Please welcome Author Ellie Heller to my blog today!
Here's my interview with the Author:
What is your name? Do you use a pen name
(if so, why?)?
My
pen name is Ellie Heller, although it is a real name since it's a nickname some
friends used in high school and my maiden name, so people outside of publishing
do know me as Ellie. I came to use it because a decade or more ago. When I
first starting joining online writing forums and groups I was told by my techie
friends to not use my real name. So instead I used a name I hadn't been called
in a while. Once I started getting ready to submit and then when I was getting
published I chose to keep the name as a) I was 'known' by it online and b) my
married last name is a nightmare to spell.
Tell me a bit about yourself:
What type of genre do you write?
I write
paranormal and fantasy stories, all with some element of suspense and romance.
What genre to you personally read?
I
read paranormal, YA fantasy (Tamora Pierce rocks!), Regency romance, mysteries,
and some light BDSM and/or ménage.
Tell me about your latest?
A
Matter of Fate is a paranormal romance set in
Buffalo, NY, where elves and shifters and other creatures all try to live
normal lives and keep their magic hidden from mortals. Hard to do when someone
is using magic to create death spells and doesn't care who gets killed.
What sparked your passion for books and the
art of a good story?
Well,
I love to read, that helps! And I love happy endings, which is why I veer to
romance so often. I think the thing I love most is character growth and change,
where they start out one place and you can see them move to a better place by
the end, although they may be kicking and screaming the entire way.
Is there a particular book that changed or
affected your life in a big way?
Beauty by Robin McKinley. This book introduced me to the idea of
alternate realities. Reading a story which was clearly fantasy but in the early
industrial revolution was so *different* than anything else I had come across.
It opened the whole new world of what is now called paranormal literature to
me. Because if this story, with it’s clear elements of fantasy and magic,
could be set then, in a time which seemed far more real and recent than
traditional fairy tales, certainly there could be stories set in the now with
these elements (as opposed to the more science fiction bent of, say, A
Wrinkle in Time). These days with Harry Potter and Twilight the idea doesn’t
seem radical at all, but to me, in the late seventies the idea was
breathtakingly new.
Is there a message in your book that you
want readers to grasp?
There's
the idea that sometimes you just have to buck up and do what you've got to do.
The execution of this can be fun or it can be horrifying, but shirking the
responsibility is not an option.
What challenges have you faced in your
writing career?
Mostly
trying to find time to write. In my early forties I became a widow and a single
mother to three kids under 10. That, and a lack of ground in fundamentals of
good sentence structure and tense is one of the reasons it took me so long to
get to the point I felt I was even ready to start submitting. Oh, and fear of
rejection, but I think all writers deal with that.
What has been your best moment as a writer?
When
someone I didn't know gave my novella a four star rating. It was my first
review ever and I was walking on air for quite a while after that.
Who is your author idol?
I
don't have a single one, but authors I admire include Sharon Shinn, Tamora
Pierce and Sherwood Smith. Oh and Julia Quinn. And Shelly Laurenston… lol, okay
I'll stop now.
Do you see yourself in any of your
characters?
Any
time one of characters is being particularly recalcitrant and stubborn I see a
little of myself.
Do you feel like your dream has come true
or is there much more to do?
Both!
I'm so happy to see A Matter of Fate published, but I have a lot more stories
in this world I hope to have published as well.
What does your workspace look like?
I
typically write sitting on the couch on a laptop with one of my dogs curled up
by me.
Have you ever had a day when you just
wanted to quit?
No.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Aside
from chauffeuring kids? I read, I play online poker, hang out online with some
of my writing buddies. I also love to bead and create things. Oh, and I knit,
badly.
What are the most important attributes to
remaining sane as a writer?
One:
Find a critique group or writing group who will both support you and tell you
when you're being too defensive. Two: Remember finding someone (editor/agent)
to accept your writing is a lot like dating game show, you'll feel very exposed
and out there, it's entirely subjective and just because one person or a dozen
say 'no' it doesn't mean that no one will ever say 'yes.' Three: Read and
remember why you started down this path in the first place!
Did you have a moment when you realized you
were meant to be a writer?
No. I
mean I love writing, I constantly have new ideas and scenarios and characters
coming to mind, but 'meant to be a writer', no, didn't have that moment.
What advice would you give to aspiring
authors?
Never
submit first drafts! Or even second ones. Find a critique partner and/or a beta
reader and polish that piece before you submit. Keep in mind, though, there is
such a thing as over polishing.
After this book, what is next?
I'm
wrapping up another book set in the same world. The working title is Buffalo
Gal, but I’m sure that'll change!
Your website?
Your blog?
Other websites?
@elliewrites2
Where can your book be found?
Crimson Romance ebooks | Amazon | B&N |
iTunes
A Matter of Fate
Ellie Heller
Ellie Heller
Genre: Paranormal
Romance/ Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Book Description:
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.
About the Author:
After living in several cities east of the Mississippi, but
never quite out of the snow belt, I've settled down in SW Ohio with my three
kids, two dogs (one of whom thinks he's a cat) and one cat (who thinks he's a
dog).
I write paranormal romance and contemporary fantasy, all with a suspenseful edge. A MATTER OF FATE, a 'traditional' paranormal romance, will be available this spring from Crimson Romance. My first published short (GLBT sensual), "Ginny's Capture" is available now.
I'm also an acquisitions editor (i.e. slush reader :-) ) for Curiosity Quills Press using my full first name, Alison.
I write paranormal romance and contemporary fantasy, all with a suspenseful edge. A MATTER OF FATE, a 'traditional' paranormal romance, will be available this spring from Crimson Romance. My first published short (GLBT sensual), "Ginny's Capture" is available now.
I'm also an acquisitions editor (i.e. slush reader :-) ) for Curiosity Quills Press using my full first name, Alison.
@EllieWrites2
Ch 1.
Her head bowed to the winter wind, Mona strode across the parking lot to the mall, her concern and curiosity about Raine now verging on dread. Since the frantic call from her normally unflappable friend, the scenarios flitting through her mind kept getting worse. Had she been mugged? Detained by mall security? Why? Raine had given no explanation, only saying she needed Mona's help now. Even if they didn't see each other much these days, their best friend bond was unshakeable.
The wind slid under her collar and raised goose bumps along her back. Fuck-a-duck, it was cold! As soon as she finished her training she planned to move someplace warm and get out of Buffalo. Not somewhere too far south though—her light skin sunburned far too easily to be out in the sun all the time.
Avoiding the revolving door out of habit—she felt trapped when she was neither in nor out—she yanked open the side door, thankful to be out of the frigid temperatures. All elves had their quirks, but she knew she had a few more than most. Growing up outside the Folk enclaves, where she might have learned about magic a lot earlier, hadn’t helped.
Mona looked around, expecting to see the management office since she’d been directed to use this entrance. Instead she spotted Raine on a bench at the far end of the hall. Mona was relieved for a split second—until she took in her usually tidy friend’s unkempt appearance. Poorly dressed for the winter, she had no coat and wore open toed shoes and a loose, cap-sleeved sweater over a lightweight dress. Huddled over, legs and arms crossed, the thin sweater tented her body. If Mona hadn’t known the woman, she would have avoided her, and not just because she could see the glow of evil intent surrounding her, but because Raine looked as if she’d been living in her clothes.
As she came closer, Mona concentrated on reading the magic, a bit difficult in the florescent lights. Definitely a spell had been placed on Raine. And in her. Twisted, violent sigils, showing the intent of the spellcaster, controlled the power runes at the base of the working. Mona would have cringed if she hadn’t been stuck dumb by shock.
Oh no, oh no, this was all so wrong. Raine was mortal—aware there were Folk, but mortal. And mortal or not, no one should have a working like this on them, complicated with many intricate mini-spells encapsulated in the larger one. Mona was very, very thankful that Raine had called her. If anyone who created spells, and not just saw them, like she did, had touched the working it would have been a disaster. Even now she worried that Raine’s actions may have triggered the warning beacon placed at critical junctures of the spell.
The magic in Raine would slowly kill her, Mona could see that much. Mona sucked in her breath at the shock. A world without Raine, no matter how infrequently they saw each other, was unthinkable. But what, if anything, Mona could do about it was unclear. She had to be able to do something. She was in training to be a Warder, to protect Folk and humans from misused magic. Even before her training a spell like the one Raine displayed would have drawn her to attempt to fix it; the need was part of why she'd been called to train. Mona took a deep breath; she needed to be calm. The working would shift, speed up, if Raine got overly upset.
“Raine?” she said once she was sure she could keep her anxiety out of her voice.
Raine jumped up. Standing, the heavily pregnant bulge of her belly became apparent. But last time Mona saw Raine, six months ago before her training had become so hectic, Raine was just starting to date someone and had reiterated she was not doing the baby thing until she had a ring on her finger. What had happened? Now that Mona saw the growing baby, the spell was even more sinister, tied up in the tiny person inside her friend. Whoever set the spell either hadn’t known about the pregnancy or, worse yet, did.
“Mona!” Raine slapped her hand to her chest, hysteria lacing her voice. “You scared the crap out of me!”
“Raine, you okay?” Because, shit, this looked bad. Really bad. She couldn’t believe it, but she actually wished her mentor, Smythe, was here to help her figure out how to deal with a spell of this complexity and magnitude. The old coot’s pedantic lecturing when they were working was beyond annoying, but she’d put it up with it in a heartbeat if he could help.
“Yeah,” Raine said. She took several deep breaths. “I will be. Shit, no one’s snuck up on me that bad in ages.”
“Let’s go in,” Mona said. “Can I get you something to eat?” Cracked acorns that spell was convoluted! Nothing like the clear, linear ones with simple branches she’d seen before, this one looped and twisted like a tangle of yarn.
“I—” Raine jumped at the noise of the revolving door screeching.
They turned as a man in tan slacks and an unbuttoned blue blazer headed their way. In Mona’s eyes he glowed with the same tainted residual as Raine. His spell was new and strong enough that she could almost make out the working despite the distance. Mona's read of his Folk abilities made clear he was a shifter, although he wasn't what the Weres called “strong,” and didn't have the balance of elf and human blood needed to shift at any time. Which was good, because the last thing they needed was for him to transform in the middle of the mall. And he definitely had weak magical resistance given the spell compelling him to act looked to be lightly set. Lightly set or not, the compulsion rune on the top layer honed in on them.
Her head bowed to the winter wind, Mona strode across the parking lot to the mall, her concern and curiosity about Raine now verging on dread. Since the frantic call from her normally unflappable friend, the scenarios flitting through her mind kept getting worse. Had she been mugged? Detained by mall security? Why? Raine had given no explanation, only saying she needed Mona's help now. Even if they didn't see each other much these days, their best friend bond was unshakeable.
The wind slid under her collar and raised goose bumps along her back. Fuck-a-duck, it was cold! As soon as she finished her training she planned to move someplace warm and get out of Buffalo. Not somewhere too far south though—her light skin sunburned far too easily to be out in the sun all the time.
Avoiding the revolving door out of habit—she felt trapped when she was neither in nor out—she yanked open the side door, thankful to be out of the frigid temperatures. All elves had their quirks, but she knew she had a few more than most. Growing up outside the Folk enclaves, where she might have learned about magic a lot earlier, hadn’t helped.
Mona looked around, expecting to see the management office since she’d been directed to use this entrance. Instead she spotted Raine on a bench at the far end of the hall. Mona was relieved for a split second—until she took in her usually tidy friend’s unkempt appearance. Poorly dressed for the winter, she had no coat and wore open toed shoes and a loose, cap-sleeved sweater over a lightweight dress. Huddled over, legs and arms crossed, the thin sweater tented her body. If Mona hadn’t known the woman, she would have avoided her, and not just because she could see the glow of evil intent surrounding her, but because Raine looked as if she’d been living in her clothes.
As she came closer, Mona concentrated on reading the magic, a bit difficult in the florescent lights. Definitely a spell had been placed on Raine. And in her. Twisted, violent sigils, showing the intent of the spellcaster, controlled the power runes at the base of the working. Mona would have cringed if she hadn’t been stuck dumb by shock.
Oh no, oh no, this was all so wrong. Raine was mortal—aware there were Folk, but mortal. And mortal or not, no one should have a working like this on them, complicated with many intricate mini-spells encapsulated in the larger one. Mona was very, very thankful that Raine had called her. If anyone who created spells, and not just saw them, like she did, had touched the working it would have been a disaster. Even now she worried that Raine’s actions may have triggered the warning beacon placed at critical junctures of the spell.
The magic in Raine would slowly kill her, Mona could see that much. Mona sucked in her breath at the shock. A world without Raine, no matter how infrequently they saw each other, was unthinkable. But what, if anything, Mona could do about it was unclear. She had to be able to do something. She was in training to be a Warder, to protect Folk and humans from misused magic. Even before her training a spell like the one Raine displayed would have drawn her to attempt to fix it; the need was part of why she'd been called to train. Mona took a deep breath; she needed to be calm. The working would shift, speed up, if Raine got overly upset.
“Raine?” she said once she was sure she could keep her anxiety out of her voice.
Raine jumped up. Standing, the heavily pregnant bulge of her belly became apparent. But last time Mona saw Raine, six months ago before her training had become so hectic, Raine was just starting to date someone and had reiterated she was not doing the baby thing until she had a ring on her finger. What had happened? Now that Mona saw the growing baby, the spell was even more sinister, tied up in the tiny person inside her friend. Whoever set the spell either hadn’t known about the pregnancy or, worse yet, did.
“Mona!” Raine slapped her hand to her chest, hysteria lacing her voice. “You scared the crap out of me!”
“Raine, you okay?” Because, shit, this looked bad. Really bad. She couldn’t believe it, but she actually wished her mentor, Smythe, was here to help her figure out how to deal with a spell of this complexity and magnitude. The old coot’s pedantic lecturing when they were working was beyond annoying, but she’d put it up with it in a heartbeat if he could help.
“Yeah,” Raine said. She took several deep breaths. “I will be. Shit, no one’s snuck up on me that bad in ages.”
“Let’s go in,” Mona said. “Can I get you something to eat?” Cracked acorns that spell was convoluted! Nothing like the clear, linear ones with simple branches she’d seen before, this one looped and twisted like a tangle of yarn.
“I—” Raine jumped at the noise of the revolving door screeching.
They turned as a man in tan slacks and an unbuttoned blue blazer headed their way. In Mona’s eyes he glowed with the same tainted residual as Raine. His spell was new and strong enough that she could almost make out the working despite the distance. Mona's read of his Folk abilities made clear he was a shifter, although he wasn't what the Weres called “strong,” and didn't have the balance of elf and human blood needed to shift at any time. Which was good, because the last thing they needed was for him to transform in the middle of the mall. And he definitely had weak magical resistance given the spell compelling him to act looked to be lightly set. Lightly set or not, the compulsion rune on the top layer honed in on them.
Note there are 2 different giveaways- one for the blitz one for the tour
guest blogs and interviews coming separately
April 22 RDB Giveaway is $25 Amazon GC and swag.
Link to grab code
Display link
Tour Giveaway April 15- 29
the grand prize being a Kindle ($69 value) and a $35 Amazon GC (or the option of a $100 Amazon or B&N gift card),
the first place prize is a Buffalo Bills Blanket and a $20 Amazon gift card
6 prize packs featuring bags full of book swag
Share link
Giveaway display link
Please thank Ellie for joining us today. Check out the rafflecopters and a book or two. Join in the fun.
Keep Writing!
Jodie Pierce
