Who the heck is Ora Smith? She’s taken many personality tests trying to figure that out.
Her “Love Language” is Acts of Service.
Her personality color is Blue, which means she’s an analyzer and organizer.
Her astrological sign is Pisces = creative, empathetic, generous.
For Myers-Briggs she’s an ESFJ – Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judgment = Caregiver.
Personality tests tell Ora she’s an Extrovert, perhaps because she’s interested in people, their stories, and what makes them act the way they do—which facts she uses in her stories. Yet she often hibernates alone in her house for days like many Introverts, happily writing and creating stories. If more than a day goes by without writing, Ora becomes anxious and can think of little besides her current writing project.
The Enneagram test scores her highest (52 points) as a Helper, but the attributes of Peacemaker, Enthusiast, and Reformer all tie at 48 points. That’s not normal. Most people come out strong with one of those attributes, not all about the same. Her lowest score, 24 points, is for Challenger. Don’t ask her to compete in anything. She just won’t care! Unless you’re playing the board game Splendor with her.
If all that means nothing to you, that’s all right. The thing about personality tests for Ora is that her attributes scores are always so close to one another, it’s hard to really peg her for who she is. For instance, the Myers-Briggs has her as an Extrovert, but she scores only 1 point higher to push her out of being an Introvert.
If you try and plug her as a certain way, you’re probably right, but it might also be true she’s just as much another “certain way.”
On all the tests she scores high as an Individualist. I think this means she doesn’t care what others are doing, because she’s going to do it her own way. But as a result of her other qualities, she’ll try not to hurt anyone’s feelings along the way.
And what does The Birth Order Book say about her being the seventh born—a girl after five boys in a row—the cheerleader for the basketball team, her dad used to say. Well, this long bio just won’t keep you focused on more vaunting, so she’ll leave it to others to try and figure out the birth order thing.
The rarest of human “coloring,” Ora has red hair and blue eyes. To put the stereotype to shame, she rarely loses her temper—unless of course perforated lines don’t rip straight.
Where lies the answer to her multiple attributes (no, not multiple personalities)? She’s not sure, but feels it’s a reason to blame it all on her parents.
(By the way, if you haven’t done personality scoring with your family, she’d suggest it. It leads to understanding one another but also results in considerable laughter.)
For a more serious bio, see Press Kit here.
FAQ
How did you get started writing?
Even though as a child I dreamed of being a writer, in undergraduate school I initially majored in Clothing and Textiles. I had (and still have!) a great love for costumes and watching movies with authentic historical clothing. I’ll watch a bad movie if it has good costumes. Once I was married and had children, the dream of both writing and researching my family kept persisting but I feared I’d ignore my children if I delved into these interests. After they went to bed, I’d do research into the wee hours of the night and eventually started taking research trips to North Carolina one time a year for about six or seven years. In all, I spent twelve years slowly researching my first book, White Oak River, a novel about my ancestors who gave away a child. (It was not the first published, however.) After my five children graduated from high school, I went back to school for a Master of Art in Creative Writing.
What is your writing process?
I can hardly go a day without writing. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about what I will write or doing research for an upcoming book. I have a wonderfully comfortable recliner that adjusts for my bad back and a desk that swings in front of me with my laptop on it. I can and do sit in that chair for hours a day. My son bought me a Fitbit to vibrate when I sit too long.
Do you do anything other than writing?
I love to create. I am an artist and sometimes find time to paint, mostly with oils. I’m learning watercolor. I have traveled for three art workshops, one to Ireland, another to Door County, Wisconsin, and a third in the lovely Smokey Mountains of Virginia. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Fingers crossed I can do another in France sometime soon.
Babysitting grandchildren is one of my favorite activities these days.
I also love to travel.
I still go to movies to check out the costumes.
Eating good food is perhaps too high on the list of things I like to do.
How long does it take you to write a book?
As I mentioned, White Oak River was the first and took twelve years. The second, Unacknowledged, was written in a year because it was my master’s thesis and had a timeline. The third was my children’s picture book, and although I wrote it in a few months, the oil paintings took about a year. I wrote it for my grandchildren and it was kind of a fluke that it got published (and sold at Target online for 3 years!). My fourth was another historical novel, The Pulse of His Soul, which was my second released and took me a little over a year to research and write, and then another year to revise and learn how to market. I had come up with its concept about eight years before, however. I get caught up in research and can spend days on one topic.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m a slow writer. I plot and outline and dream and educate myself along the way. I use an old (free!) program called YWriter where I keep all my notes on what I think I want my chapters to be about. I thoroughly research and imaginatively develop my characters and write long sketches about their personalities and what experiences shaped them to become who they were/are. Sometimes I paint their portraits.
Where do you get your ideas for your books?
Family history for my novels and my Christian faith for my children’s books. I’ve never had writers block and I have a long list of books I want to write.
What does your family think of your writing?
None of my four sons have an interest in historical fiction. I think (hope!) they enjoyed the picture books because I used their children in them as my models. They all love SciFi, which I like too. I like most all genres, however, I read historical fiction and memoir the most. My husband thinks of my writing as my hobby. My daughter is supportive and encouraging with all my endeavors and I love her for it! My siblings and mother are supportive. Most are “advance readers” of my books and have had helpful suggestions. I have two brothers who also write. My (now deceased) father taught middle-grade history and English. Both of my parents loved history and took us eight children across the USA numerous times during my father’s summer breaks. We stopped at every historical marker. I have been to 48 states, most multiple times. I have a deep love for America and its people. *Maine and Alaska—I’ll see you two one of these days.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
That all books are hard to sell. Even really good ones with high reviews. Publishing with the traditional market is almost impossible for the majority of writers. Also surprising is how much marketing goes into selling a book whether published traditionally or not.
What do you think makes a good story?
An author who is determined to make it a good story. You need interesting characters, setting, and conflict in the plot—all that good stuff. My stories are strong in character development. Not just in how I create them, but how they grow throughout the novel. Since most are based off my ancestors, I try to understand them and regard them with respect.
What are your greatest desires for your writing career?
I wish I could meet every person that reads my books and sit down to have a good, long conversation. I love getting to know people. I’m writing for them. I’m also writing for God because in all my books I want people to feel Him and know his true nature of love. I want there to always be hope that no matter how hard the road, there will be peace and joy at the end and a Father who loves us.
