Ask the Author: November Ellison
Answered Questions (5)
November Ellison
Just BEACON and CATALYST for now. I'm in the process of writing the next one.
November Ellison
I think you're talking about the opening scene in BEACON, if you're referring to the scene from the 1980's with Marie and her two boys in Heath, Ohio. That would be the first book in the series.
November Ellison
My all-time favorite fictional couple isn't even what people might think of as a traditional couple. My favorite book, Watership Down, by the great Richard Adams, has the best couple I've ever read in print: Hazel and Fiver. Two very different personalities, family, trusting and believing in each other against all odds. Full of love. Always pushing the other to do better, be better.
But if you want to go in the traditional sense, I'm currently a huge fan of Jamie and Claire from the Outlander series. :)
But if you want to go in the traditional sense, I'm currently a huge fan of Jamie and Claire from the Outlander series. :)
November Ellison
In 2003, I heard the song “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence and instantly envisioned this story between a priest and a vampire developing an intense friendship / relationship. Now, in my mind the priest was male and lost in his own profession, and the vampire character was female. However, I’m no expert on the Catholic Church and the thought of doing that character real justice was very daunting.
A few years ago, a friend suggested that I make the priest character a female and the vampire a male and set it here in Newark, Ohio. A light instantly went off in my head, and the words flew out of my fingertips.
One of my favorite pieces of research for the book was an article I found online that suggested the mark of Cain was red hair. Granted, the whole article went on to explain why redheads are evil, but the initial premise sparked a lot of the inspiration for Cain’s actual appearance.
Cain was actually much harder to write than Jo, because “villains” always seem to be so one-dimensional. Jo’s character is an ode to the many strong women in my life. She was very real to me, and very natural to write. First and foremost, my mother is a straight-talking no-nonsense woman of action, and my sister and I both inherited those traits.
When you publish a fiction novel, people think that being a writer is your day job. Mine isn’t. I’m a single mom who works full-time as an executive in a male-dominated field: math. They say you should write what you know. I know all about leading and trying to walk with grace in difficult leadership situations. I do it every day, Monday through Friday.
A few years ago, a friend suggested that I make the priest character a female and the vampire a male and set it here in Newark, Ohio. A light instantly went off in my head, and the words flew out of my fingertips.
One of my favorite pieces of research for the book was an article I found online that suggested the mark of Cain was red hair. Granted, the whole article went on to explain why redheads are evil, but the initial premise sparked a lot of the inspiration for Cain’s actual appearance.
Cain was actually much harder to write than Jo, because “villains” always seem to be so one-dimensional. Jo’s character is an ode to the many strong women in my life. She was very real to me, and very natural to write. First and foremost, my mother is a straight-talking no-nonsense woman of action, and my sister and I both inherited those traits.
When you publish a fiction novel, people think that being a writer is your day job. Mine isn’t. I’m a single mom who works full-time as an executive in a male-dominated field: math. They say you should write what you know. I know all about leading and trying to walk with grace in difficult leadership situations. I do it every day, Monday through Friday.
November Ellison
I'm not originally from Newark but I moved here three years ago and found the reality of it stranger than fiction. It's been incredibly inspiring on just about every level for me. :) Are you from here?
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