Waukee Novelist Publishes Third Book

By all accounts, novelist Wendy Delsol's story could very well be a novel in itself.

Six years ago, this well-traveled Michigan native moved from sunny Los Angeles to Waukee when her husband landed a job with a local advertising firm.

Delsol had embraced her role as a stay-at-home mom of two boys, but in the back of her mind, she thought writing might be her calling.

“When I read a great book, as soon as I finished I thought, ‘How do you get that job?,’” she said. “In my 30s that was my secret dream or goal - when I have time and I my kids aren’t as demanding, I will write.”

And she did.

Just last week, Delsol released her third novel, “Frost.” It’s the second in a young adult trilogy that began with a book titled, “Stork.” “Stork” centers around Katla LeBlanc, a teenager who moves to Minnesota from Los Angeles and becomes part of an inexplicable mystery.

Delsol spoke to Waukee Patch last week about what it’s like to be a writer, how she got her start and how a migraine convinced her to write her first novel.

Waukee Patch: How did you get your start in writing?

Wendy Delsol: Most writers say they knew as a child they wanted to be a writer. That wasn’t my case. I was a tomboy and was more interested in gathering experiences. I read, but I wasn’t the model student of the family. Still, I love stories and I was always spinning stories from movies and books.

When I was 40, I had some very serious migraines and as they were ruling out all these different things, they had me do a MRI. It’s very claustrophobic - you can’t move your head and you’re in that tunnel for a long time. There is a lot going on and it was frightening. I had to come up with something I could do and I started mapping out a book. I had never written anything. That was the moment when I said, “I’m gonna do it. I’m going to write a book.”

Waukee Patch: What was the first book you published?

Wendy Delsol: “Stork” was the first. It came out Oct. 12, 2010. It was actually my fifth book, but that’s typical. It can take as many as 10-12 books before you publish one.

Waukee Patch: What is “Stork” about and how did you come up with the idea?

Wendy Delsol: “Stork” is the story of a 16-year-old girl who moves from L.A .to Minnesota into a community of Icelandic decent. Once there, she is mysteriously inducted into this group of women who are human storks and they take the hovering of human souls and match them with the right mother.

Years ago, I remember watching, “Unsolved Mysteries” and there was this story about a boy who told his mother that he had a pre-life memory of flying around and getting to select her. It just always stuck with me. It was just fascinating to me that he remembered and that he picked her.

Waukee Patch: Where do you get your inspiration?

Wendy Delsol: Often a newspaper article will make me think, “Oh that would be a great novel.” I read the newspaper every day. Movies or gossip - the hard part is not coming up with ideas. The hard part is not having the time to write them all down.

Waukee Patch: Now with “Frost” out, when will the trilogy be completed?

Wendy Delsol: The third book is all written and I’m currently working on rewrites. It should come out October 2012.

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Wendy Delsol will be at the Des Moines Public Library, 1000 Grand Ave., Des Moines, on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss her third novel, "Frost." The event includes a contest for teen book groups where they can earn a chance to win a pizza party.