Little Blurb about yourself:
I write, I read, I write some more. After living in several cities east of the Mississippi, I've settled down in Southwest Ohio. I have two larger-than-I-planned dogs and one cat (who thinks he’s a dog). Oh, and a trio of kids, two of whom are far taller than me, and one who is well on her way to making me the shortest member of the family.
This is a great question! While there wasn't a 'who or what' that inspired me to become a writer, my long time critique group, ERAuthors, pushed me to go and submit my work and make me take more seriously the job of writing.
2. How long did it take you to write (title of book you're promoting)?
I run across this question a lot! A couple of years, to be honest. Between early drafts with a different story line and finding the time to write, it wasn't a fast or quick process. Plus, I'm a slow writer. My buddies will do 1k1h sprints - that's 1,000 words in 1 hour – and I rarely make it.
3. While writing how many times do you go back and rewrite a plot?
I usually don't have to rewrite the plot too much, since I outline after the first couple of chapters. I do go back and add in foreshadowing and sometimes character points to make things consistent. For instance, if you've ever seen the Indiana Jones movie where he's trapped with snakes, you know he hates snakes because of the set up earlier in the movie. That's the kind of things I'll go back in and edit.
4. You run into a bookstore, where do you go first?
In chain bookstores I go to romance, in independent bookstore I go to sci-fi/fantasy. Odd, but I find the smaller bookstores are more likely to carry more small press/esoteric sci-fi/fantasy so I'm curious to see if I'll find anything new.
5. How many books in a month do you tend to read?
Depends on where I am in my writing, if I'm in the early stages, I'll go through a couple a week. If I'm in the later stages of a story, I tend to not read a lot then gorge on a book or more a day after I'm done.
6. In all the books you've read. Who is your most favorite character and why?
This is hard! I'm going to cheat and give two, one from romance and one from sci-fi/fantasy. The first is Amanda Cheever in Julia Quinn's the secret Diaries of Amanda Cheever. Such great writing and character growth. The second is Dr. Mackenzie Winfred Elizabeth Wright Conner, 'Mac' from Julie Czerneda's Species Imperative novels. So many great things about the series and Mac is the heart of it all.
7. State 5 random facts about yourself.
My favorite color is red. I'm a middle child (and twin). During my early elementary school years my family lived in a commune. My high school graduating class was ten people. I have only one cavity.
8. Your favorite Genre?
Romance,or stories with a romance element. I can't be more specific than that!
9. What are you currently reading?
I've been saving Wolf With Benefits for quite a while and am diving in now.
10. What is the best book you've read?
This is a very complex question because at different stages of my life I've had different 'best books'. Just because they aren't a current favorite, doesn’t mean they aren't still a best book. So, a short list would include Dragonsong by Anne McCaffery, Dune by Frank Herbert, Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Beauty by Robin McKinley, Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Cruisie, Species Imperative novels by Julie Czerneda and The Secret Diaires of Amanda Cheever by Juila Quinn. Okay,maybe not so short!
11. Any new projects coming up?
TODAY is the release day for my paranormal romance A Matter of Fate from Crimson Romance. If you like sexy shifters and a heroine who is stubbornly ignoring her attraction because she has more important things to do, you'll love this novel.
Someone is setting death–spells targeting mortals and elf blood alike. With her mentor out of commission, it's up to half–trained Warder Mona Lisa Kubrek to stop the magic. Despite being told repeatedly her job is to nullify spells and not go after the source, too many people are at risk for her to not track the spell–caster down. Even meeting a sexy half–elf shifter won't distract her from her goal.
Except Cart Dupree is fully trained and has the team to search for the evildoer, so she'd be stupid to not use his expertise. Stupid is something she can't afford to be, not with her enemy's henchmen after her. Later she'll deal with Cart and his questions about her special abilities and the non–standard training her mentor has given her. Right now, they need to unravel where the magician is, and who he is, before he builds enough power to decimate them all.
First, though, they need to stay alive.
Where you can find author Ellie Heller:
Twitter: @elliewrites2
Goodreads
Website
Blog
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Wow! only 10 kids in your high school graduating class! I come from a HS graduating class of close to 900 & I can't imagine what it would have been like knowing everyone I graduated with. Thank you so much for spending some time here & letting us get to know you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl!
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