Alison Strobel never shys away from the tough issues in her novels and Composing Amelia is no exception.  Enjoy meeting Amelia and Marcus.


Over to you, Alison:~

Brief physical description ~ Amelia

About 5′ 7 and 150 pounds, with a typical Irish complexion and long, curlyish red hair. I can’t remember what color her eyes are! I want to say green, though. 🙂

Actor/famous person

I actually pictured my sister-in-law, Kelli, when I envisioned Amelia. The main difference between them is that Kelli is far more laid back and even-keeled. Amelia has a bit more fire in her, emotionally.


Strengths and weaknesses

She’s an encourager, and she’s assertive and determined. A very hard worker.  Unfortunately, she can be a little selfish, a little myopic, and a little melodramatic.

Quirk (if any)

She’s not that quirky, really. She *does* occasionally play compositions on her knees as though she’s playing them on a piano.

Your inspiration for the character

Tori Amos, who I mention a few times in the book, was who I envisioned when I pictured Amelia playing–that kind of passion and abandon. Tori is more introverted, however, whereas Amelia is more extroverted and socially bold.  Actually, now that I think about it, I think I envisioned her physically, too–so Amelia is really a combination of Tori and Kelli. 🙂


Brief physical description ~ Marcus

About 5’11, 180, brown hair, blue eyes (I think!), with a very open and friendly face. The kind of person whose default expression encourages people to talk to him.

Actor/famous person

I pictured Matt Damon, but but a more engaging face. Damon always strikes me as being a little more serious and introverted.

Strengths and weaknesses

Marcus is outgoing, engaging, and loves to help people. He also tends to be a bit blind to his own faults, especially as they pertain to his role in conflict.

Quirk (if any)

No quirks for Marcus!

Your inspiration for the character

I wanted someone who was pretty straight-up normal, someone who would be a good foil for the artistic Amelia. I knew I had to make him interesting enough that Amelia would fall in love with him, but not so interesting that he’d overshadow Amelia in the story.

Background to the story

In 1996 my best friend developed bipolar disease. The following couple of years were a major struggle, both for her and for me. She had virtually no support from her family, who were in complete denial over it all, and none of her other friends were as close to it as me because she and I were roommates, so I bore most of the support role. There was very little out there in the way of resources for Christians struggling with mental illness, or for their support system, and even though writing wasn’t even on my radar as a career at the time I thought, “Someday I’m going to write a book about Christians and mental illness.” I really expected it to be non-fiction, but God had other plans. 🙂

Thanks Alison ~ lovely to have you back!

Relz Reviewz Extras
RBC Book Club YouTube interview with Alison
Visit Alison’s website and blog
Buy Alison’s books at Amazon or Koorong