F. Elizabeth Hauser

Biography

Hello, readers! I'm delighted that you've come to my author page. Let me tell you a little about myself. Before I do, let me say, I hope you'll download a sample of my books and like them so much you want to buy them. You can see that they're priced to be accessible to just about everyone. I write for the love of it, not to get rich.

I grew up in Lakewood, WA, majored in English at what is now BYU-Idaho, formerly Ricks College. After counseling with a close friend, I changed my major to nursing, with a minor in English when I entered BYU in Provo, UT. I had always wanted to teach high school or Freshman college composition. I was fortunate to have some very influential English teachers in both high school and college that helped to develop that desire to teach young people to appreciate literature of all kinds and learn to communicate well with the written word, in all the various literary forms, from poetry to essays, short stories to novels.

After a twenty-five year career in nursing, a vocation I came to understand that I was meant to pursue, I retired and began writing in a way I had never done, or even considered, when I studied literature and composition in college. Once I turned in the direction of nursing and all of the education necessary to achieve that goal, my reading was strictly non-fiction.When I married and began raising a family of five children, I seldom found time to read for pleasure.

It was when I joined a book club of a dozen women in our very tiny community in Arizona that I discovered the pure joy of reading fiction. I thrilled to the realization that stories, like movies, transported me into another world. I wanted to enjoy creating those stories and "other world", and I wanted to provide that reading experience for other readers. By the time I began writing fiction, I had plenty of life experience to draw on for my characters, stories, and settings. In each of my books, a smaller part of the setting, if not a major part, takes place in areas that I've actually lived. Describing places where story takes place becomes a pleasant journey into my memories, rich with details that color my stories. In The Homesteaders: Following a Dream, my husband and I owned land on the Siuslaw River in Swisshome, and I saw in my mind the exact place where Caleb was fishing when...oh, I can't spoil the story. Just know that I have seen the rocks, the river, the cliffs, the eagles and ospreys that are part of the setting in the latter part of that second volume. And yes, the blackberries that can only be tamed with goats.

I was introduced to the practice of writing a first draft of at least 50,000 words, which now seems like just warming up, in thirty days by the wonderful world-wide-organization for writers, Nanowrimo. Their name is taken from National Novel Writers Month, which is celebrated by thousands of participating writers, including young writers, world-wide every November. For those who just can't wait for November, they sponsor Camp Nanowrimo in June every year. What a supportive community of writers and for writers!

I discovered Smashwords when a classmate in a small novel writing community class told me about this wonderful free platform to electronically publish my books. I consider that a true gift. I had used other platforms before, but found Mark Coker's organization, as well as all of his valuable tools and informational help, the easiest and most enjoyable way to accomplish publishing. I hope to keep writing for many years to come, and my goal is to complete at least one each year for the foreseeable future. Twelve months to write a book...easy, huh? For all of those reading this that are fellow writers, you know that bringing that manuscript to a point, after revisions, edits, and more of the same, to a point where you are satisfied that it's ready to make its debut to the world is a lot of work. That's the other thing I LOVE about Smashwords, though. If you later decide that you want to make changes, you can upload a revised edition as many times as you want...FREE. Thank you!

I have other interests that make my life a lot of fun, besides writing. Family history research has been very rewarding. I'm an outdoor person at heart, and love camping, fishing, and backpacking when I have time. This past spring and summer, my little Jack Russell Terrier and I backpacked 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I had planned on completing the 2,189 miles that makes up the entirely of the trail, but things don't always go the way we plan them. You'll learn more about my experiences in this life-changing adventure in my upcoming book, Walk. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. My Successful Fail On the Appalachian Trail.

I'm a confirmed animal lover and my dog and cat are much-loved family members. My cat has since decided that she prefers the company of my friend and writing colleague who generously kept her for me while my dog and I hiked. The only thing more rewarding to me than spending time in the outdoors is spending it with my grown kids and grandkids. I lost my husband, best friend, and biggest supporter in October of 2019, but he will always be an inspiration for my writing.

Smashwords Interview

What are you working on next?
My next book is actually my "first" book. That manuscript that you've had stuffed in a drawer, or in my case, let gather dust in your laptop documents. I've revised it multiple times, and to date, I'm still not satisfied with it. My goal is to have it available here and in other retail outlets before the end of the year. It's a story line that I identify with on multiple levels, from life experience with hospitals, rehabilitation, a patient who was lost in a coma for days following femur repair (remember, I'm a retired RN), characters that are loosely based on persons I know...but only loosely. It is a story of devastating consequences of a poorly hatched plan to end the pain inherent in some of the most important relationships in the protagonist's life. And it is a story of finding one's own resilience and reinventing one's future when it becomes necessary. Be watching for Unintended Consequences before the end of the year.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
I love to create new characters first, and then develop plots. My characters become so much a part of me that they feel like family. I write what I know to some extent, as fiction writers are taught to do. Much of that comes into play when determining where my stories take place. All of them involve places I have lived, at least in part of the story, which enables me to clearly envision the setting in detail that would be much harder to develop without that experience. I write small elements into my plots that I have experienced; only enough to make it authentic without removing the essence of fiction, a story created in the mind of the author. Readers should not make the mistake of thinking that my plots, or characters for that matter, are autobiographical. By the time you have lived to the age of retirement, you've acquired a lot of experiences and known a lot of people, snippets of which can be woven into the author's story with no semblance whatever to real events or people.
I write for my own pleasure and hope that my readers will enjoy reading the stories I create as much as I enjoy writing them.
Read more of this interview.

Books

Called to the Work
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 123,760. Language: English. Published: August 19, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Inspirational, Fiction » Inspirational
When the Dyorich family moves to a new state, their whole world is turned upside down. Oldest son, Joey, does not adapt well to this move and gets involved with a group of friends that lead him in a downward spiraling path that lands him with a felony record. As a consequence of his incarceration, he meets a boy who changes his life. And the lives of all of his family.
The Homesteaders: Following a Dream
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 41,820. Language: English. Published: April 25, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Historical » General
The first in a series of novels, The Homesteaders: Following a Dream, introduces the reader to a young girl being raised by her widowed father in late nineteenth century America. Her dream is to become a doctor, like her father. Clara finds she has only two who believe in her, and then her life is changed when she meets another in the form of a handsome self-educated farm boy.
Fish in a Bird's Nest
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 72,310. Language: English. Published: April 18, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
A gripping and authentic story of friendship that blossoms into love, amid cultural, religious, and racial diversity that were usually insurmountable barriers in the early part of the 20th century in America. Choices and their harsh consequences bring two families through pain, sorrow, and unification when children refuse to be captives of social bigotry and cultural misunderstanding.