Ellie is a beautiful soul, in every sense of the word. 🙂 She is so warm, compassionate, talented, fun, and creative. It has been an honor to befriend her during these last few years of conventions. ^_^ Get to know this very special person and interview; you’ll be blown away by Mrs. Ellie Mack!
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Author to Author Q and A
1. Where did you grow up?
“In a small town called Pevely. We lived down the hill from a rock quarry.“
Did your childhood have any impact on your writing?
“Oh absolutely! Through various forms of abuse, I often wanted to escape and would hide with a book. I wanted to be the female version of Tom Sawyer.”
2. Tell us about the first story you ever wrote, published or not?
“Well, it related to Tom Sawyer. I was a ten-year-old girl who found a lost settlement behind the quarry where Indians still lived. The chief’s daughter befriended me and helped teach me their language, then taught me magic. But, the magic wouldn’t work outside of the secret settlement. I think I was ten or eleven when I wrote it in a spiral notebook and NO it was never published. I think it ended up in my dad’s burn barrel.”
3. What are you currently working on, writing-wise?
“I have 3 projects going!
“It’s an ADHD thing, sorry. I am working on Fury, book 2 of Valkyrie’s Curse series which is almost wrapped. It’s in final edits. Bury the Hatchett – is a story about a government-sanctioned hitman society and the heroine is a hired assassin with a distaste of blood and gore so she uses alternative methods of assassination besides guns. The third project is a short story for an anthology called Dark Deceptions about a kidnapped Fae Princess who has been drugged to believe she’s human. This one is due September 10, so that’s what I’ve been focusing on.”
4. What is your favorite character you have ever created and why?
“Mr. Jackowski, the owner of the food mart in Red Wine and Roses. Certain aspects I used my Grandpa as an example. Changed a few things of course, but he’s a wonderful, intelligent, older gentleman. Elderly people can get away with snarky comments in a way the rest of us can’t. There’s also a bit of my father in him. The way my dad would relate to his grandchildren was heartwarming and I was always like “Where was this guy while I was growing up?” I guess that’s the difference between parents and grandparents – LOL. Both my Grandpa and my father have passed away, and I have many fond memories that I can use as a base.”
5. Do you have to write in order or do your ideas just come to you and you put them in order later?
“I write in order. It has to be chronological unless it’s a flashback or backstory. Granted, I usually have 3 projects going simultaneously, but they all have to be chronological within their story.”
6. What was your path like until you found writing?
“Hmmm, well I’m not quite sure how to answer this one as I have always been a writer, whether it was that fourth-grade story, the Creative Writing Essays in high school and college, or now.
“I guess here’s the thing: I’ve always been a writer but, it wasn’t until I was cleaning out a box of my college papers that I thought I’d seriously try and submit to a publisher. I joined a local writing group, I spent hours handwriting when my girls were small. I bought every issue of Writer’s Digest and devoured them. I submitted, got rejection letters, submitted again, got rejected, etc.
“Then I landed a spot with our local paper as an opinion columnist and I fine-tuned another story, a small house publisher bit and I became a published author. Since then I’ve gone the self-publishing route, gone with a different publisher, wrote a blog, did interviews on my blog, and did vlogs with other authors.
“In my non-writing life, I went to SEMO University and graduated with a BS in Cartography. I worked at the county Assessor’s office and then worked for the Defense Department. After Desert Storm, I took an early retirement to raise our children. Of course, I worked part-time at various places when they became school-aged. In 2008 the economy tanked and my husband was laid off. Money was TIGHT – and I took a job at a mortgage company, and earned my MLO license (mortgage loan originator). I became the online help desk for a mortgage company and worked from home, or from my own office 2 days a week. This time allowed me to work on my craft of writing as it was only 24 hours a week. The mortgage company closed and I became a home health aid.
“Then the pandemic hit, I was working crazy long hours and had no mental energy for writing – sad to say. It’s been a slow climb out of that pit but I’m coming back.”
7. How is your relationship with your publishing company/platform?
“I’m no longer with a publishing house.
“I do have a couple of submissions out there with no answers yet, but primarily I’ve moved to self-publishing. There are benefits and detriments to both sides but for me, if I’m going to end up putting all the work in, paying for the editing, covers, etc. then I am going to reap the full rewards not have someone else take a cut. So, my relationship with me is whack! I’m the toughest critic of me I know!
“The first publisher, we had a difference of opinions about several things. One was marketing and when my social media circles didn’t garnish a lot of sales, they released me from my contract. I get it, they are in the business to make a profit. Nevertheless, I did a happy dance that day!
“The second publisher I am not sure exactly what happened other than one of the owners has some serious health issues and they were overstretched with multiple authors.
“No ill will.”
8. Tell us about your covers.
“Red Wine & Roses- cover your dreams. Gabrielle Pendergast. Sadly she no longer does covers. Happily, she’s a best selling author in her own right. I wanted a model for Julia in a flowing red dress, which is significant in the story. Derek, the man with the rose, is pursuing Julia. I wanted it to be tasteful yet provocative. I think she nailed it!“
“Quotidiandose -30 Days of Sass – NemoDesigns. I actually found the image,that I really liked and sent it to the artist at NemoDesigns. She worked her magic and I love it! It makes me think of a Geode with the many facets hidden inside an ordinary looking exterior. LOL By the way, Quotidiandose was the name of my blog. This one is thirty short nonfiction essays akin to blog posts and my Opinion column.”
“Roxy Sings the Blues – NemoDesigns. OK, so I’m going to give you TMI about this one. First I think she did a great job. The mood of the cover, and the tones, all fit the story well. This was the first cover she did for me.
“I had a different cover design in mind and was in the process of paying for an image with a specific cover model when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then treatment and that whole debacle, and I got behind on my payments. I understand the guy’s stance that I defaulted on payments, but jeez man, I’m battling breast cancer and going through radiation at this point, and I tried to work something out with him.
“Yes, I’m salty.
“However, I came back swinging! I wrote a better story, making some revisions. I took out a lot of things with Roxy’s mom that just hit too close to home and added in other points. I discovered Shannon did covers, saw a couple of examples and I’m like ‘HERE! TAKE MY MONEY!‘
“I was insanely happy with my cover from her!”
(Sorry, couldn’t find my ebook cover.)
“Break Line – NemoDesigns. My MC uses surfing as therapy.The setting is in Hawaii where surfing is a way of life. Nathan is dealing with PTSD. His escape is out past the Breakers, hence riding the wave! Again, I’m very pleased with Shannon’s work.
“I like my covers to in some way reflect the story because we all judge books by their covers.”
“A Flashy & Frosty Christmas – NemoDesigns. Do you see a theme here? I invited several of my author friends to try their hand at Flash Fiction with the theme being Christmas carols and/or holiday songs. It was a fun little project! After making back the initial cost of publishing this – everything else went to the Institute for Cancer Research. A little way to give back after surviving, ya know?”
“The Awakening – NemoDesigns.
“This is more along the lines of the fantasy worlds I like to write! My initial idea for a cover was quite different, but then Shannon showed me her concept and I fell in love. I actually have the cover for the second book to this series – Fury- which I’m working on.”
9. What inspires you to write?
“Weird things. Odd things. Unusual, normal, people, places, and legends. My imagination is like a ten-year-old with a sugar buzz. The inspiration for Kiss of the Dragon – a WIP, was an argument with my husband about money. and the fact that dragons like Smaug hoard gold.
“My inspiration for The Awakening was reading Norse mythology and wondering What if?
“My inspiration for Roxy was an episode of Izombie.
“Inspiration is all around us. I tend to be a people watcher. I observe things. The lady at work who is germaphobic wears gloves all day, and disinfects her machine twenty times a day- I create in my mind a scenario of why she would do that. The guy that is quiet, won’t look you in the eye, never talks -sounds like serial killer material, or was he the victim?
“Seriously, my current job is boring. I create stuff in my head all day to liven things up. Sometimes I write them down at break. Sometimes I throw them in the imaginary round file. The ideas flow like water.
“What inspires me to actually sit down and do the physical act of writing is entirely different. For me, it’s often a discipline issue. I have a goal to write a certain amount of time per day or rather I bargain with myself for a certain amount per week. (Having a day job really cuts into the writing time!)”
10. How do you get book reviews?
“Excellent Question! I wish someone would let me in on the secret because I have never gotten very many reviews. Amazon has their algorithms set so that anything under thirty reviews – which they figure is family and friends – don’t count.
“I had a lot more reviews for Roxy and Red Wine than Amazon did this thing several years ago where they removed any reviews of a person you were friends with on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and probably some other SM places. I lost over a dozen on both of those books.
“I am extremely grateful when someone takes the time to leave a review. I don’t read them very often but I happened to be looking at other books and reading some reviews, then I wondered if I had any more that I hadn’t seen and I read a couple that made me cry because they gave me high praises!
“Share the secret – I’m dying to know!”
11. What is harder: writing, editing, or marketing?
“Not that the other two are a walk in the park but for me personally marketing is my hardest. I need to drastically step up my marketing game. After working 40 hours a week, making time to sit down and write, and I have to eat and sleep. I rarely make the time for marketing which is bad I know.”
12. If you could publish every book idea you’ve ever had, how many books would you have out right now?
“Ever? Including the ones I deemed would never see the light of day??
“Not counting those stories that shall not be named 74. If I include those sad beginnings and the delusional hacks you would have sworn I was smoking crack – 128.
“On a note though – I still have 64 books planned. 5 more for Valkyrie’s Curse Series. 6 for Dragon Lord series. 9 for my Fae World Realm Wars. Eerie Isle Chronicles -7. Delta House series – 6. Stand Alones -18, Ghost Tales -6. Gargoyles series Lusus Naturae- 5.Hit World Assassins – 4. Oh wait, that’s 66. That’s not counting Vamp Couture, Paranormal Creatures Division, my Mermaid world – that is at least 4, and one that I’ve been working on behind the scenes for over a decade about teens and young adults with certain abilities. My mind is like a wheat field riddled with rabbit holes. Did I mention the ADHD?”
13. Have you ever considered co-writing a book or series with another author?
“I have actually!
“I was going to be involved in an anthology about a secret town for witches. I drew the map, had my story for the first book mostly finished and two of the other authors bailed. Then another author got upset over a comment that a replacement author said and they quit, then it was like wrangling cats and we gave up on the idea.
“I was involved with a project with some of my author friends from Storytime Trysts, a blog forum that featured aspiring, new, and dabbling authors, that we were going to do a project – Home Delivery. Then one individual made it ridiculous for everyone and it was scrapped.
“I would consider it again depending on the project, genre, theme, and who was involved. Also, the writing styles have to mesh or at least be compatible.”
14. What do you do to relax?
“Sewing, quilting, crocheting, painting, crafts, making my bookmarks, cooking, journaling, and playing RPG games.“
15. If you could tell your 14-year-old self one thing, what would it be?
“Oh wow!
“Hmmm, how deep do you want me to get?
“Lighthearted me –Do IT! Don’t be afraid to try whatever sounds interesting to you. Don’t let others change your mind.
“Introspective me – It wasn’t your fault. None of what happened to you was your fault. Cry a river, lick the wounds, and get up and cross the river. Don’t wait for a ship, wade out there then swim baby, swim! You can do it because you’re stronger than you have ever given yourself credit for!”
16. What advice would you have for this upcoming generation?
“Don’t let others limit your thinking. Don’t let their ideas override the passion inside of you. Pursue your dreams. You may have to work at a job you don’t love to pay the bills until you obtain your dreams but keep at it.”
17. Have you ever read a book that changed your outlook on life?
“Oh absolutely!
“The Bible! Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince, Living Forward by Michael Hyatt, Richest Man in Babylon, The Four Agreements -I have a condensed form of these in my planner. A Boy Called It – heartbreaking, sad because it is based on a true story. It may sound weird, but it was a reminder to me that abuse is not the victim’s fault. Obviously, right? Except when you have lived with guilt, shame, and condemnation your entire life, it takes a third party to speak truth for it to register.”
18. Do you have a classic piece of literature or a classic author you are fond of? How about one that is overrated?
“You can’t go wrong with classic Mark Twain. He inspires me. I told you how I wanted to be a female version of Tom Sawyer. That also sparked my love of reading.
“The man lived a tragic life, and I tend to have a similar sagacious wit.
“Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, JRR Tolkien, and Jane Austen are favorites as well!
“Overrated? I don’t know. There are successful authors I don’t care for, but they achieved success so is it just my take? As to success, the lady who wrote 50 Shades in my opinion was a terrible writer. She didn’t fact-check anything in the lifestyle she was writing about, her grammar was terrible in the books, and her prose was like an adolescent fantasy, but not only did people buy it, they made a movie from it. She achieved more success than me, so she obviously did something right or hit the market at the right time or something. I will say it helped me to be less critical of my own writing hearing about some of the lines she wrote. In honesty, I never read it. It was a huge topic of debate in the writing world that I was involved with.”
19. Is there any type of music that gets your writing juices flowing?
“It varies depending on what I am writing. While writing Roxy – I listened to a lot of Blues; Beth Hart, Joe Bonimasso, and Carlos Santana. While writing The Awakening, I listened to Baby Metal, pop music, and some heavy metal. General Writing though I tend to do better with instrumental because I find myself singing along and therefore my brain starts typing the lyrics. As a general rule, I don’t listen to Big Band, Country Western, Hip Hop, Screamo, or Goth Metal. However, there are certain songs in those categories that are on my general playlist! I tend towards 80’s rock, or classic rock with some Pitbull, Mark Anthony, Rob Thomas, and Shinedown mixed in. If I’m writing a love scene, it’s heavy metal.”
20. If you could pick three people who are your heroes or role models, who would they be and why?
“1. My dad – he was a World War II soldier. He went in on DDay at Utah beach, was at the front most of the time because he was in an engineer coorp. They built bridges to get our troops across and blew bridges up to prevent enemy movement.
“2.Margret Thatcher – She was the first woman British prime minister, and the longest serving. She implemented economic policies that were known as Thatcherism. A soviet journalist called her the Iron Lady because she was uncompromising. She was Prime Minister in my early adulthood and I always looked at what she accomplished.
“3. Florence Griffith Joyner – Flo-Jo Track and field phenom! Olympic medalist, set world records and she was from Illinois, right across the river from where I grew up! Sadly, she died young of an epileptic seizure but she was a true inspiration to me.”
21. Dog or cat person?
“Doggo! I love kittycats as well but my hubby doesn’t. Our last furbaby was such a sweetheart, we had her for 15 years and I miss her terribly. We are gone 10 hours a day so I don’t think it’s fair to a new animal right now. But someday I’ll have a furbaby again.”
22. What do you want to eat right now?
“I could go for pizza! And ice cream later. It’s always a good time for pizza, right?”
23. If you could be in any movie that has already been made, which one would it be?
“The Fifth Element! Multipass!
“My version of Lelu would be a cross between Mila Jojovic and the game version of Lara Croft! Lelu with definition and chutzpah!”
24. What is your favorite holiday or time of year?
“Christmas! I love to decorate. I love to make crafts, give gifts, wrap gifts, bake goodies, and see my extended family. I love holiday get-togethers.”
25. Anything else you would like to add?
“Thank you! This has been fun! I actually get to talk about writing and my books!”
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Cover reveal for Fury.
URLS
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BIOGRAPHY
Contemporary romance author, Ellie Mack, is a former columnist south of St. Louis, Missouri where she resides with her husband. Her works have earned her nominations in the Indie community for best debut romance and best ugly cry in 2017. Recently, she has “dipped her quill” into the realm of Norse mythology with her title The Awakening.
As a breast cancer survivor, Ellie encourages others with the diagnosis to keep fighting and to always have hope.
“If there’s life, there is hope.” -Stephen Hawking
Ellie has also won both the Liebster and WordPress blog awards for her blog Quotidiandose. When she’s not working on her next book, Ellie enjoys journaling, crocheting, and practicing her skills in the kitchen.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” -Vivian Greene