Introduction: Elaine Ingalls Hogg

I’m Elaine Ingalls Hogg, author and inspirational speaker. My journey into writing came late in life – I found I turned to writing as a way of dealing with what I was experiencing when I was a palliative care volunteer. I needed to respect the confidentiality of each individual I worked with so writing was a way for me to express the intense emotions I felt.

Shortly after I began to write I was speaking on the role of a volunteer at a palliative care workshop and lady I’d never met before came up to me after my talk and said, “You should write a story to help young children when someone they love is dying.” I thanked her, but told her I didn’t think I was the right person. She said, “Oh! I think you are and I’m going to pray for you every night until you do it.”

Her words watered the seed that I’d buried 35 years before after a bad experience on a writing composition exam. I’d suffered a severe case of writer’s block and gave up my dream of becoming a writer and went on to study music instead. However, after the thought was planted, the idea of becoming a writer stayed in my mind morning, noon and night that summer. Shortly after this I remember telling God, “Okay, God, I’ll never know (if I can become a writer) unless I try.” So try I did and my book, Remembering Honey was created. Now I can only look back and be amazed at how God has led, made a path, held my hand and been there for me.

(My last two titles, When Canada Joined Cape Breton and Christmas in the Maritimes have made it to the publisher’s best seller list and they, Nimbus Publishing, are publishing my fourth book, Historic Grand Manan in the spring of 2007.)

My website: http://elainehogg.tripod.com