Military Couple’s Novel Brings Humour, Heart, and Humanity to the Page

By Lookout on Jan 07, 2025 with Comments 0

Paul Dagonese,
Staff Writer

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When Master Sailor (Retired) (MS (Ret’d)) Elysia Stevens sat down to write Smelling Daisies, she never imagined it would grow into a creative partnership with her husband, Chief Petty Officer 1^st Class (CPO1) Mark Stevens.

What began as a fun project evolved into a novel that’s as much about love, humour, and resilience as it is about the military experience.

Drawing from their shared backgrounds in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and their 18-year marriage, the couple combined Elysia’s knack for storytelling with Mark’s classical literary sensibilities to create a novel that defies genre labels.

“It can’t be put into a cookie cutter,” Mark said. “You couldn’t say it’s a rom-com, or an adventure, or a drama, or a historical novel. It’s a little of everything because Elysia has the rom-com background, and mine is classic literature. So, when you smash the two together, this is what you get.”

Smelling Daisies tells the story of Daisy, a modern-day female soldier and veteran of the CAF, who finds herself thrust into medieval Scotland after a mysterious time-travel twist. Daisy’s training and survival instincts are tested in a world far removed from her own, where gender roles and medieval dangers collide with her modern identity.

The couple’s collaborative writing process mirrored the playful banter between Daisy and her romantic interests in the book.

“We were pinging off each other,” Mark said. “She’d write an idea and then pass it to me, and I’d write an idea and pass it to her, getting a male and female perspective.” He explained how this process of exchange between them really comes out in the characters.

Elysia added, “You see, I’m always funny, but my husband is hilarious. Where I was like—’Ooh, I think he’ll like this’, he’s then like, ‘Okay, I see where you’re going with this, but let’s just twist it around a little bit more’.”

Universal Themes with a Military Lens

What makes Smelling Daisies particularly compelling to a CAF audience is its exploration of themes deeply rooted in military life. From the camaraderie of troops to the challenges of mental health, the book touches on the sacrifices service members make.

“Not only is Daisy funny, but she’s raw too,” Elysia said. “She has imperfections and she’s also dealing with a lot of growth throughout the story.”

Mark further explained.

“The family relationships and bonds with her troops are all a universal theme across the CAF,” he said. “And I think that comes out in the book as well.”

Elysia, who served 15 years in the CAF, and Mark who is still serving, drew on their experiences and extensive research to balance humour with heavier themes like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

They explained it was challenging finding the right points they wanted to touch on without it becoming too overwhelming for the reader. They say humour was key to balancing out the novel for an enjoyable yet realistic portrayal.

Trying out a New Narrative Technique

One of the novel’s standout features is its interactive ending, a rare ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ twist. Readers can vote on the book’s website, elysiamarkstevensbooks.ca, to determine the characters’ fates, with the cut-off date set for April 22, 2025—the couple’s wedding anniversary.

“We leave the ending with a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ so readers get to choose the character’s path at the end,” Elysia said. “This is something not done often in storytelling.” The couple plans to use the results to shape a sequel that is already in the works.

Teamwork Coming Together

For Elysia and Mark, Smelling Daisies is more than just a book—it’s a testament to their 18-year marriage and the power of teamwork.

“Our styles inspire each other is the best way to describe it,” Mark said.

Available online and in select local bookstores, Smelling Daisies offers humour, heart, and a glimpse into the quirks of the human condition—making it a must-read for military members, families, and anyone who loves a good story.