Ellen ES Ceely's Blog, page 4

How to Write With Chronic Illness

Learning how to write with chronic illness has been never-ending. For most of my adult life I’ve struggled with severe, crippling migraines. For years I went to bed wondering if I’d wake up with a migraine, my head tingling and tensing. A good month meant I’d only had one 72 hour episode. A bad month could look like 4-6 migraine episodes. There were many dark days and lots of plans came to a screeching halt. Never knowing what might happen made it difficult for me to make plans of any kind.

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The Legends of Zale Update

It’s been so long since I posted on here I think it’s time to give an update on The Legends of Zale and where I’m at with each book. This year I plan to publish Book 1, edit and publish Book 2, and finish writing Book 3! I’m excited and nervous and chipping away at it all bit by bit every day. Wish me luck, please!

The Legends of Zale: Child of Shadows – Publishing Stages

I am nearing the end of my Patreon campaign for Book 1, Child of Shadows. The book is currently being released by chap...

How to Write a Book

Disclaimer: there are many different opinions on how to write a book. Now that I’m working on drafting my 3rd fantasy novel and editing my 2nd fantasy novel, I have developed my own process. My process has changed multiple times and will likely change more throughout my life. I hope this is helpful for someone just starting out! This post will explain how I get from an idea to a finished first draft.

How to Write a Book: Brainstorming

Have an idea for a book but not sure where to start? H...

Free Excerpt from Child of Shadows, Book 1

This is a free excerpt from my first book, Child of Shadows, in the series The Legends of Zale. I hope you enjoy the read! Interested in reading further? Join me on Patreon (linked below)! You can also purchase the book early next year when I publish it on Amazon.

Free Prologue

I began this story, my story, as a child begins walking: cautiously, awkwardly, and with fear of failure. I ended in tears, much like a mother might cry when she first beholds her newborn child.

I am no great ora...

About the Author – Get to Know Me!

In this post you’ll get to know more about me and my promise to you as an author. Hi! My name’s Ellen. I’m a fantasy author, a wife, and a friend. I’m so honored you’re here today!

Get to Know Me!

I spent my first 11 years in the foothills of Colorado. It was a lovely and innocent time in my life. For the next 8 years I traveled between Colorado and Mexico with my family when my parents became missionaries. To say that I loved Mexico would be an understatement. I never went to college. I c...

To the Aunts that Love Me

Dear Aunts,

You changed my life. Without even knowing it, you changed my entire life. You didn’t give me any pearls of wisdom or any great fortune. You didn’t tell me where to go to college or who to be. Nor did you tell me what to believe.

You just let me be myself, encouraging all the good you could see without focusing on any of the bad. It’s not that you didn’t see any bad. I’m sure you have stories of selfishness or pride or entitlement that you could tell the world. But you chose to ...

Celebrating Amazing Wins Along the Way

The struggle…

Do you ever struggle to celebrate how far you’ve come? I do. Sometimes I get so caught up with where I want to be that I fail to recognize how far I’ve come. I have a hard time seeing how much I’ve accomplished because I want to be so much further down the road. There’s something inside me that whispers of my incompetency. This voice reminds me of all the things I could do better.

I have so many dreams and hopes and desires when it comes to writing and publishing. Some of t...

Dark & Dreary Nightmares: New Beginning

When I was twelve years old I sat in my closet in Tenancingo, Mexico, and scribbled down the scariest idea I’d ever had for a story. I’d been scribbling for as long as I could remember. Stories about Elves, talking horses, and pirates were constantly a source of joy to me. A longtime lover of Murder, She Wrote and Nancy Drew, I even ventured into the mystery category a couple times.

But this idea was different. Instead of comfort, it brought me fear. What if there were a land where nightmare...