1) What inspired you to write Shelter from the Storm?
My favourite part of teaching was telling stories to the students. Writing a book for children had been on my mind for a while. When a tornado hit Norwich, the idea for this little book was born.
2) Where did you get your ideas for illustrations or which illustrator to use?
Mandy Stam was my colleague at Rehoboth, and I loved her drawings. When asked about illustrating the book, she was immediately interested. Receiving her illustrations would bring some interesting surprises along. My first impression when I saw Alisha’s mother in a drawing was: That is not what she looks like! Some of the illustrations were based on photographs, like the cleaning up of branches in the yard and the fascination of our children with the candles during the power outage.
3) How did you develop or come up with the various chapters and topics?
We had just gone through the tornado ourselves. Everyone was talking about it. Newspapers carried eyewitness accounts. There was a small ad in the local paper asking if anyone had seen a baby doll that had been lost in the storm. That gave me the idea of the main character losing an item during the tornado. The book contains some autobiographical elements. I come from a family of book lovers, and we used to visit the author Jacobus Overeem near Barneveld. Various relatives of mine recognized that the route Alisha and her Mom drove to pick up the lost album was the way we drove to the Overeems’ farm. In 1998, Rev. Spaans was our minister. The sermon during the church service in Chapter 9 was partly his message on the Sunday after the tornado, although his text at that time was not from Isaiah 32.
4) What do you want your readers to learn from Shelter from the Storm?
The main message of the book is summarized in the poem written by Grandpa in Alisha’s autograph book. That is my hope and prayer for all the (young) readers: That they may see their sin and the need for the Saviour, so that by God’s grace they may seek and find shelter in Christ.
5) What do you enjoy about writing?
The surprises that writing brings along. Sometimes I struggle for a while, erasing and editing and trying again, until suddenly there is the moment where the words just start flowing. Doing research and sharing knowledge is part of it too. Surprising people with a tidbit of new information is rewarding.
6) What is most difficult about writing a book?
For me it is the language barrier. English will always remain my second language. After almost 30 years in Canada, I realize I will never catch up with native speakers. My imagination is not so rich that I can think up new plots with unexpected turns and endings. My stories will be based on true happenings and most likely be a mixture of fact and fiction.
7) Did anyone influence you to begin writing? If so, can you tell us about it?
In school colleagues and students would ask sometimes if I had plans to write a book. My husband encouraged me to take the course for Writing Children’s Literature. The last assignment was either writing another story or submitting the first four chapters of a book. I thought: If I don’t do it now, I probably never will.
8) Have you written anything else?
Yes, mostly for Dutch publications. Years ago my sister and I wrote the column Tussen Zussen (Between Sisters) for the GezinsGids. For a youth publication I wrote a continuing story about the Orphan Train. Since last year I have been writing columns for yet another Dutch magazine. Although done unintentionally, quite a few of these columns deal with local history, e.g. the role of the Underground Railroad in this area and the work of the Lord in the heart of the Mississauga Natives in Ancaster and the surrounding villages.
9) Do you have plans to write any more books or articles?
There are always some ideas floating around in my mind. My daughter and I have been talking about working together on a book for children. Most likely future books would be about God’s providential dealings with people. I hope these books may be a means for children to see how good it is to serve the Lord. Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help.