What prompted you to write about your decades of experience as an EMT?
Several years back, my son Thomas and I were involved in a terrifying elevator accident. It was ten o’clock in the morning on a beautiful October day. We had just visited with his doctor. After we saw the doctor, we stepped out into the hallway, and I decided spur-of-the moment to take the elevator. Usually, I prefer the stairs, but I figured that an elevator ride would be more fun for Thomas, who was almost three years old at the time.
The ride was fine at first, but then the elevator suddenly crashed and made a horrible grinding metallic noise, unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life. Then water started rushing under the bottom of the elevator door. For a second, I just stared in shocked disbelief. I quickly hoisted Thomas up into my arms as the water rushed up and over his ankles. I pressed the “door open” button a bunch of times. When that didn’t work, I began pushing at the door to try to open it.
The water quickly rose above my knees. I screamed for help as loudly as I could. But as the water continued to rise, I feared that Thomas and I would surely drown. And then, in that incredibly dark moment, God answered my prayer and the elevator doors slowly opened.
We had landed in a dark basement filled with water. I could hear water running all around us, and the sound echoed off the cement walls. Dim light filtered through a small basement window. Across the room, I thought I could make out the outline of a door. Clutching Thomas tightly to me, I waded through the water and yanked the door open. Fortunately, it was a flight of stairs.
The fire department and emergency medical technicians came, and the fire chief said that the entire building would have to be evacuated for the rest of the day due to the severe electrical hazard in the basement. I had thought Thomas and I were going to drown. It hadn’t even occurred to me that we were nearly electrocuted. I had waded through that deep water with my son in my arms.
That event made me step back and take a close look at my life. I thought about my relationships with God, my family, and my friends. I also thought about my goals and my dreams. One of my lifelong dreams was to write a book. The accident inspired me to start writing.
Did the process of transferring those accounts from memory to the written page result in any surprises? Were there connections of insights you gleaned from the writing process that you maybe had not anticipated?
I began volunteering with my local first aid and emergency squad when I was in high school. My mother suggested that I keep a journal of the calls that made an impression on me. When I first thought about writing the book, I dug the journal out of a box in my attic. As I read through my journal entries, the people in the first aid calls sprung to life again and I was able to re-live the calls as if they occurred yesterday. Unfortunately, my parents passed away before I wrote the book. One blessing was that as I wrote the stories, it brought back vivid memories of my parents as well. For the months that I wrote the book, it was as if I had them back with me again.
Two of your four books are middle grade adventure novels. How did the idea for The Saint Michael the Archangel Academy series (with John Jenkins and Team Liberty) come about?
I knew I wanted to write a book about an unlikely hero. I dreamed of creating an exciting, educational book for middle grade readers that incorporates Christian values into the fabric of the story. I conceived the idea for Saving Mount Rushmore while my family and I were flying to visit Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park.
One of my favorite things about these novels is that they introduce children to national historic monuments in a fun and adventurous setting. Have you visited Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty, the sites featured in the first two books?
I began writing the first draft of Saving Mount Rushmore on scraps of paper as my family waited in the airport to board the plane for Rapid City, South Dakota. Touring Mount Rushmore during the day and attending the night show allowed me to create a realistic adventure there. I’ve also visited the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Liberty Science Center several times. In fact, I’ve crawled through the dark Touch Tunnel, just like John Jenkins and Team Liberty.
I love that the child protagonist of these novels, John Jenkins, doesn’t have any extraordinary gifts. While we love to read about heroes and superheroes, the truth is that most of us aren’t defined by a single extraordinary talent or gift. Talents and the purposes for which we use them are often more mundane, though not necessarily less critical. How did you develop John and his particular insecurities?
In Saving Mount Rushmore, John Jenkins, an awkward thirteen-year-old teenager, is unexpectedly chosen to attend Saint Michael the Archangel Academy. Since the academy is for students with extraordinary abilities, John is puzzled as to why he’s been accepted. After all, he’s an average teen without any notable gifts.
I developed John to possess some of the God-given gifts that I consider to be important, such as being kind, considerate, and loyal. During the scene in which John heroically saves a gentleman by performing the Heimlich Maneuver, I drew upon my own personal experiences as a volunteer emergency medical technician. Towards the end of the book, John must summon up the courage to rappel down Mount Rushmore. When I was in college, I took a class during which we had to rappel both face first and backwards down the wall of a football stadium. As I wrote the book, I vividly recalled my own fear and shared this feeling with John.
Are more books planned for the series?
A third book in my heaven series called Help from Heaven: True Stories of Rescues, Miracles and Answered Prayers from a First Responder is currently under contract with Harvest House Publishers. I’m also working on a health-related text. After finishing those projects, it may be time to follow up with John Jenkins!
Andrea Jo Rodgers holds a clinical doctorate in physical therapy and has worked as a physical therapist for 25 years. She has been a volunteer EMT for 30 years and has responded to more than 7,500 first-aid and fire calls. She lives on the east coast with her husband, two children, and their Dachshund. Andrea enjoys reading, biking, writing stories, and day trips with her family.
Links:
Website: http://andreajorodgers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaJoRodgers/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12397483.Andrea_Jo_Rodgers
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Jo-Rodgers/e/B00SAAQM18/
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This is so cool. I love learning about authors getting inspired by real life!
Me too. Thanks for stopping by!