Rosalie Knogler is a testimonial to others that it is never too late to follow your passion. Indeed, the Canadian author just penned her first children’s book, My Little Owl, with more to come. In a Zoom interview, the Victoria resident was vibrant, gracious and had a contagious laugh.
Before our interview, I complimented her background staging. Behind her hung one of her quilts that had owls on it. Rosalie, who leads an active lifestyle, talked about her writing background, the launch of her new book, what’s next for her, and shared some writing tips.
With a gift for writing, Rosalie started writing stories and poems in elementary school. In high school, her English teacher recognized her talent and encouraged her to enter a writing contest. She won.
Rosalie grew up in Hanley, Saskatchewan 40 miles south of Saskatoon in a large family of 10 children.
“We’re a family of storytellers,” she says. “We get together, and one story flows into another, and we laugh so much. It’s just great fun.”
Rosalie followed in her mother’s footsteps to get back into writing as she had put it aside.
“You’re a career girl, you’re a wife and a mother of two, plus volunteering – life is busy. And so, it got put on the back burner until the pandemic hit, and then I thought, I’ve got all this time and most of my activities are curtailed, I’m going to try it. My mom wrote her memoirs when she was 70, which is the age I am now, and that inspired me to start writing more.”
In fact, Rosalie’s mother had said to her daughter, “Before you lose your memory, start writing things down.”
Rosalie’s inspiration to write her first poem when growing up was while sitting under a silver maple tree in their backyard.
When the pandemic hit, Rosalie decided to write her first book, My Little Owl, a children’s photo book.
“The inspiration for My Little Owl was hearing an owl early one January morning,” she says. “It seemed like my dad had come to visit (he’s been gone 12 years now). I made a felted owl and took pictures of it doing everyday things like hiking, biking, gardening and visiting a little library. Soon after writing the book, we learned we’d be grandparents.”
Rosalie hopes My Little Owl is a fun read for children, parents and grandparents, with cute photos and rhymes.
Rosalie has several other projects: one a children’s photo book about robins to dedicate to her mother, who is 95 now. She is also working on a novel about a woman who loses 10 years of her memories.
“I got the idea last year when I fell and bumped my head badly,” she says. “We were chopping wood at the farm, and I tripped and smacked my head on the metal trailer and knocked myself out briefly.”
“I’m also writing a book of historical fiction called Maggie’s Boy. It’s about my grandfather, who was a young orphan in England, and a Home Child sent to Canada at age 13. In his 20s, he homesteaded in Saskatchewan. The book spans 100 years, including history of the Spanish flu pandemic and two World Wars.”
Maggie’s Boy may help educate people about Home Children and their struggles. Another book of historical fiction is about a French ancestor, a fille du roi (King’s daughter), in the 1600s.”
Rosalie has had a love of books since childhood, which helped her pen children’s books and historical fiction. “I have lots of favourites. When I was young, it was books like Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. As an adult, I like Maeve Binchy for her humour and her characters; Alex Hailey and James Michener for their historical fiction; Barbara Taylor Bradford for her epic family dramas; and Diana Gabaldon for her amazing scenarios and history,” she says.
If you are interested in writing, Rosalie says, “Just do It. Get it all down and edit later. I keep a notepad by my bed as I sometimes dream about my characters.”
Her favorite writing spot is in their family room looking out at the water for a dose of writing inspiration.
Rosalie follows an active lifestyle by hiking, biking, singing in a choir and making quilts. “I belong to the Cordova Bay Hikers, and they’ve been going strong for probably 30 years. I joined more than 20 years ago now, and we hike weekly. The hikes that I lead are about an hour and a half to two hours long.”
“It’s so important to stay physically active. I like to hike and bike, but any exercise is good. Stay creative too – my quilting, writing and singing are fun. And keep up your social connections, especially in these difficult times.”
My Little Owl is available from the author at knogler@shaw.ca or in Victoria at The Country Gift Shoppe (at Mattick’s Farm), Timeless Toys (both Broadmead and Oak Bay locations) and Indigo (at Mayfair Mall).
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