Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was a little old piano teacher in tennis shoes for forty years. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wrote “Goodbye, Beloved Breast” the night before my first mastectomy. Poems continued to spill out. My oncologist said, “You must do something with these.” Like a good girl, I minded my doctor. Fine Black Lines: Reflections on Facing Cancer, Fear and Loneliness was born.
As my mother lay in hospice, dying from her cancer, I journaled, reflected, and wrote poems for her. The Last Violet: Mourning My Mother, Moving Beyond Regret explores my relationship with my mother, prior to, during, and after her death.
This Path We Share: Reflecting on 60 Years of Marriage fulfilled a promise to my husband.
He and I live in Englewood, Colorado. We have four children, eleven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is This Path We Share: Reflecting on 60 Years of Marriage.
For our 50th wedding anniversary, my husband gifted me with two anniversary bands – eleven diamonds on each because that was the size of our family at that time. I gave him a packet of poems I’d written for him over the years. Thirty-six poems for twenty-two diamonds. What?!
It took me twelve years to deliver. Perhaps I feared that finishing the book would be the end of our story. Our story will indeed end before too long, but the book is done and we love it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I procrastinate a lot. I generally write when the spirit moves me. However, I am very disciplined about rewriting and editing. I edited one of my books forty-seven times. I also employ editors. I want my final work to be as well done as possible.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Hemingway, Anne Lamott, Mitch Albom, and Malcolm Gladwell.
What are you working on now?
I am documenting and reflecting upon my husband’s illness. I am trying to prepare myself to lose my love.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I sold thousands of books by speaking over 600 times in all 50 United States, Canada, and England.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do the best work you can do, get the best help you can get, and then work as hard as you can to get your work out. Never quit trying.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is our job to follow our heart and do the best work we can and put it out into the Universe. What happens next is not in our hands. I have no idea who said it.
What are you reading now?
Speaking Christian by Marcus Borg.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to love and take care of my husband. Who knows what will come next?
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Necessary Losses by Judith Viorst, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
Author Websites and Profiles
Lois Hjelmstad Website
Lois Hjelmstad’s Social Media Links
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