.
If you could get front row tickets to watch any performance live, who would you like to go see?
I saw Ben Folds and Guster play together live once and that was probably the best concert I have ever been to. That said, I wish I could have seen a Michael Jackson show. I loved his music when I was little and I bet that show would have been amazing.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
Writing is still ?unwinding? for me. I?m sure everyone has gotten lost in a great book. Take that and multiply it by 10 and that?s what it?s like when I have a good writing session. Love it.
What?s your ?guilty pleasure? TV show?
The Simpsons. That?s not so embarrassing to say, except the amount I watch it. I?m the first in line to buy every season that comes out on DVD and I watch the same episodes over and over and over again and laugh out loud the whole time, even though I know the punchline before it?s said.
Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook all the way. Open Adoption, Open Heart has its own FB page where people from all around share, ask, and comment about everything adoption. We learn together, build each other up, and share. A lot of fun.
You?re hosting a dinner party for a famous writer, dead or alive. Who?s on the invite list and who?s your guest of honor?
My wife and kids, of course. My immediate family. And I?d love to have a good sit down with the most inspirational and revolutionary thinkers- Charles Darwin, Joseph Smith, Leonardo Da Vinci, Karl Marx, Thomas Jefferson. I?d just sit back and listen with a tape recorder.
What inspired you to write your first book?
When my grandpa turned 90, everyone threw him a surprise party. There were tables set up with all the things he?d done throughout his life- everything from paintings, wood carvings, buildings he?d designed as an engineer/architect, and one table of a few books he?d written. I said to myself, ?When my life is coming to a close, I hope to have such concrete examples of things I?ve accomplished.? That being said, I?ve always loved to write, although the format has changed a lot. I?ve written so much poetry I could fill volumes, but almost all of those are for my personal journals. I?ve written ?
Have you ever suffered from writer?s block? If so, what did you do about it?
Absolutely. There are times when my typing fingers can?t keep up with my inspiration, and times when I stare at blank screens. When that happens, I usually move on to writing something else, like a short story or a blog post, then come back to what I need to get done.
What is your writing process like? Do you follow a regular routine?
I have my own quiet spot where I can be left alone. I?m not the type who can work in a busy coffee shop or something. I need quiet or my mind and eyes follow the people around me. Can?t listen to music while I work either or I can?t focus.
What book(s) or author(s) have influenced your life and writing?
I was reading a Harry Potter book when I first decided to write my first book, which was a really fun book I wrote at about a 5th grade reading level for kids. It starred my nieces and nephews. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, JK Rowling, Frank McCourt
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Rejections from publishers are never fun, but I met went to meet at a coffee shop with someone from Aloha Publishing about signing a contract together for Open Adoption, Open Heart. I had also submitted a fictional novel to a different publisher about the same time. He happened to be there at the coffee shop and said, ?Oh, I just sent you an email 5 minutes ago.? and it wasn?t good news. He was awesome enough to pick apart the work my novel needed before being ready, something most publishers won?t take the effort to do- and he was absolutely right. I?ve worked hard on that novel and I?m so ?
What is your favorite genre to read/write?
I love to jump around between different genres. I like YA a lot. A good love story, but not the kind that?s all physical and no plot. I like to read a good fantasy novel, but I don?t know that I?ll ever write one.
If you could jump in fairy tale, and live in that world? which would it be?
Harry Potter- just so I can go around saying Voldemort?s name and making people cringe.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Write write write write write. Always be writing. Even if you?re not planning to publish what you?re writing, all writing sharpens your skills. Expect rejections and bad reviews. Don?t be afraid to put your vulnerable self out there. And take criticism to help make you better.
Favorite places to vacation?
Guatemala City! I speak fluent Spanish and I love ?The Land of Eternal Spring?
If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
What were your favorite books as a child?
Encyclopedia Brown (a boy who helped his detective father solve crimes). Loved ?em. I used to write to the author a lot, trying to give him ideas and he always send something in reply but never used any of my ideas.
What?s the last truly great book you read?
Duma Key by Stephen King.
How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
I came home from a softball game to a house packed full of family and friends. My wife threw a fun surprise party for the day the my shipment of books was supposed to arrive. Of course, those boxes somehow ended up in Fresno instead of here in Boise and took 2 more days to get to me, but we had a fun party anyway.
What does your workspace look like?
Put up a wall and converted part of the garage. Big window with a desk next to it. Carpet. Very basic, quiet, not fancy at all, but it?s mine and I love it.
What?s your favorite thing about Fall?
World Series baseball.
What are 3 of your all time favorite books?
Angela?s Ashes, Harry Potter, The Hobbitt
Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book?
RussellElkins.com is where you can purchase a book, follow my short/true stories blog, etc. also, follow my short/true stories blog on Facebook: Short Stories, True Stories. My personal Facebook page, and Open Adoption, Open Heart has its own Facebook page as well.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Hooray for adoption!. The best thing that?s ever happened to me. I love my family more than life.
The world of adoption has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. No longer do biological parents have to say goodbye to their child forever. They now have more options when deciding the type of adoption to pursue, such as open adoption. Open adoption creates the opportunity for a special relationship between biological parents, the adoptive parents, and the child.
Open Adoption, Open Heart is an inspiring and true story, which takes the reader deeper into the feelings and emotions experienced by adoptive parents. As you read this incredible story, you will experience the joys, difficulties, and amazing victories facing adoptive couples. Russell and his wife, Jammie, invite you to share in their inspiring and heartwarming journey.
For a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card ? enter the Open Adoption, Open Heart Giveaway.
Source: http://cuzinlogic.com/2012/11/open-adoption-open-heart-by-russell-elkins/
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