Today, I’m happy to feature fellow author, Eslynne Smith on my blog. Thanks for sitting down with me this morning, but before we start — I’d just like to tell you that you have a beautiful (not to mention unusual) first name. Is there a specific meaning or family story behind it?
Thank you for asking. Eslynne is the ‘Twilight’ name that I picked for myself a number of years ago when I decided to change my real name. After being diagnosed with PTSD, and accepting the reality that came along with the name my parents gave me — I decided I was ready for a change. Having grown up with an unusual name, I couldn’t pick a traditional name to go by; and I liked the way the author created the name for her main character’s child. So I used components of my real name; melted them together, and Eslynne was born.
That’s definitely a memorable explanation; and I’m certainly glad that I asked.
Okay, so moving on to our actual interview – I’d like to learn a teeny bit more about you; other than what I was able to find online. I did read (to quote you) that you were a “Navy brat.”
As a child, where did you grow up? Was there one specific location, or did you and your family consistently move around? Either way, where was ‘home’ and what was life like for you as a child?
We moved around quite a bit when I was a child, though not as much as I have moved around in the last 6 years.
I was born in Newport, RI; from there we lived in San Diego, CA, Fallon, NV, and in the northern suburbs of Chicago where my father retired out of Great Lakes Naval Station. My parents divorced in 1986 and my mother moved us to Idaho; where I went to Junior High and High School. I managed to end up in Jacksonville, FL, where I lived for 13 years — which is the longest I’ve lived anywhere. It’s where I met my current husband and where our two youngest children were born. It’s a battle for me on where I call home. I would say it’s a tossup between Payette, ID and Jacksonville, FL. In the last 5 years we have moved 6 times for my husbands’ work.
We left Jacksonville for Newport, RI; and I felt like I had come full circle — and where I embraced my new name Eslynne. We left RI for Honolulu, HI while my husband was stationed in Pearl Harbor and this is where I discovered what a Tida was. After he retired, his first civilian employer moved us more than the Navy ever did; we lived in Lexington, SC, Lexington, KY. We liked to joke that we had landed in the right city, just the wrong states. We left Kentucky to come back to Florida and ended up outside of Tampa. That company’s policy was ‘in order to get promoted you had to move’ so with the belief that they would continue to move us 3 more times in the next 2 years, he found a new job.
We currently live in Newark, OH, where we believe we will be staying for the foreseeable future. The house we bought had been on the market for the past 6 years, and while we have only lived here less than 90 days it feels like I’ve lived in this home forever. It’s almost as if the house had been waiting for us.
That’s a heck of a lot of moving!
While your father was in the Navy – did you ever live anywhere outside the continental U.S.? If so, where, for how long, and did you enjoy living there?
I have lived outside of the continental U.S. We lived on the island of Oahu in Hawaii for almost 2 years. That’s where my husband retired from the Navy, while stationed with the Pacific Fleet and also where I discovered the term Tida.
Tida is a Hawaiian word for an aggressive female personality who will fight you, and stand up for what she believes in. She doesn’t get pushed around. While a Tida isn’t exactly a nice word, it’s easy to see how there is a little Tida in us all.
Looking back over your childhood – what was your favorite experience; one that now is a most cherished memory?
My dad retired out of Great Lakes Naval Station as a Company Commander in 1980. People have often asked me why I didn’t join the military and I tell them it’s because I was raised in Boot Camp. One of the coolest parts about being a Company Commander’s kid was that he would bring us in to work with him. He was a Gunners Mate and he taught gun drills.
I’m sure you’ve seen events where sailors or soldiers are flipping and maneuvering guns as part of a display of their agility and control. My dad taught that and would bring me in with him to create distractions for the sailors during practice. I was allowed to ride a tricycle through rows of sailors with wooden rifles and talk on real walkie talkies. The sailors were not allowed to get distracted or frustrated, even if I rode over their toes, which I remember doing at least once.
Let’s talk about the writing side of your life now. How did that begin for you? Did you love reading as a child? Did you journal any traveling? Was there something specific that started you down your literary career path, or did it just sort of ‘happen?’
Professionally I had been tasked by several employers to write policies and procedures for different aspects of the mortgage industry. It was while receiving treatment for PTSD that a therapist encouraged me to embrace writing as a way to release some of my trauma. I struggled when I would write about my personal experiences, and it would leave me physically and emotional exhausted for extensive periods of time. I felt embarrassed and ashamed of the things that had happened to me. It was when I chose to write those experiences as though they had happened to a fictional character that I found the most relief. Suddenly the painful experiences were insurmountable obstacles that had been overcome by a strong, brave heroine with the ability to change the world, like a superhero.
You’ve recently released Taming the Tida, which, if I understand the Amazon 
synopsis correctly, seems to be a political ‘fiction’ of sorts; based upon more recent current events. Could you provide a brief ‘about’ summary?
This is a fictional story about politics, religion and a Reality TV Show giving republicans a candidate who beats Hillary Clinton in 2016. The story is set 45 years in the future with the mysterious death of our main character. The unusual death provides complications with a traditional State Funeral and opens the door for a Celebration of Life instead. This celebration focuses around the final interview given by our main character commemorating the anniversary of winning the reality show where she was discovered. Completed in the old fashioned style of reality shows from the rebellious teenage years of the new millennium the interviewer shares clips from the first season of the groundbreaking show ‘Who Wants to Be President?’
Designed with the mission to boost voter participation and interest in the upcoming election, the RNC creates a reality show to find a candidate of the people. With the winner of the show to receive one million dollars paid directly to the RNC to participate in the Republican Debates. Most people believe that the show is a joke and a futile attempt to draw attention away from Hillary Clinton, who many believe will win the upcoming election, even though she hadn’t announced her intentions to run.
The joke turns serious though when one contestant rises above the crowd with her compelling story that has shaped her opinions. Using her skills in Change Management, she encourages republicans to stop tolerating people and start embracing them for all their differences. By shining a light into the darkest parts of our society, she reignites the fire of the American Dream and inspires a political dream team that steps up as part of the political revolution that put our country back on the right path.
Thanks for sharing the synopsis; Taming the Tida sounds like an interesting read. What was it that inspired you to write it?
I’ve seen so many stories that turn our country into dystopia, and it seems like we are using them as a roadmap. I needed a story that turns our country into utopia and gives us a new roadmap to follow. By embracing the idea of writing for therapy, it wasn’t enough for me to simply write about events — I needed to find a way to solve problems and prevent them from happening to someone else.
Making my main character the President of The United States of America, gives her the power to change everything with a few keystrokes. It also gives a major voice to victims everywhere. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, one of the most painful lies I hear is that most victims grow up to become abusers. Right now the statistics indicate that 30% of victims grow up to be abusers, but those stats are not accurate as this is the most under-reported crime in history.
Most people do not come forward because they are embarrassed and ashamed; and they do not want to run the risk of being labeled the thing they despise the most. Part of the inspiration behind Taming the Tida is to convince victims they have nothing to be ashamed of. What happened to them does not dictate what they will do, or who they will become. When the true numbers are recorded I believe we will see the percentage of victims who turn into abusers to be much smaller than 30%.
Statistically each abuser averages 50 victims. The true number of victims is astonishing, and it’s time for us to rise together and demand real consequences for abusers. I believe it is within our power to end this epidemic in our lifetime. The older I get and I’m pushing 40, the more important it becomes to me to truly do something about solving this problem that has been plaguing us for thousands of years.
Your words regarding childhood sexual abuse ring true — and I am quite familiar with that incorrect, and exceptionally callous, statement. Never in a million years would I wish to inflict on anyone, what was done to me as a child. I agree that this is a vastly under-reported crime (done to both genders), and that those ‘touted’ numbers would be considerably lower than 30% were each instance of this heinous abuse to be reported. I could continue on with the whole psychology aspect of it, but I suspect you’ve already heard it… *smile*
Getting back to topic — I think I also read that Taming the Tida is the first publication from your Change the World trilogy? Can you provide a series premise without spoiling book two and three?
Taming the Tida is a play on words from Shakespeare’s Taming the Shrew. Book 2 will be Shep and Sharmin: True Love Isn’t Romeo and Juliet Who Die Together. It’s Shep and Sharmin: Who Love Through Hell Together. This book will give an in depth look into the love story between the main character and her spouse, America’s first First Dude. Bill Clinton isn’t a role model for my husband, my sons, or my future son-in-laws. So I’m taking the challenge of providing America with a quality male role model for our first female president’s spouse. Being our first First Man, or First Gentleman, or First Dude (whatever we decide to call the male spouse of the president) is an extremely important job. It’s far more important than we are currently acknowledging. As women, we have been extremely fortunate to have strong First Ladies to be role models for the women of our nation. Our men deserve a man that’s just as good a role model as the First Ladies that have come before him.
Book 3 is titled: A Midsummer’s Nightmare. At the end of the Tida book I present my main characters’ family tree. Since it was recently proven that 42 of the 43 presidents have all been related to King John, I took the time to explore a presidential family tree for over a thousand years. The connections I discovered were amazing and tied together storylines from The Crusades and Excalibur, to Robin Hood, Braveheart and The DaVinci Code. This final book will explore the genetic lottery our main character won and the nightmare that it created for her.
What do you hope that readers take away from your current, and future, works?
The power for change exists within us all. Each of us holds a powerful piece to a puzzle that we do not understand — maybe it’s the secret to life, or maybe it’s the key to happiness. It’s important to figure out how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
There is another theme that runs throughout my book; it’s a theme of wolves, sheepdogs and sheep. I hope that this book helps people to realize that they are sheepdogs, and while some wolves may be disguised as sheepdogs, the sheep can sense them. Though it may take a stampede from the sheep, the sheepdogs will deal with the wolves and we will all be safer for it. The sheep and the sheepdogs outnumber the wolves.
And lastly, what words of wisdom would you like to offer your readers, and/or your fellow authors?
Don’t give up. My book explores some dark topics and manages to give humor and hope through resiliency and perseverance. There were times throughout my life where I wasn’t sure I was on the right path, especially when I was writing this book. It’s a big undertaking, politics and religion combined with Reality TV; surely only a crazy person would think to put these three things together.
There were many times I thought about giving up and quitting, and then something would happen, either in the news or in my personal life, that pushed me farther toward this goal. I can finally look back, and see how all the experiences I’ve had in my life managed to come together beautifully for writing this book series.
Thank you again for the interview, Eslynne — it has been very informative.
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About the Author:
Eslynne Smith is the Author of Taming the Tida, a fictional story about politics, religion and a Reality TV show. Eslynne was born in a naval hospital in Newport, RI just after the Navy’s 200th birthday. She has been following politics ever since her mother told her she was related to James 
K. Polk, the 11th President of The United States of America. She comes from a long line of military spouses and has been an enlisted spouse, a commissioned spouse and she is currently a retired spouse as her husband recently retired after 22 years of naval service.
She has held professional positions for over 20 years in the financial services industry, including the “Big 3”. She began by working in the accounting department for a computer company before she moved into auto finance and finally on to the mortgage industry. She obtained her Direct Endorsement from FHA to underwrite government loans in 2005 just before Hurricane Katrina hit. She held training and leadership roles where she did everything from write policies and procedures for default and collections to manage underwriting and repurchase teams during the recent mortgage crisis.
Eslynne was diagnosed with PTSD in the summer of 2008 from traumatic childhood events. After years of multiple therapy techniques she accepted the advice of a trusted therapist and stepped away from her professional life to focus on her personal life. It was during this time that she embraced writing for pleasure and decided to undertake the Great American Novel.
*****
Excerpt:
“There’s a meme out there stating that people who cuss are actually more trustworthy. If that’s true, then I’m the most trustworthy fucker you’ll ever meet in politics.” The announcer slides his arm around her shoulder as they both laugh at the remarks. He looks at her and their eyes meet for an uncomfortable moment. She slides out from under his arm and squares her shoulders.
“You look amazing tonight.” He breathes.
Sharmin rolls her eyes and drops a little accent as she responds “Thank you, I clean up alright. It helps when you have a team of pros that knows what they’re doing. I don’t even recognize myself. It’s so itchy. I can’t wait to get it off.”
“It’s a good look on you, you should do this more often.” He smiles and tries to be charming.
Sharmin smirks at him and nods her head “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He continues “One question please. If you are elected as President, do you want to be called Madam or Mrs.?”
Sharmin looks him in the eyes and said “Ms. please, I’m not marrying it. It’s a title I won’t just have to earn it, I’ll have to prove I deserve it. Not as a Madam running a whore house, but as the President running our White House.” then she walks away, leaving him to stare after her as she walks out on stage.
