Meet Evelyn Presley

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Evelyn Presley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Evelyn, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.

The excerpt above from Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” describes how I found my purpose. Often in my life, I have stood at a crossroads. The crossroad was not always in the woods. Sometimes, the crossroad showed up in my bathroom mirror as I was trying to get ready for work. Do I really want to go to work, or should I take the other road and head to the beach? I have seen the crossroads in the faces of my children. Do I continue to pursue my chosen career or be a stay-at-home mom? As an educator, I encountered a crossroads in the classroom when I questioned whether I should continue teaching or take the other road and become an administrator.

And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

The most vivid crossroad appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic. The world of education—the world as a whole—was changing. Where did I fit? What road did I wish to take? I chose retirement.

Retirement was fun for a short-lived time, but I had no purpose. How much enjoyment could I get from one day being just like the other? Why did I begin to question what day it was? How did I get wrapped up in television—especially old Westerns?

Where was my purpose? That is when it hit me—as you get older, your purpose for living must change, or you are not going to enjoy life—you will not be a productive human that others want to be around. That is when I began writing. Oh, yes, I have certainly written a great deal in my life, from curriculum to handbooks to funded grants. There was no purpose in continuing to write as I had done most of my life. I even considered my life-long desire to write a novel. However, I did not take that road. Instead, I took the road covered with undergrowth. I became a writer of children’s books and took the more difficult route of self-publishing.

Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same.

The major point of finding your purpose is that you have several purposes in life that appear as you grow. The purpose may be obvious. At other times, the purpose may be very hard, and you must take the opportunity to travel the adventurous road to really feel alive and possibly make a difference.

I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Many would say I am at the end of my career based on my age. Not true! I have had a few different careers. Growing up, I always said I would be a teacher. As it turned out, teaching at the high school and college levels was my career for several years.

For ten years, I owned and operated a wholesale business. This career gave me an opportunity to utilize the knowledge I had obtained while working on my master’s degree. There is nothing so humbling as trying to put into action what you have learned in a classroom in the real world of business. My love for education pulled me back into teaching and, finally, as an administrator.

Retirement opened up a new life for me. I was walking down the sidewalk in Tarpon Springs, Florida, when I saw a sign about a local author’s reading event. I shrugged my shoulders and thought–why not? If nothing else, I can have a glass of wine. I was pleasantly surprised by the “open mic” reading by the local authors. A seed was planted! Within four months, I wrote and self-published my first children’s book–Boo Thunder.

Why was I able to produce a book so quickly? I had support from many corners. The local authors were excellent mentors. My family–especially my husband–gave me grace and the time to realize that writing was what I really wanted to do.

Two years and three books later, I can say that the career I now have does not make me rich monetarily. But, the look of admiration from my family and friends is phenomenal. Most of all, the excitement and love I feel from children when they hear or read my books cannot have a dollar value. I am overcome with delight with the look on the children’s beautiful faces–I almost feel like Santa Claus.

The resources and ideas for a book come from life experiences and family stories. My children and grandchildren have given me many more ideas than I can put to paper. I now have three books published with another for middle school children slated to publish before 2025.

What’s next? Recently, I found poems written by my mother. These poems will be the source for a devotional book that will be published in 2025.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back over my life, I can state that I have been blessed with faith in my abilities.

My knowledge of history has allowed me to be creative in writing books that are geared toward elementary and middle school children. It is gratifying to see the light come on in a child’s eyes when they can relate history to their own life.

Attention to detail is a vital quality and skill. Crossing T’s and dotting I’s is imperative when writing. The writer must ensure that what is written is based on knowledge.

Imagination is a third ability that has assisted me in becoming an interesting writer. My imagination has taken me on a great mind trip. I try very hard to keep my imagination alive by the way I represent a character in my books. The example below speaks to the role imagination plays in writing a so-so book compared to a really interesting book.

Sally said, “I’m lost.”

Sally, with a look of fear in her eyes, realized she was lost in the forest. No matter which way she turned, she could not find a path to go home. Sally realized she should have charged her cell phone.

You must show action–paint the picture for the reader.

Without question, the best advice I can give to anyone is–research. If you cannot lose yourself in research, if you get bored and give up and write without doing research–do not become a writer. Let’s face it: the world is changing. You have to research and observe in order to keep abreast of changes related to your audience.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

I love writing. I love research. I love developing a vision board for the book illustrations. I love the reaction of children when I read to them.

I do not love marketing. I need an agent to do the marketing. An agent, my friends, is so difficult to obtain because it takes time and money. You may find yourself totally in the dark, as I have. The world of publishing is not easy; it is daunting. But, one day, I will break through–it will happen. Why? Because I believe in myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: drevelynpresley
• Facebook: Dr. Evelyn Elliott Presley, Author
• Linkedin: [email protected]