A retired psychology professor, Elayne Klasson spent her career teaching others about human behavior and relationships. One of Klasson’s greatest fascinations in life has always been the concept of love and why we choose to love the people we do. At age 72, Klasson is tackling the topic, but not in an academic format. It’s an idea she explores in her debut fiction novel, Love is a Rebellious Bird, which was released through She Writes Press on Nov. 12.
Klasson, who is scheduled to appear at Solvang’s The Book Loft for a book signing on Nov. 23, took some time to chat with the Sun about the novel and its inspirations.
Sun: One underlying thread of your novel deals with pre-adolescent relationships and how those formative years can make permanent imprints on who we become as adults. What is it about being a teenager that allows these kinds of results?
Klasson: There is something about teen-aged years when it seems our identities are strongly imprinted by our peer group. I think we begin to rank ourselves and internalize what others say about us. This is not to say we can’t break out of this. But when I attended my 50th high school reunion, I thought about this a lot.
Sun: In what way? I read in one of your previous interviews that the reunion also partly inspired the synopsis of Love is a Rebellious Bird. How so?
Klasson: There was one boy—he had been the “it” boy of my childhood. He was very beautiful. He never seemed to have an awkward phase. And he was also extremely smart and well spoken. Even the adults were taken with him. Seeing him at the reunion, he was still handsome—years had been good to him. And he was successful. I wondered about him and all the girls, and maybe a few boys, who had been in love with him. What if he and one girl, maybe less beautiful and brilliant, had remained friends their whole lives? What if she remained in love with him, but he never thought of her that way? And so Love is a Rebellious Bird was born to investigate why we love the people we do. And what happens when we don’t give up on that love?
Sun: Your background in psychology has also informed your philosophy on romantic relationships. Has your career as a psychology professor influenced your fiction writing?
Klasson: I’ve been a college professor for most of my professional life—teaching at San Jose State University. I recently moved to the Central Coast from the San Francisco Bay Area. I have a Ph.D. in psychology and have always been fascinated by relationships—what works and what doesn’t. My passion, however, has always been fiction and in my middle years decided to take the plunge and try to write a novel.
Sun: What are some of your favorite aspects of writing fiction? I also read in press materials that one of the elements you enjoy the most is world building?
Klasson: I particularly like taking characters and families through many years. A novel gives me a chance to take my time and watch my characters grow and develop and age. These are also my favorite kinds of novels [to read]. I like fiction that really allows us to watch how a person or family changes over time. And we all do—despite acquiring much of our identity in those high school years.
Sun: I also read that you currently write a lifestyle column for the Santa Ynez Valley News. How would you compare your experience writing columns so far to writing a novel?
Klasson: I love writing a column. A novel takes me four to five years to write. It is so gratifying to finish a column and see it in print the next week!
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood can relate. Reach him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 21-28, 2019.