We spoke to Christine Solomon about her new children’s book Odd Ed, humanitarian work and her acting career.
Born in Egypt and raised in Canada, Christine Solomon is a theatrically-trained actress, spokesperson, humanitarian and now children’s book author.
Christine Solomon’s on-screen work includes The Detectives as well as Bullet Ride and My Stretch of Texas Ground, both available on Amazon Prime. Christine Solomon released children’s novel Odd Ed (illustrated by Anastasia Balobanova) on December 1st, 2021. It’s currently available as an e-book and paperback although the hardback edition is upcoming.
However, this is not all Christine Solomon has lined up. Her new book, Wishing Upon A New Moon is scheduled for release in 2022. As well as this, Christine will also launch her skincare line Aprém in the coming months,
Read on below for the full Christine Solomon-Courageous Nerd interview.
As an actress, humanitarian and entrepeneur, how do you balance these different aspects of your life?
CS: Oh, that’s a really good question. Honestly, I’m pretty organised. I think it’s been within me since I was a little girl. I’m obsessed with organisation. So, I try to organise my day the night before and make sure I address everything that needs to be done. If it doesn’t get done, I’ll have to schedule it for another day. I have this agenda that I created for myself to help me stay organised.
A lot of my friends were telling me that I should make it available to everybody. So, I did! In the pandemic, I created it for everybody and then I launched it. So, that’s how I keep myself organised. I think this is very important in order for you to have a balanced life.
Your new children’s book Odd Ed was released on December 1st, 2021. What inspired the transition into writing?
CS: It was during the lockdown – we had another lockdown early last year. We didn’t know what was going to happen. It’s so unpredictable. I wanted to do something meaningful. What better way than writing a book for kids? To teach kids and have a significant message. That’s what I did; I started brainstorming about what I wanted to write. What kind of character? Everything just happened very organically and very fast when it came to Odd Ed.
I’m very grateful – it felt like a calling or an epiphany. It was very, very strange in some way. I haven’t had that feeling in a very long time. That’s what happened with Odd Ed, it just happened so fast.
How would you describe the premise to parents or potential readers?
CS: The book takes place by the Michigan Lake. It’s about Ed, who’s an egg. He stands out from his siblings; he looks and behaves a little differently. His siblings keep mocking him and bullying him. An incident happens and it makes the siblings realise how important it is to love one another and not judge one another.
It has a beautiful message that we’re all unique, we’re all different and we all have different skills. The book talks about self-love, self-acceptance about being brave and loving one another. It has quite a few messages in there.
Nowadays, we live in a world where there’s a lot of cyberbullying and bullying in schools. I wanted to teach kids that this is wrong. What makes you unique is going to help you succeed in life. That’s exactly what happens in Odd Ed.
The book is available in two formats – ebook and paperback. Next year, it’s going to be available in hardback format. We’ve also translated Odd Ed in French. We’re launching that next year.
To what extent does your acting background influence your writing? For example, understanding story structure and having a beginning, middle and end.
CS: Yes, absolutely. We study scripts, we study characters. I had to come up with the character and give him a profile sheet. Then, think about the story and what I mean. I also want the parents to explain new words and new meanings to the kids.
It really helped me, as an actor, to write the book. I feel it really does.
What did you find different between telling a story through a performance compared to actually writing it for a book?
CS: I never thought in a million years that I’d be writing a story for kids. As I said, it just happened so organically, I can’t say I’m a professional writer but I am a professional actor. For some odd reason, I started writing and it just came out. On top of that, it actually rhymes. That’s very difficult to do. However, I had all these rhymes and kept going with the story.
It was a moment of creativity. Those moments are very rare when they happen. I’m very grateful that it happened at that time. I’m able now to share this beautiful story with kids, to teach all these topics.
On the acting side, are there any upcoming projects that people can look out for?
CS: Yes! I was very lucky and worked last year during the pandemic. I worked on a movie called Jacir, starring Lorraine Bracco and directed by Waheed AlQawasmi. He’s a former creative director for FOX and created this beautiful movie. I can’t wait for people to see it.
You have also been a part of the Building For America’s Bravest Campaign, led by Josh Duhamel. How would you describe this experience and your humanitarian work in general?
CS: Josh Duhamel is wonderful. I worked on the campaign with him, the producers and the organisers. We managed to raise $17 million to help injured soldiers to have their independence. They sacrifice their lives for us, for the country. They’re injured so they find it difficult to be independent. Smart homes are very expensive. Therefore, we needed to raise money to help them and build those smart homes. It’s a really, really great project.
In yet another interesting turn of your career, you were part of the 25th Screen Actors Guild Television Nominating Committee. Was there a lot of pressure?
CS: Yes, they contacted me and asked me to join. I was so honoured, they don’t ask too many of us. Every year, they pick new people, new actors to do that. Basically, what happens is you get so many movies to watch. You pick who to nominate. It’s a lot of work but super fun to do. I was very, very lucky to be chosen. Obviously, all the perks are amazing as well.
As we’ve discussed, you’ve covered many different areas already. That being said, what do you hope to accomplish in 2022?
CS: Honestly, my biggest goal is to keep creating and keep thriving. That’s what I believe we came on Earth to do. Leave this planet as a better place for the next generation. So, that’s what I’m going to keep doing.
Thanks for taking the time, Christine. Take care and stay safe!
CS: Thank you so so much for having me on, Happy Holidays to you.