I am happy to announce that I am publishing my third writer's interview with Author Elizabeth Mueller. Her début novel ' Dark Spell' has hit the market with a bang. A very warm and a jovial person I got a quick response from her when I asked her for her interview.
Excited...excited...I am also hosting a give away of author's debut novel ' Dark Spell'
To enter to win an e-copy of Dark Spell, please share with me your most memorable moment while blogging? I will use Random.org to choose the winner--you have until December 25 to enter.
" I started into the world of magic when I was very young. I expressed it by *illustrating talking animals, and forced hardships upon them just so that I'd feel better.
I also turned to the game of "pretend" that extended into a series of days or even weeks and months. I had an active imagination. It was my way of escaping.
I started writing when I was 9 with short and choppy poems. When I was 11, I wrote a handful of short stories that would make me laugh now, and I started my first epic high fantasy novel at 17--which I completed 8 years later! It's collecting dust right now until I decide to edit all my grammar mistakes!
The common theme in my writing is enduring tragedies, failing, and then coming out strong. It's similar to my life story, and without a doubt, it shows in every book that I write.
My trails have made me compassionate. I love sharing what I've learned as any real friend would.
It is my goal, as an author, to let you know that there is hope, love, and strength in this life that seems to batter and beat and abuse our poor souls.
I'm a passionate writer holding no secrets, and a friend willing to share everything I've learned."
Here is Elizabeth Mueller exclusively for you....
Could you tell a few words about yourself?
I started writing poetry when I was 9, but always enjoyed illustrating stories as a way to escape the problems in my home. As a teen, I wrote your everyday-angst poetry, but my senior year was my first step into novel-writing. I finished that book 8 years later and haven't stopped since!
Tell us something about your book ' Dark Spell' and the character ' Winter Sky'?
Winter has no reason to believe that anything out of the ordinary could ever happen until she meets Alex for the first time in her dreams. As seer of his coven, Alex Stormhold is assigned as Winter’s guardian to protect her from the darkness that hunts her.
Winter is the kind of girl who you can just be yourself with. She’s funny, sweet, but reserved if you don’t personally know her. She comes from a happy, conservative family where she can be herself, despite of the tragic loss of her father seven years prior. As she falls in love with Alex, she discovers startling truths about herself that forever change her.
Which scene do you think that will surprise your readers?
There are many scenes in Darkspell that will shock my readers—both pleasantly and not so. The first scene that comes to mind about an unexpected event is when Winter is betrayed.
When did you start writing? Was it a children's book or a novella?
I started writing when I was 9. My first attempt was poetry, and I worked my way up to short stories, and novels and then children’s stories.
Which is your favourite character in ' Dark Spell'?
I would have to say Alex. He’s filled with strong passion—for both Winter and life, but yet, he will hold back because of his high sense of honor.
Do you write a book with both the readers of east and west in your mind?
Now that I’m published, I’d have to say more so than ever! It’s to the point that I wonder if what I’m writing will please my readers other than my need for escapism.
You have told in your home page that it really needs a lot of guts to be a writer - especially to be an aspiring author-Why is it so?
It is extremely challenging as well as courageous to become an aspiring author.
The first thing a writer must go through is stepping out of their comfort zone. It is human nature to stay within the boundaries of comfort. Who likes being uncomfortable? We face this everyday enough as it is, but as an author, there are more to face than your average person.
You have your book, the idea you’ve been nursing for months—even years! In order to aspire to being an author, you need to get that book out there. You get it out there by sending it to as many trustworthy people who will critique it’s concepts: pacing, characterization, believability, flow, grammar . . . the list goes on (I didn’t learn this by accident, but from years of studying the art and by meeting other writers, too).
It’s disheartening when you get your manuscript back marked up with bleeding ink, but how else can you grow?
Another thing that I can think of is that, as an aspiring author, you set yourself up for public study. The book you’ve cherished and nurtured is finally accepted by a publisher—or you may self-publish—but the end result is the same: People will either love your book or hate it and they aren’t afraid to say it out loud!
One thing that is a writer’s best friend is thick skin. If you’re an aspiring author, and haven’t already, start growing one!
Could you tell us about your other novels? Out of these novels which is that special which you pampered like your baby?
I started at age 17 with high fantasy mixed with some romance. After finishing that novel 8 years later, I wrote a historical romance that starts off with a young debutante who gets whisked to the old west where a murderer hunts her down. I finished another high fantasy where a centaur shares forbidden love with an elf princess—notice the love angle? Another romance novel I wrote has to do with Eros, Aphrodite’s son who is cast out of Mt. Olympus and is doomed to make a girl fall in love with him. Then there’s Rockstar, a hotheaded 20 year-old male diva who falls in love with 18 year-old Beth who suffers terminal cancer; this one is my first stab at contemporary and I have to admit it came out better than I had thought since I was used to elves and gods and demons! I’ve written a total of 9 books, including Darkspell. I’d love to go into detail about every one of them, but I don’t want to take up the entire page!
Who is my special pampered baby novel? Oh, what a question to ask that’s hard to answer . . . If my life depended on it, I’d have to say Rockstar because I tamed a wild beast for Beth. Shh, just don’t tell her that!
What would you like the most, reading or writing?
What a question to ask! I love reading because it whisks me away into other words—I’m enjoying someone else’s blood and sweat! But I also love writing because it frees me and gives me a sense of well-being.
Do you buy books you need to read or just collect books to read in future?
I only buy books for pleasure. I have a stack of books that I need to read, but I’m looking forward to it!
Can you please name all your books ?
Of course I will—it will be so much fun once I get them all published, but here they go, ready?
Tragic Innocence, high fantasy with some romance
Devil’s Angel, YA historical romance
Heartsong, high fantasy romance
Khandra’s Mists, fantasy romance
Darkspell, YA paranormal romance
Eros, YA urban fantasy romance
Chengral, historical fantasy romance
Rockstar, YA contemporary romance
Kursed, YA paranormal romance
I’ve written a few children’s books too!
When did you start blogging?
I started back in 2009! I had no idea that I would end up getting published 2 years later. Amazing . . .
Did blogging help you in your writing?
I would have to say yes. It helped me on many levels. One, breaking out of my shyness by having others read my stuff. Two, getting others to interact with my posts. Three, getting my name out there. Four, getting my writing out there with the blogfests—those are super awesome! Five, helping others by sharing my failures or writing tips. Six, making new friends! There is a lot more to do with this, but yes, all of this does help build a writing career for sure!
What are your tips for writing?
Make sure you balance these elements to make it a better read: internalization, dialogue, setting and character description, and emotional responses by way of physical reactions: heart beating faster, sweating, trembling. Turn a cliché into fresh read: I love “eyes wide shut”. Can you feel how thought provoking this is? Another tip is to turn weak words into powerful ones. Don’t use ‘look’ if you can use ‘stare.’ Instead of cold, use chilled. Also, try to end every paragraph with a strong word, it will appeal to the reader psychologically and turn it into a page turner without becoming overbearing. Vary your sentence structures in each paragraph so that it doesn’t lull the reader to sleep with rhythmic cadence!
Apart from YA Paranormal romance, which are the other genres you prefer?
To write or read? I love to write anything with romance—I’m a hopeless romantic! I enjoy writing books with research because what I learn is priceless, but I also enjoy inventing societies with their own governmental rules—I love world building!
As far as reading, I prefer reading YA because teens, in my opinion, are (should be) untainted by the stresses of adulthood. Life is adventure when you’re young.
Share some of your beautiful moments associated with writing?
Oh, I love it when my characters rebel from my writerly hand. There are numerous instances when I knew exactly what I wanted to happen in a chapter, but as I came to a close, it took me off guard how the characters decided to do their own thing! Silly characters. But you know what, that’s a good thing because that means it’s working!
What are your other hobbies, apart from writing?
I find joy in singing, especially in a duet or a piece with many moving parts. Dancing is healing for me as well where I can feel my imagination rise all around me. Another thing I really enjoy doing is drawing! If you go to AuthorElizabethMueller.com and under the “Darkspell illustration” tab, you’ll see all 39 illustrations I drew for my debut novel, Darkspell! Another thing that I love doing is reaching out to others. I enjoy making friends and helping them as well. I love spending time with my family, too!
How do you create your characters and name them?
Most of the time, my characters hit the ground running as they hand me their names. I fell in love with “Winter” the very first time I heard it. A friend of the family has a niece named Winter and I never forgot! With my other YA paranormal romance, Kursed, I googled male Gothic names and this is what I found: Drusus, Draven, Gray, Grey, Talon or Thorn. I fell in love with both Talon and Grey. The main character’s name is Talon Grey now!
Your 10 favourite books and 10 favourite movies?
My favorite 10 books are: Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins, Ingo series by Helen Dunmore, Bumpy Landings by Don Carey, The Third by Abel Keogh, The Perfect Fit by Michele Ashman Bell, Emily Windsnap Series by Liz Kessler, Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay, My Beginning by Melissa Kline, The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood by Barb Bentler Ullman, and My Fairy Godmother by Janette Rallison!
The movies that I absolutely love are: Stardust, Legend, Willow, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Avatar, One Night with the King, The Final Inquiry, and just about any Disney YA movie!
How would you like to see you after five years?
What a fantastic question! Being a debut author is a bit more stressful than an aspiring one—yet I won’t dismiss the fact that while you’re aspiring, you have to deal with tons of rejections on your query letters and those are hard on the heart. As for a debut—you have to work ten times harder to get your name out there and the best way is by joining as many social networks as you can and never sit on your laurels when it comes to your book. Your mind is always turning on how you can get your book out there. I admit, it’s a bit stressful! So I’m hoping that in 5 years, I will be established enough to where I won’t have to scramble every single day and wonder how I’ll do with publish speaking (yikes!). I want to be a veteran now!
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