1. What were you in your life
before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?
I
was a horse in my youth, which is why some say the hero of A Rogue in Sheep’s
Clothing, the first book
in the Albright Sisters series, is a stallion named Manifesto. You see, my
childhood was spent on my hands and knees pretending to be a spirited filly
with a penchant for bucking off my little sister. The floors in our house,
though, were Spanish tile, which was rough on the knees. Therefore, the
majority of my time as a horse entailed trotting, cantering, and galloping
around the border of a fake Persian carpet in the living room.
Our
lawn, however, was covered with soft grass fed by an awesome underground
sprinkler system. On hot days, I hand galloped through those sprinklers,
letting the water spray my face and belly as I leapt over the nozzles. My
sisters, who were not horses, ran through the jets screaming. I whinnied.
In
addition to living a four-legged life, every word of my reading material was
exclusively equine-oriented. High on my list of favorites was the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley
because each book featured a fabulous race that the hero horse won despite
incredible odds. That’s what the heroine and Manifesto do in A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing, except
there’s this really sexy earl thrown in for good measure.
For
those of you considering transitioning into a horse, here are a few tips:
towels work well as tails, dry cereal is a good substitute for grain, violets
and lemon grass are edible, so graze on them to your heart’s content.
2. Are you genre specific or general? Why?
I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many
subgenres of the above.
To
date, all of my novels take place during the highly romantic Regency period in
England, which was from 1811 to 1820. I’ve concocted a few plots for
contemporary novels, but I’m an old soul and therefore unable to lure myself
out of historical settings.
3. Did your reading choices have
anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?
It
was my sister’s reading choice that got me into writing Regency romances. She’s
obsessed with them, and when I got laid off during the recession, she told me
to write one for her. I obliged her to make up for all the times I bucked her
off.
4. What's your latest release?
The
second book in the series is titled The Secret Life of
Lords. It offers only one really
big horse-related scene, alas, but it sports some excellent details about what
to expect from a homicidal maniac.
5. What are you working on now?
I’ve
finished the third book in the series, A
Duke in the Rough (It lacks a horse, but features a cat.), and I’m just a
few words shy of completing The Baron of
Bad Behavior, the fourth and final novel in the Albright Sisters series.
The moment I find an agent, and by extension, a publisher, I’ll have both of
these fine bits of literature on the market. (If not, I’ll self-publish.)
6. Where can we find you?
My Website is ElfAhearn.com, but I’m
also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Be warned, though, Facebook and
Instagram are my most frequented venues (145 characters are not enough for
these hooves). Also, I infrequently produce a newsletter titled The Writer’s Cat. It concerns Sufie, my
pesky feline, and it announces exciting updates about my publishing career. If
you’d like to subscribe, please email elfahearn@hotmail.com.
