ABOUT
Drew Ellenwood
ABOUT DREW ELLENWOOD
An Author’s Life in Summary
Drew Ellenwood is an author residing in the forested hills of Arkansas. He is married to Traci, and together they have five children. Drew has been a dentist for over 35 years. Inspired by reading C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and Franky Schaeffer’s Addicted to Mediocrity, Drew thought he take his own turn in creating. He started by writing science fantasy. After this, Drew branched into literary fiction and romance.
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A Man’s Life in Two Romances
Overture: A Boy from the Plains
Drew Ellenwood was born on the plains of Oklahoma to Reverend Samuel Ellenwood, a Baptist pastor, and Sam’s wife Agnes. Sam, Agnes, and little Drew moved to wind-swept Wyoming, where Sam introduced Drew to a person named Jesus. Drew’s sister Jill was born in Cheyenne. Sam died when Drew had just turned eight and Jill was not quite two.
Resilient Agnes moved her family back to Oklahoma City. Drew used his imagination to manage his new normal. He went to school, attended church, discovered classical music, and read books. A scrawny kid, he kept mostly to himself. He dreamed of growing into a man with his own family.
Drew entered the University of Oklahoma and there became involved with the Baptist Student Union. He made friends. He caught a vision for his own life. He made the choices of career and character that collegiates face.
Drew hoped he made good decisions.
Life would tell.
Romance 1: Dona
Drew and Dona met in college, almost missing each other. He was in his senior year. She was finishing her masters. They married the next year and started their life so romantically: young, poor, and in love. Wealth might lead to romance. Ask a millionaire. But for Drew and Dona, young, poor, and in love was achingly romantic.
Drew and Dona moved away from the urban plains of Oklahoma to the rural forests of Arkansas. They joined a church. They read and discussed books. They watched a lot of classic movies. Drew started his dental practice. He even served for a while on the board of the Fort Smith Symphony.
They had a baby. And another. And another and another. They bought a house. They lived a quiet, middle-class life amid hills and trees. Like so many others, Drew put imagination to paper and started writing an epic science fantasy. And all was good.
Then Dona was diagnosed with cancer. She fought with fortitude. Eventually Jesus took her home and left the cancer to suffer its own death and defeat.
Drew hoped he could survive.
Years would tell.
Intermezzo: A Guy Trying to Survive
After Dona passed away, Drew still had kids needing guidance, patients needing care, and a business needing direction. He had to learn to cook and run a household. He became a guy trying to survive.
The days and nights stretched before him as a road of unending work and loneliness. But neither Dona nor Jesus wanted that. New choices had to be made.
So, Drew decided to press on into previous dreams. He finished his science fantasy
trilogy he had been working on since early marriage. He took a course on short stories
and another on novels. He dove into the hows and whys of writing. He branched out in
the genres to literary short stories, a holiday novella, a middle-reader’s mystery, and a couple of romance novels.
Drew hoped to engage in that Great Conversation about life with his own written words.
Time will tell.
Romance 2: Traci
Drew and Traci were set up on a blind date hatched up between his hygienist and Traci’s fellow teacher friend. Drew had little hope of any change to his widower status. Blind dates had never resulted in anything more than transient, superficial relationships.
Traci’s friends had warned her not to talk about being a widow on this first and possibly only date. But Traci and Drew forged a kinship in the experiences of a widow and widower.
They had another date. And another. And another and another. They discovered they
had even more in common than grief. They uncovered new love.
They married the next year and started their life so romantically: mature, stable, and in love. Unstable might lead to romance. Ask a renegade. But for Drew and Traci, mature, stable, and in love was refreshingly romantic.
Drew and Traci still live a quiet life in rural Arkansas, still in love, discussing books and movies and life in general. They enjoy their five children and four grandkids. They travel as a pair. And Drew continues to write.
Drew Ellenwood hopes to create well-written stories that engage you, the reader, in entertainment and reflection, and that sweep you and he into the Great Conversation about life.
Reading will tell.