Chris Solaas is an ADHD dad to four wonderful ADD/ADHD kids living in a loving madhouse with three neurotic cats and a snow-white bi-eyed monster dog that eats trees. He has been involved in Children’s Ministries as an Awana leader and commander for 15 years, and a Boy Scout leader for 20 years. In the past four years he has written over a hundred Christian folk songs, six novels, and a number of short stories. Two of his short stories received Honorable Mention at the 2010 Arkansas Writers Conference. He spends his days writing programs for a major manufacturing company, and his nights writing stories for his kids. His passion is writing entertaining fantasy and science fiction stories for middle grade and young adults like his four biggest fans.

I had the privilege to meet Chris at the The Common Cup in Collierville a couple of weeks ago, where I experienced his joy and enthusiasm as he shared a few songs before a small coffee shop crowd.  After briefly speaking with him, I was able to obtain an interview with this extremely talented individual.  

Q:  When did you first know that writing was something you should pursue professionally?

Well, I’ve been an avid scifi/fantasy reader since I was a little kid. In fact, I would sneak Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert Heinlein’s kids books to the dinner table and read them in my lap while eating, or wolf my food as fast as I could so I could be back on Mars or Shannara or wherever my imagination and the author could take me. That was at the age of 13.

I wrote stories back then too, but they were very short, or incomplete. When I became an Eagle Scout, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up – I said a SciFi Writer. They had a lot of trouble finding a local author to pair me up with for a ‘job day’. At the Eagle Banquet they mentioned to nearly a thousand people how hard it was for them to find a local author to fit my request.

Yet it wasn’t until November 2008, when one of the scouts in my troop asked me to participate in National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org) that I actually finished a real full-length manuscript. I read it to my four kids and they screamed for a sequel. Now, six books later, I am still writing rapidly, making up for all those lost years. 

Q:  How has your Christian faith influenced your writing?

It would be hard for the single most important thing in my life not to bleed out in the works I pen. Both in the songs I’ve written since 2007 and the books I’ve written since 2008, Christ comes through in many different ways.

Most of the songs are written to Christians about the Christian walk (or run).  In my Lynvia series, the characters attend church and admonish one another occasionally with proverbs or admonitions from the bible, just as Christian kids would do. In the Lynvian ‘dimension’, the God who knows all, sees all, and Created all, is known as ‘Kep’ (One in Lynvian), ‘K’Varr’ (The all-consuming fire) or simply the One. The dragons have either known Him personally or passed down memories of conversations with Him. The wizards and dragons acknowledge that all their power ultimately comes from Kep.

It’s my honest prayer that I will ‘Petch Kep cherrae gor’, or ‘give the One my all’ in everything I do.

Q:  How many songs for children have you written and where can people find your songs on YouTube?

Oh, wow. It’s been a wild ride since I surrendered my talents to Him. Since July 2007, I’ve written around 100 songs. About a third of those are geared more towards kids – 25 of those are on a double-album for an Advent Story I wrote, 8 so far for an album entitled ‘Playing Games With God’, 3 for my Lynvia series, and 5 for my scifi series, the Doors of Destiny.

You can listen to a bit of my music on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/buriedtalentsband and the Scouting songs I’ve written at http://www.youtube.com/legaleaglesband Many of my songs are available for a free download at my SoundClick site: http://www.soundclick.com/buriedtalentsband.  

Q:  What book projects are you currently working on? (please share your pitch)

I’m doing some editing on my 4-book Lynvia Series right now. I’ll share my pitch for the first one, Of Secrets and Sorcery.

An entire country is out to kill Kyne Goodrum… and he’s forgotten why! Kyne Goodrum’s thirteen-year-old world is rocked when he moves into a haunted house and begins having vivid and frightening dreams of a kingdom he’s supposed to rule - where magic really works, dragons rule the skies, and for some reason everyone he meets tries to kill him. Every day, he deals with bullies and burned-out teachers, and every night he runs for his life from mysterious enemies. To survive, Kyne must face the secrets of his forgotten past and rule the magic kingdom that wants him dead.

Now that I’ve completed my Lynvia Series, I have 4 projects on my plate, to work on simultaneously (I’m a glutton for punishment). The first is to complete the ‘Doors of Destiny’ series.

Another project I’m working on is a Middle Grade fictional account of Magellan’s Voyage Around the World, from the eyes of a young cabin boy fleeing for his life. Obviously, there will be some fictional drama mixed in with many true facts about the hair-raising trip they took to find a new route to the Spice Islands. This book is currently in the research stages.

Another one is non-fiction – an account and some help for parents of ADD/ADHD kids. You see, I’m ADHD, and all of my family have this malady. We have a very interesting home life, and I’ll be sharing the funnier accounts with the world in a book entitled ‘Life in HyperSpace’. It will have real help for parents dealing with this widespread pandemic – help via diet, structure, and medication. I’ll have some help from experts on this one, because I’m only an expert from the parental side. But I know there are parents out there who need a laugh, and need some help too.

Another non-fiction I’m considering is a biblical examination of the Questions of Pilate, when our Lord was on trial. His questions have eternal significance, and when examined closely may resonate with Christians and non-Christians alike.

Q:  Where can people contact you for booking a singing or speaking engagement?  Do you have a website, facebook, blog and/or twitter account?

I bet I’m the only Chris Solaas on facebook. Ok, I checked, I’m just one of three so far, and two of them are me. It’s this Norwegian name. The other guy is related to me… somehow.

Website: http://buriedtalentsband.com

Blogs: http://www.creativeadventuring.blogspot.com (writing)

http://adhdfamilyfun.blogspot.com (our crazy family)

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lynvia

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chris.solaas?ref=ts