An Interview With Kellyn Roth of Wild Blue Wonder Press
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My farming and outdoor adventures (among other things) inspire me so much in my writing. That’s one of the reasons I share those along with my writing journey here. So recently, talking to Kellyn Roth of Wild Blue Wonder Press, I asked her about her inspiration for her work. She recently released an anthology including her own novella and works from several other authors. I haven’t read this collection, but what a fun opportunity to peep into a conversation between two authors. Here’s what she had to tell us!
Hello everyone! My name is Kellyn Roth, and I am the founder and owner of Wild Blue Wonder Press, a Christian indie press currently specializing in historical and contemporary fiction featuring deep, God-honoring themes and difficult topics. Our first anthology, Springtime in Surrey, released in July, and with our second anthology opening for submissions soon, what better time to discuss my inspiration for forming the first collection?
Springtime in Surrey is a collection of eight contemporary and historical stories of hope and resilience. Some are more lighthearted, some have mature themes, but they are all written with the purpose of glorifying God.
When I first decided I wanted to host an anthology, I had to pick out what I wanted to do. I’ve always loved England—in fact, despite being American myself, my first few stories were set in England. The idea of setting an anthology in England and giving it all the cute cottagecore vibes really appealed to me, and thankfully, it appealed to seven other writers, too!
The stories are varied, containing lots of different plots and situations, which is a lot of fun! My novella is the last in the collection, Courage to Stay. It’s a Regency romance featuring an arranged marriage—where both characters are secretly in love with each other, of course, so that’s fun!
I was actually inspired to write Courage to Stay in part because I’m a big Shakespeare nerd, and I loved “As You Like It,” so there are some fun elements in the novella stolen from that play. I was also inspired by Regency comedies I’ve read over the years, such as ones by Sarah M. Eden and Kristi Ann Hunter, and of course, I always attempt to draw at least a little inspiration from Jane Austen!
At the end of the day, though, I’ve committed my writing to God. What He brings to me in terms of inspiration is infinitely valuable, more so than any other factor in the writing process could be. Though I felt led to include less “Christian content” than I might normally, I was still touched when writing Courage to Stay. God always has me write my stories at just the right time for me—which fills me with hope that it may also encourage other people!
Well, thanks for reading my thoughts! Again, I so appreciate Elicia letting me guest post on her blog.
TTFN!
~Kell~
You can find more about Kellyn and Wild Blue Wonder Press here.
