Caroline Starr Rose: An Interview!

We’re privileged to feature a virtual interview today with Caroline Starr Rose, author of Blue Birds (just released on March 24; read our review) and of May B. (read our review). Both are historical fiction novels in verse. Caroline resides in Albuquerque with her pastor husband and two sons. She writes about faith, writing, her books, and other thoughts at her website. Check out her bio section for some cute pictures of Caroline as a young girl!

One of the delights of interviewing authors is discovering that they are real people just like the rest of us. Caroline’s favorite authors are some of my favorite authors, and her family enjoys doing many of the things my family enjoys doing. Read on for the answers to those questions as well as Caroline’s thought-provoking reflections on what it means to write from a redemptive worldview.

Getting to Know Caroline: Short and Sweet

What is an early book you remember reading in your childhood?

The Littlest Rabbit by Robert Kraus

Is there a favorite poem or literary passage you have memorized, perhaps from your childhood?

If I were a poem,

I would grab you by the ankles

and rustle you up to your every leaf.

I would gather your branches

in the power of my winds and pull you skyward,

if I were a poem.

Read the rest of Sara Holbrook’s “If I Were a Poem”

Who are three of your favorite authors? What is your favorite hot beverage?

Katherine Paterson, Beverly Cleary, and Karen Cushman. I love a good cup of coffee.

What do you enjoy doing with your family? Do you have any other hobbies than reading and writing?

We love games. Balderdash, Apples to Apples, cribbage, and Skip-Bo are favorites.

If you could recommend a book to our audience that you haven’t written yourself, what would it be? 

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.

Caroline’s Writing and Work: Her Thoughts on Her Craft

Can you tell us anything about an early story or poem that you wrote—perhaps one you blush to recall but your mother kept anyway?

I wish I could remember specifics! I wrote a book of poetry maybe in second or third grade. It was typed on an ancient hand-me-down typewriter. I have memories of working on it very seriously in the early mornings. 

My childhood best friend and I wrote what would now be described as fan fiction: she wrote Gone with the Wind stories for me, and I wrote Mary Poppins stories for her—100 “books” each, all with cliffhanger endings.

Those sound great! My third grader is very into Frozen fan fiction right now. It’s good to know that fan fiction can help develop genuine writing skills.

What is your favorite of your own books?

I heard author Carl Deuker say his favorite of his own books is always the one he’s written most recently. But he always has a soft spot for the first. I definitely get this. I’m feeling very Blue Birds-y right now, but I know I’ll always love my May girl.

Many writers these days seem to keep their religious beliefs close, but you write freely about faith on your website, and your husband is a pastor. Do you write specifically for a secular audience or have you sought publication through more “Christian” venues as well? How did you come by that decision?

I’m not comfortable with the idea of separating the secular and sacred. All of life bleeds together, and I feel my writing life is no different. I hope what I write is viewed as accessible by and pertinent to all readers. But I also equally hope that gospel truths (every life has worth, our abilities/lack of abilities don’t define us, there’s a promise of something better) shine through.

All that said, I submitted a Saint Nicholas story to the Christian market sixteen years ago. It floundered in various editor slush piles for years and years but never found a home. It’s something I still love to this day.

We at Redeemed Reader would definitely agree with you about not separating out the secular from the sacred in terms of life itself. That is precisely why we review books published from all types of publishing houses and give starred reviews to books from all types of publishers (not just “Christian” books from “Christian” publishers). 

Worldview and Culture: Caroline Shares Her Thoughts on Writing Redemptively

How do you seek to convey a redemptive worldview through your writing?

I’m going to have to quote the remarkable Katherine Paterson on this one:

I cannot, will not, withhold from my young readers the harsh realities of human hunger and suffering and loss, but neither will I neglect to plant that stubborn seed of hope that has enabled our race to outlast wars and famines and the destruction of death. If you think that this is the limitation that will keep me forever a writer for the young, perhaps it is. I don’t mind. I do what I can and do it joyfully.

One of the many things I love about children’s literature is Ms. Paterson’s notion of “the stubborn seed of hope.” Even when characters go through difficult things (and they must, otherwise there is no story), there is hope, there is beauty, there is completion. If that isn’t a reflection of the gospel, I don’t know what is!

Two years ago I read Tim Keller’s Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work. It was beautiful on so many levels. I especially appreciated the glimpses it gave readers of musician John Coltrane. The book opens with this quote:

During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music…to inspire them to realize more and more of their capacities for living meaningful lives. Because there certainly is meaning to life. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD.

As an artist, this meant everything to me. I want to make children happy. I want to honor what it means to be a child in every big and small moment. I want to inspire the capacity for living meaningful lives. Keller says Coltrane “had been given God’s power and had felt God’s pleasure. [He] had stopped making music for his own sake. He did it for the music’s sake, the listener’s sake, and God’s sake.” His work became an act of worship, a celebration of his art, a gift to his audience. There is nothing more beautiful (or redemptive) than that.

That is a wonderful note on which to end! We are thankful that those like you whom the Lord has gifted with the ability to write are using your gifts for His glory. 

Don’t forget to check out Caroline’s website for more information about her, her writing, and her meditations on faith and writing.

Cover images from goodreads and amazon