Monika Strand

Monika Strand is a Realtor in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she is a lifelong entrepreneur, and now, a children’s book author.

Her first book, Welcome Home! came to life after she noticed her client’s nervous children clinging to their parents on closing day. It reminded her how she felt as a little girl moving. Scared instead of excited. She created Welcome Home! to be the resource she didn’t have; a comforting companion to calm a child's fears and make them thrilled about moving to their new home. 

Instagram: @monikastrand

Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?

There is a saying, Once a dancer, always a dancer. 

I find this true for me. When I was in middle school I started taking ballet classes. I found my place where I could be ME, express myself, and forget the rest of the world during those teenage years that can be torture as you are trying to find your place in the world. The classical music would sweep me into poses, postures and expressions that I had never encountered in my life before. Sure, I had danced carefree when the radio was on in my backyard or self-consciously at school dances to the likes of Jungle Love or Don’t Stop ’til you Get Enough. 

Ballet was different. 

I found myself. 

I found my balance.

I found my grace.

I found my reason to get up in the morning.

I found my freedom to express myself through movement.

I also found my voice when I was offered a ballet teaching position at the school. It was such an incredible skill to be able to command the attention of my students and teach them what I wanted them to learn.

I danced non-stop into my twenties. I paused when I married and moved 400 miles away. Coming full circle, I introduced both my daughters to ballet and took classes again as well. These days, I take BarMethod classes, which isn’t exactly a ballet class, but it works my entire body and brain and is a great release from the rest of my day. I encourage anyone who wants to be a successful writer to also make time in their day to get up and move. It clears the brain for your next idea!

What brings you great joy?

I find joy in many moments throughout my life and day-to-day living.

Time spent with family:

I recently became a grandparent. My dad was emphatic that having a grandchild was a love like no other and I would just have to wait to find out what he was talking about. He was right. Holding my grandson is a joy that can’t be compared to anything else. Knowing the life you made brought this sweet little human into the world, just pulls at my maternal emotions in a way that is hard for me to express into words. Revisiting music that once soothed my own baby, and reading the baby books I’ve kept since my daughter was a child, acknowledges just how precious the little moments are, and how they instill some of my best memories with my family.

Deep rooted laughter that brings tears to my eyes:

Has this ever happened to you?  You know what I’m talking about. When you laugh so hard that tears roll down your cheek. That is a joy like no other, being so open with your joyful feelings. It’s infectious. Most likely you will encourage others around you to laugh with abandon, and a bonus beyond the joy of this type of laughter—your stomach muscles get a great workout too!

Volunteering:

Raising my hand to make a difference. I have spent countless hours helping with local special events, parent clubs, community festivals, and being the head Meet Director for a local swim team with 150 swimmers. Getting up before the sun to get things done!

Knowing I helped make a difference in my community always brings me joy.

My Dogs and the Animals that frequent my yard:

Pausing to witness my dogs enjoying the sunshine rolling on the lawn, along with the squirrels running the fence to tease my pups and the birds enjoying the bird baths in my backyard always brings a smile to my face while writing from my backyard studio.

If we are talking about joy for my tummy:

Cafe mochas with whipped cream, soft serve ice cream, cheesecake and fried chicken with mashed potatoes. YUM.

 What do you worry about?

 1. How to get everything done I want to accomplish. 

2. How to let go of the things that are not important.

3. How to effectively market my recent book so it will gain interest and help children moving to a new home.

4. The state of our world and the environment. What will living on Earth be like for my grandson in the future.

Favorite non-reading activity?

Sitting in my hot tub at sunrise savoring a cup of freshly brewed coffee, along with a tall glass of water. I love to take a moment when the world is still quiet and just close my eyes and be grateful for everything in my life. After I’ve taken a few cycles of deep breaths to set my intentions for the day, I open my eyes and notice the beauty around me. Today’s beauty included: honeysuckle blooming, oranges growing, black berries ripening and bees dancing from branch to branch pollinating. 

 What piece of clothing tells the most interesting story about your life?

 Are shoes considered clothing? 

 I’d have to say my first pair of pointe shoes. 

They taught me that if you work hard for something you can get to a higher level of accomplishment. With the level that was achieved came milestones of success in my pink pointe shoes and a finely tuned awareness of who I was, and who I would continue to become in and out of those shoes. So many hours of practice, muscle spasms in the middle of the night from over worked calves, and bloody toes unveiled after rehearsals. My first pair of pointe shoes would quickly be retired and replaced with countless pairs of other pointe shoes as they get worn out pretty quick bending and contorting to every whim and wish of a dancer’s foot. 

As the years ticked by, my shoe selection morphed into heels while I worked retail management positions, comfy sensible loafers as I ran a coffee house and entered motherhood, supported sneakers while I worked in my fundraising company’s warehouse, an assortment of pretty shoes while I showed clients homes as a Realtor, and lately, as a writer you can find me in my socks and even barefoot in my backyard studio in California. I think shoes can tell many intriguing stories of their owners. Just thinking about all the types of shoes I’ve worn throughout my many careers, makes me appreciate my bare feet placed firmly on the ground giving me balance to be me and create the stories I want to share with the world, no matter what clothing I chose to put on for the day.