The Author Interviews, Round 2: #6: Ellis Logan
I'm thrilled to share interview number six with you today. I spoke withEllis Logan, author of Gifts of Elysielle about writing and reading. Here's what I found out.
*image from author*Where do you get your ideas from?Most of my stories come to me when I am relaxed – the best ideas have come through dreams and meditation. Once I have a character in my head, they dictate most of the story to me – I barely have to think or plan at all, the words just flow. At night, I’ll dream with the characters and see new details and events in the story, or sometimes we’ll just explore their world. My first book, Shades of Valhalla, came to me one morning when I woke up. I heard the story title and the first few paragraphs, playing over and over in my head. I keep a journal by my bed so I wrote everything down, and the rest of the story came easily after that.Why do you write?I’ve been writing stories since I was a small child. When the inspiration hits, it’s not something I can deny. I have to write it out, or else the story will just play in my head on an endless loop. After a while, I get drawn into the story myself, and I can’t stop writing – I want to see how it ends as much as any reader! I wrote Heart Ward, a companion novella to the Inner Origins trilogy, because I just wasn’t ready to give up hanging out with one of the main characters.What do you find most appealing about your chosen genre?I write mostly paranormal fantasy these days. It allows me to play with science and metaphysics in a way that is most satisfying, like food for my brain. Plus, fairies…Vikings…need I say more?How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?It’s a bit of a jolt when someone doesn’t like your work, and if you let it, it can ruin your day. But everyone likes different things, that’s the beauty of the world we live in. I hate pumpkin spice ale, coffee, really anything pumpkin flavored. No one makes me drink it, and I don’t force other people to hate it, too. I don’t really see the point of reviews that go out of their way to be nasty (I’m more of “don’t say anything if you haven’t got something nice to say” kind of girl) but honest critiques with constructive feedback are very useful and help you grow as a writer.What do you find difficult about writing?I have kids and a day-job, so there isn’t always time to write. That’s probably the hardest thing. That, and when my computer decides to automatically update itself and takes itself out of commission for two days. It’s like someone is sitting on my hands when that happens. When I’m really in the swing of things, I can’t go more than 48 hours without writing or I get twitchy and grumpy. That makes life difficult for me and my husband!Do you ever outsource your work?Never. I have a small indie publisher, and they do all the cover art, editing and hook me up with beta readers, but I do all my own writing.What is your opinion on indie vs traditional publishing?When I was in my twenties I spent a lot of time trying to find an agent and submitted to many smaller publishers. The process was so exhausting, expensive and mundane that after 100 or so very nice rejections, I was too worn out to even continue. I did blogs and articles, but stopped fiction entirely for over a decade. Then the drive to create stories came back. My imaginings demanded to be written, and this time finding a publisher was easy – literally the first place I applied! I guess it was just time.Indie and self publishing can be very rewarding, because you make more per book sold and the marketing is more about you and what you want to put into it. I have friends published through big houses, and many of them have turned to self-publishing because they still had to do all their own marketing and they were barely getting paid anything in royalties. Indie publishing puts the power (and the royalties) back in the author’s hands. I think it’s really revitalized the publishing industry.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.Every story starts with an idea. I am IN the story in that moment when the idea comes. Then I sit down and write that initial idea down. After that, I usually always have two word docs open on my laptop: one for the plot outline, which I add to as ideas come, and character summaries; and one with the story in a pre-formatted file for print. Having a doc with all the character descriptions and world details helps me keep the story together, so I don’t mix up details. I write whenever I have some free time and my mind is clear – on the couch while my kids play Minecraft, in bed while my husband is sleeping, or at work when things are slow (Shh!)What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Don’t worry so much about if your writing’s any good or not. Just write about something that excites you, something that makes your brain go wild. That’s when the words come easily. Read the classics, and then immerse yourself in your genre. You can learn more about good writing from Vonnegut and Dostoevsky than a grammar book. Your writing is going to get better with every book you write, and the more books you read. That’s just what happens. Don’t let fear or self-doubt stop you from starting. Writing is a process, and it never really ends.If you could go back in time 12 months, what would you advise yourself?12 months ago I had just been signed to Earth Lodge, and was mid-way through my first book, Shades of Valhalla. Now I’ve published four books in the Inner Origins series, Shades is permafree on Amazon and iTunes and getting tons of downloads every day, and I’ve started a whole new series. Everything has come so fast and so easily. I guess I would just tell myself to hold on and enjoy the ride! And to buy more chocolate.Would you agree a good book must withstand more than one read?I don’t know if it must, but certainly I have read my absolute favourites a multitude of times.What do you look for when shopping on Amazon for a Kindle book? Highlight those you would consider. Are any more important to you than others?I often read a book a day, sometimes more. So I tend to stick to free books, unless I already know and love the author’s writing. If I love the first book in a series, I will buy the follow-ups. The exception to that is non-fiction, which I always prefer to have on hand in print.Cover/ Title / Author /Price/Description/ Publisher / Sample Chapter / ReviewsWho is your favourite author and why?I really do have a thing for the classics. I love Dostoevsky, Robbins, Vonnegut, Fitzgerald, Hugo. My favorite fantasy writers at the moment are Vera Nazarian and Meghan Ciana Doidge, both of whom build amazing details into their worlds and weave complex characters that really draw you in.Do you shop for indie books online? If not, why?A lot of the authors I read are indie authors – I don’t go out of my way to look for them, but we are legion. You can’t avoid us these days!What would it take for you to leave a review on Amazon/ Goodreads?If I enjoyed a book, I review it. It’s not really worth my time and effort to leave a bad review.After downloading book one for free/ 99p or 99c on Amazon, do you ever return and pay more for book two? If not, why?Definitely. If the book is well written and the story really hooked me, then I need more! If it’s just “okay” then I don’t bother – I’d rather find a different series or another story to feed the reading monster.Do you ever visit an author's website and if so, why?I do. Mostly to see when the next book is coming out, if they haven’t completed the series yet. Also, as a writer I like to see what elements other people are using in their site designs.What would it take for you to sign up to a mailing list?I’ve signed up for a few, but mostly I avoid them. I’ve been burned too many times with promises of giveaways that never materialize and links that don’t work.Do you ever enter giveaways and/ or order signed copies?Sometimes.What would it take for you to recommend a book to a friend?I recommend books all the time if the conversations veers toward the same theme, especially any book I can’t stop thinking about.Thanks for this interesting interview! Please support this indie author by downloading the perma-free book Shades of Valhalla (I have my Kindle copy!) and don't forget those all important reviews.
*image from author*Where do you get your ideas from?Most of my stories come to me when I am relaxed – the best ideas have come through dreams and meditation. Once I have a character in my head, they dictate most of the story to me – I barely have to think or plan at all, the words just flow. At night, I’ll dream with the characters and see new details and events in the story, or sometimes we’ll just explore their world. My first book, Shades of Valhalla, came to me one morning when I woke up. I heard the story title and the first few paragraphs, playing over and over in my head. I keep a journal by my bed so I wrote everything down, and the rest of the story came easily after that.Why do you write?I’ve been writing stories since I was a small child. When the inspiration hits, it’s not something I can deny. I have to write it out, or else the story will just play in my head on an endless loop. After a while, I get drawn into the story myself, and I can’t stop writing – I want to see how it ends as much as any reader! I wrote Heart Ward, a companion novella to the Inner Origins trilogy, because I just wasn’t ready to give up hanging out with one of the main characters.What do you find most appealing about your chosen genre?I write mostly paranormal fantasy these days. It allows me to play with science and metaphysics in a way that is most satisfying, like food for my brain. Plus, fairies…Vikings…need I say more?How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?It’s a bit of a jolt when someone doesn’t like your work, and if you let it, it can ruin your day. But everyone likes different things, that’s the beauty of the world we live in. I hate pumpkin spice ale, coffee, really anything pumpkin flavored. No one makes me drink it, and I don’t force other people to hate it, too. I don’t really see the point of reviews that go out of their way to be nasty (I’m more of “don’t say anything if you haven’t got something nice to say” kind of girl) but honest critiques with constructive feedback are very useful and help you grow as a writer.What do you find difficult about writing?I have kids and a day-job, so there isn’t always time to write. That’s probably the hardest thing. That, and when my computer decides to automatically update itself and takes itself out of commission for two days. It’s like someone is sitting on my hands when that happens. When I’m really in the swing of things, I can’t go more than 48 hours without writing or I get twitchy and grumpy. That makes life difficult for me and my husband!Do you ever outsource your work?Never. I have a small indie publisher, and they do all the cover art, editing and hook me up with beta readers, but I do all my own writing.What is your opinion on indie vs traditional publishing?When I was in my twenties I spent a lot of time trying to find an agent and submitted to many smaller publishers. The process was so exhausting, expensive and mundane that after 100 or so very nice rejections, I was too worn out to even continue. I did blogs and articles, but stopped fiction entirely for over a decade. Then the drive to create stories came back. My imaginings demanded to be written, and this time finding a publisher was easy – literally the first place I applied! I guess it was just time.Indie and self publishing can be very rewarding, because you make more per book sold and the marketing is more about you and what you want to put into it. I have friends published through big houses, and many of them have turned to self-publishing because they still had to do all their own marketing and they were barely getting paid anything in royalties. Indie publishing puts the power (and the royalties) back in the author’s hands. I think it’s really revitalized the publishing industry.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.Every story starts with an idea. I am IN the story in that moment when the idea comes. Then I sit down and write that initial idea down. After that, I usually always have two word docs open on my laptop: one for the plot outline, which I add to as ideas come, and character summaries; and one with the story in a pre-formatted file for print. Having a doc with all the character descriptions and world details helps me keep the story together, so I don’t mix up details. I write whenever I have some free time and my mind is clear – on the couch while my kids play Minecraft, in bed while my husband is sleeping, or at work when things are slow (Shh!)What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Don’t worry so much about if your writing’s any good or not. Just write about something that excites you, something that makes your brain go wild. That’s when the words come easily. Read the classics, and then immerse yourself in your genre. You can learn more about good writing from Vonnegut and Dostoevsky than a grammar book. Your writing is going to get better with every book you write, and the more books you read. That’s just what happens. Don’t let fear or self-doubt stop you from starting. Writing is a process, and it never really ends.If you could go back in time 12 months, what would you advise yourself?12 months ago I had just been signed to Earth Lodge, and was mid-way through my first book, Shades of Valhalla. Now I’ve published four books in the Inner Origins series, Shades is permafree on Amazon and iTunes and getting tons of downloads every day, and I’ve started a whole new series. Everything has come so fast and so easily. I guess I would just tell myself to hold on and enjoy the ride! And to buy more chocolate.Would you agree a good book must withstand more than one read?I don’t know if it must, but certainly I have read my absolute favourites a multitude of times.What do you look for when shopping on Amazon for a Kindle book? Highlight those you would consider. Are any more important to you than others?I often read a book a day, sometimes more. So I tend to stick to free books, unless I already know and love the author’s writing. If I love the first book in a series, I will buy the follow-ups. The exception to that is non-fiction, which I always prefer to have on hand in print.Cover/ Title / Author /Price/Description/ Publisher / Sample Chapter / ReviewsWho is your favourite author and why?I really do have a thing for the classics. I love Dostoevsky, Robbins, Vonnegut, Fitzgerald, Hugo. My favorite fantasy writers at the moment are Vera Nazarian and Meghan Ciana Doidge, both of whom build amazing details into their worlds and weave complex characters that really draw you in.Do you shop for indie books online? If not, why?A lot of the authors I read are indie authors – I don’t go out of my way to look for them, but we are legion. You can’t avoid us these days!What would it take for you to leave a review on Amazon/ Goodreads?If I enjoyed a book, I review it. It’s not really worth my time and effort to leave a bad review.After downloading book one for free/ 99p or 99c on Amazon, do you ever return and pay more for book two? If not, why?Definitely. If the book is well written and the story really hooked me, then I need more! If it’s just “okay” then I don’t bother – I’d rather find a different series or another story to feed the reading monster.Do you ever visit an author's website and if so, why?I do. Mostly to see when the next book is coming out, if they haven’t completed the series yet. Also, as a writer I like to see what elements other people are using in their site designs.What would it take for you to sign up to a mailing list?I’ve signed up for a few, but mostly I avoid them. I’ve been burned too many times with promises of giveaways that never materialize and links that don’t work.Do you ever enter giveaways and/ or order signed copies?Sometimes.What would it take for you to recommend a book to a friend?I recommend books all the time if the conversations veers toward the same theme, especially any book I can’t stop thinking about.Thanks for this interesting interview! Please support this indie author by downloading the perma-free book Shades of Valhalla (I have my Kindle copy!) and don't forget those all important reviews.
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