Pam Laughlin
Where did I get my idea for Soul of the Elephant? I wanted to write a book for my sons that was a coming of age, adventure story set in an exotic location. What better place than India? I loved the idea of spicing up the plot with tigers, elephants, monsoons, spirit animals and cultural superstitions.
Personally, I’ve always been drawn to the Indian culture: the food, clothes, history, customs and terrain. But researching 1870 South India was even more intriguing than I imagined. Pouring over old diaries and journals written by missionaries, hunters, geologists, government employees of the East India Company and travelers was time consuming, but fascinating.
So why elephants? Now this is where things take a strange turn. Some may think it’s unbelievable, but it’s the absolute truth. While riding my bike at Monmouth University in West Long Branch in 1981, I had a chance encounter with a baby elephant. I found it tethered under a tree. When I got off my bike to take a look, somebody chased me away with a stick. Nobody believed me until we discovered Annie had been filmed at the university.
Some disbelievers say an elephant wasn’t in any of the Wilson Hall scenes, but I know what I saw. The little, big-eared pachyderm always stuck with me and made its way into Hemit, the Kind Mahout series.
Personally, I’ve always been drawn to the Indian culture: the food, clothes, history, customs and terrain. But researching 1870 South India was even more intriguing than I imagined. Pouring over old diaries and journals written by missionaries, hunters, geologists, government employees of the East India Company and travelers was time consuming, but fascinating.
So why elephants? Now this is where things take a strange turn. Some may think it’s unbelievable, but it’s the absolute truth. While riding my bike at Monmouth University in West Long Branch in 1981, I had a chance encounter with a baby elephant. I found it tethered under a tree. When I got off my bike to take a look, somebody chased me away with a stick. Nobody believed me until we discovered Annie had been filmed at the university.
Some disbelievers say an elephant wasn’t in any of the Wilson Hall scenes, but I know what I saw. The little, big-eared pachyderm always stuck with me and made its way into Hemit, the Kind Mahout series.
- Birthday
- December 22
- Website
- https://pamlaughlin.com
- Location
- Bridgewater, NJ 08807
- Name
- Pam Laughlin
- Professional Interests
- I'm interested in finding a crit partner or group
- I provide creative and promotional services
- Blog URL
- https://pamlaughlin.com/blog/
- Genres I write in...
- Young Adult
- New Adult
- Historical
- Non-fiction
- Gender
- Female
- Occupation
- writer and cheesemonger
Contact
- pam.laughlin.5
- X, the social media site formerly called Twitter
- PLaughlinauthor
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