ANNE ELIZABETH ON ROMANCE, COMICS, AND HEROES

My guest is romance author, Anne Elizabeth. Anne, welcome to Over Coffee! 

You write both for adults, such as the sexy action packed story, Once A Seal, and for teens. I found it interesting that you also write graphic novels. 

How did your Pulse of Power comic world come to be?

• It was created when I was in high school. I wrote several short stories as part of an assignment and [the stories] continued to grow through college and graduate school. Now the series is blooming with the main storyline and off-shoot journeys.

How has being published changed your life? In what ways?

• Being published has changed my life in many ways. I find myself walking around with a constant writing track in my head. It was happening before my books were released, but now there is direction and purpose and the words come faster. I also find I need to be attentive to how I write and what I’m working on. It’s hard to dial-out when the day is done, but it’s important to me to be present in my marriage and personal life. No wants a mate or friend that’s only half-there. Being whole is monumentally important.

What’s a hobby you enjoy?

• I hike, mountain bike, kayak, swim, volunteer for the California Parks, and do a multitude of outdoor sports. It’s fun to get my inner-athlete excited and I like to bring that love to sports and activities into my writing.

Does a hobby play into your writing?

• My hero and heroine are into the outdoors. They are engaged in their environment, which is also very typical of individuals living in Southern California. People spend a lot of time outdoors.

What temptation do you wish you could resist?

• Chocolate. I cannot decide if it’s evil or angelic.

Who is your real life hero and why?

• My real-life hero is my husband. He’s a retired Navy SEAL who continues to contribute to the community and teaches what he’s learned to others. His humbleness and thoughtfulness are two attributes that awe me, and that true kindness inspires me to face each day with joy in my heart.

What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

• I just watched an episode of The Neighbors. The Weavers were a BLT sandwich (Seriously, they were dressed as parts of a sandwich) and that image is seared into my brain. Anything that has aliens and/or humor is something I’m going to watch, read or collect.

What’s the last time you stopped and reflected and realized you’re happy just where you are?

• I like to hike. Oftentimes, I will sit and meditate or commune with the world around me. It was during one of these experiences I realized how blessed and grateful I am. 

If they made a movie of your life, what would it look like? What genre would it be? 

• If a movie could be made out of my life, I’d like to be animated. My characters from my PULSE OF POWER comic book world would be there and they’d be participating as well as narrating it. Everyone would concentrate on having fun and the only hard moments would be teachable moments and they would resonate with the audience. The ending would be a happily-ever-after and it would bring peace everywhere, national fiscal solutions, and solve world-hunger, too. Hey...a writer can dream. :)

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why there?

• In Hawaii. My husband and I feel very connected to Oahu. The sand, the surf, the rhythm...it’s very peaceful.

                                                                                                                                                     

ONCE A SEAL

A Hero of Her Own

What woman hasn't dreamed of what it would be like to marry a Navy SEAL? Dan McCullum is everything Aria has ever imagined—sweet, strong, and sexy as hell. She just never expected how tough the SEAL life would be. Dan could be gone at a moment's notice and not allowed to tell her where he's going or when he'll be back.

Dan has never backed down from a challenge in his life. But this one is his hardest yet. How does he balance his duty to his country with a soul-deep love for Aria? It's going to require patience, ingenuity, and some of the hottest homecomings he can dream up. Because for him, this isn't a fling: this is forever...

EXCERPT (Chapter 1 Sourcebooks)
BUY: Amazon, B&N, INDIEBOUND

                                                                                                                                                        

Anne Elizabeth is an award winning romance author, the creator of the teen PULSE OF POWER comic book series, and the Columnist on Comics, Manga, and Graphics Novels for RT BOOK REVIEWS magazine. With a BS in Business and MS in Communications from Boston University, she is a regular presenter at the RT Book Lovers Convention as well as a member of the Authors Guild and Romance Writers of America. Her published credits include stories with Atria/Simon & Schuster, Highland Press, Dynamite Entertainment, Sea Lion Books, Bravo Zulu Studios, LLC, and Sourcebooks, Inc. She grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and now lives in the mountains above San Diego with her husband, a retired Navy SEAL. In her free time, she is also a serious Amelia Earhart who is always on the hunt for a new adventure. Catch AE on the Web at AnneElizabeth.net.

Yolanda Renée—A GLAMOROUS LIFE

I asked Sia what topic she wanted for this post and this is what she suggested:  

"Remember they don’t see us in our ratty jammies, torn jeans, growling and cursing at everything, or with no makeup, and our hair looking like a herd of horses ran through it. Thank God for that, right? They see you as your author pic shows you and the online personality you've developed.
 "To your readers you’re a glamorous author. Okay, quit laughing," she wrote. 

I was laughing, because glamorous means exciting and desirable and my life is anything but exciting or desirable.

A framed picture from
Sia's office

I live in an old house in constant need of repair, go barefoot in the summer, and wear socks, sometimes several pairs, all winter. And yes, I write in my nightgown. Sometimes I'm so caught up in the process, it's afternoon when a knock at the door reminds me I'm half naked, still have bed head, and have forgotten to eat! Almost daily, I pick up socks from the living room floor, a discarded pair of jeans from a kitchen chair, and underwear from the most curious of places. My hubby has a habit of shedding clothes as soon as he walks in the door, and since I love him, I don't nag, at least not any more. He has to deal with my writing moods, and that's an even exchange for sure.

Just recently, I helped my son take an air conditioner out of his window and capture stinkbugs by the dozens as they sought the warmth of our house for shelter and hibernation. The word yuck, doesn't describe the chasing down of the little buggers or the smell if you accidentally touch them, and don't even consider smashing them. Their odor is almost worse than a skunks. We captured them in empty plastic bottles, where they suffocate in their own bouquet. Getting rid of stinkbugs is a horrid job and one that gives me the heebie-jeebies, simply because bugs are just so, so gross!

Does any of that sound exciting or desirable? Yet many folks see it all another way. I did too, once, after all authors are revered, not as much a rock stars or some movie stars (if you measure it by screaming hordes of fans) but they do appear as guests on television talk shows, act as consultants on movie shoots,  and the more successful ones have bank accounts in the millions. The pinnacle of success, money in the bank, and while it's a dream we all share, it's a vision few of us will achieve.

I'll bet the life of most writers is not far from mine. Therefore, while the life of a few of the most successful authors may be glamorous, most of us are just regular folk.

Although occasionally, something cool does happen, and it touches the ego, right where a writers ego needs to be touched. Just this week I handed a very nice lady my business card and a bookmark for my most recent release. I asked to speak to the manager, and told her about my book, and that I wanted to arrange a book signing. She gushed, and I do mean gush.

"Oh my gosh, you're an author. Really! It's so exciting to meet an author."

And I'm like, "It's so nice to meet someone who thinks so." I laughed, but it was.

At our favorite restaurant the other night, the cashier says to me. "Are you that book lady?"

So for me, in between scrubbing toilets, dusting, vacuuming, and laundry, I keep trying to convince folks that I've written a book they can't live without, therefore, while glamour would be nice, it's certainly not reality!

I'll know I've arrived the day I can hire someone else to do the mundane for me! I know, keep dreaming, but if all I get from my glamorous writing life is to be known as that book lady, I'll take it!

Well folks, that pretty much describes the glamorous life of this writer, what about you, what glamorous tale of success, or ego boost, can you share?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

BUY:  AMAZON, B&N, KOBO

MEMORIES OF MURDER

Decades ago, the seeds were planted...

Today, dark, fathomless eyes rake the image before him. One final task and the transformation is complete. Steady fingers screw intricately carved horns on each side of a stiff brow, and a gargoyle suitable for Notre Dame scowls from the smoky mirror in satisfaction. A jagged smile rips through his smooth, hairless face, and inked, reptilian scales caress his naked body. A laugh of hideous resonance emanates from his gut as the demons of hell welcome Lucifer into their fold. 

In a dungeon-like chamber, his Lilith awaits. The kidnapped daughter of a nun, groomed to fit the final piece in the complex puzzle for world domination. Will Lucifer marry his bride, on the summer solstice?

Only two things stand in his way. His greed... ...and Detective Steven Quaid.  
EXCERPT

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Yolanda Renée really wanted to be a drummer, or a racecar driver. Obviously she's neither, but they are on her bucket list, that, and owning her very own fire breathing dragon!

Renée claims to have always loved books, and that it was through books that she escaped and experienced all the things she'd only been able to dream about. Through the stories, the characters, and the places created by talented authors, such as Caroline Keene, Margaret Mitchell, and Stephen King. She now reads K J Larsen , Jennifer Hillier, Joanie McDonell, J D Robb, and well, pretty much everyone and anyone who gets their words in front of her! SHE LOVES BOOKS!

Renée says she's always been a writer, and that making things up gets her through the day - a crazy imagination is a good thing - right?

An adventurous spirit took Yolanda Renée to Alaska where she hiked the Brooks Range, traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and learned to sleep under the midnight sun.

She claims her vivid imagination as a blessing, a habit, a hobby, a calling and sometimes a curse.

Renée now resides in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and Boston terrier, Patches.

You can find Yolanda:

~ Defending The Pen ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ 

MONDAY MUSINGS—MAKING THE CUT (IWSG)

It started out a thread of gossamer brushing my mind. Little sparkles of ideas catching my mind’s attention. Intriguing snatches of characters in my dreams coalescing into story pieces and captivating my imagination with possibilities. I could see where the characters came from and how they got to this world and the source of their power as well as the eventual goal of the story and characters but there were pieces missing. 

I knew I needed research to flesh out the world a bit. I've got pages of research on various aspects of mythology and gemstones but how to pull it all together became the issue.

 I have this huge gorgeous sweep of fabric to work with but what about these other equally lovely and rich pieces of material? I want to use them, too. How do I combine them all into a whole piece? I have most of the picture in my mind of what I want but where and how do I place the pattern pieces? I've pinned them this way and that but haven’t made the cut yet.

My indecision drives me nuts.

 

I have two sets of characters clear in my mind. I've decided to work with those pieces first. I've decided to do smaller character stories or sketches and let them help me define the parameters of this new world.

My insecurities are showing up big time. Maybe I’m doing it all backwards? Perhaps. I already know this story is going to pull me out of my comfort zone and stretch my writing skills. I have to start somewhere or walk away. I’m not inclined to walk away so, I’m writing.

On one hand that scares me spitless and on the other hand...it's exciting.

What about you? Have you ever had a story that affected you this way? 

How did you handle it?




I have a guest on Wednesday so I did my post on Monday.

WEDNESDAY Over Coffee: Yolanda Renee.

FRIDAY Over Coffee: Anne Elizabeth