1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?
I've been writing for some years, but never, ever got a book finished. Once I gave up on the idea I could just sit down and write a book, but instead started to plot, things went smoothly. I collate ideas on index cards and/or on a Trello board and once I feel there are enough to build a book on, I transfer them to a scene structure I have created, heavily relying on Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beat and Kim Hudson's The Virgin's Promise.
2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?
I wouldn't even know. Sometimes it's a character that comes to mind, a photograph of someone, or a plot idea. Creativity doesn't follow a pattern, but flows however it wants. Going with that flow can be a humbling experience.
3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?
My current work in progress is the second book in the Elken Grove Mountain Men series. I went a little crazy following some late night what-if ideas, and came up with a rock star mountain man story. It will be published in the Mic Drop anthology come March.
Mixing genres is a lot of fun, hitting the marks of both is difficult though. But so far, I feel good about the book and it feels like both: mountain man and rock star.
4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.
Pets. That's the most common denominator. There's usually a dog or a cat, just because I like them. And I weave in wildlife and nature in general. That's something most of us don't experience in everyday life nowadays, but often crave. So if my readers can't have it as often as they'd like to, at least they get a glimpse in my books.
5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?\
Oof, loaded question. I write every day. Unless I can't—and that's more often than I'm comfortable admitting. Life gets into the way, health issues, helping family, renovation works (our house is very old and needs a lot of tending). And sometimes it's just the absence of my muse. I don't know where she's going when she's not with me, and luckily it usually doesn't take long for her to be back. So, when my muse is with me and life is good, everyday.
6. Where can we find you?
I hang out on Instagram @ellawritesromance, I've got a website ellabraeme.com, and a newsletter. And of course, an email address, ella@ellabraeme.com. I actually do read my emails and as of now, I still have time to answer.
7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?
I've got many favorite authors—usually the one I'm reading right now. Books that have been with me for a long time now are Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I love the way the story is told from so many different points of view. In one case, it's a dog's even! Another is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell with it's various time-lines. In both cases, I hate the movies made out of these books. The books are so much more than could be told in 120 minutes.
As for romance, I enjoy Daphne Elliot's Lovewell Lumberjacks. I mean, you do not think I could resist that moose, do you?
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