GOOD GUYS OR BAD BOYS?

My guest is the multifaceted  Leanne Ellis who writes the Plain Fear series—complex paranormal stories set with the Amish community that touch your heart and lift your spirit. Her topic today is good guys and bad guys.

Mention Russell Crowe to a room full of women, and you’re likely to get many different reactions, from a shrug of indifference to heart palpitations. He has played both the hero and villain in movies but he definitely has that bad boy quality. What about Benedict Cumberbatch? He is quite the villain in Into Darkness. But he still makes hearts go pitter pat. The same is true of any main character in your favorite book. Mention a character like Atticus Finch, and you’re likely to get sighs from a female readership, mostly because Gregory Peck portrayed him so well in the movie version of To Kill A Mockingbird, but also because Atticus makes hard choices and is a strong voice of reason during turbulent times. What about Rhett in Gone with the Wind? 

Good guys and bad boys are throughout literature, and I find them both equally compelling and desirable, depending on the tale to be told.

In my Plain Fear series, I was able to utilize both good guys (some being Amish) and bad boys (some also being Amish), and it was a lot of fun allowing these characters to reveal their true identity no matter what kind of clothes they wore or car or buggy they drove. In the first book, Forsaken, Levi Fisher is more like Atticus Finch, and he must make some tough decisions, choosing if he will fight for the woman he loves. Forbidden, the second book in the series, has Roc Girouard, a Cajun ex-cop, who is definitely a bad boy. His match is a not-so-goodie-goodie Amish woman, who brings out the good in him. In the final book of the series, Forgiven, Samuel Fisher, is an Amish man sitting on the fence, trying to right the wrongs he’s committed and trying to figure out where he belongs in this world—inside the picket fence of the Amish world or battling the evils that threaten his family.

• So do you like to read about good guys or bad boys or both?

Sourcebooks is giving away a set of all three books in the Plain Fear series, US/Canada only please.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

BUY: Amazon • Books•A•Million 

• Barnes & Noble 

• IndieBound

FORGIVEN

Leanna Ellis

What Must We Sacrifice to be Forgiven?

Samuel Fisher has committed a sin of biblical proportions—he killed his own brother, Jacob. Haunted by guilt and talked by a vampire out for his soul, Samuel starts down the same dark path of destruction that led to his brother's death.

A captivating coming-of-age story unlike any other, Plain Fear: Forgiven pits redemption against temptation, love against fear, and simple faith against the intricacies of sin and salvation. In the gripping final battle between hunters and vampires, Samuel must choose where his loyalties lie. The lives of those he loves—as well as his own ultimate forgiveness—hangs in the balance.

SNEAK PEEK

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Deep in the heart not only describes where Leanna Ellis lives in Texas but also the way she writes. Her books, whether romance, inspirational, women’s fiction, or paranormal, are infused with heartfelt emotion. Having written twenty published novels, Ellis has won many awards including the National Readers Choice Award and the Maggie Award.

When not chasing vampires through the darkened recesses of her mind or roping and riding along with her characters through sun-drenched plains, she stays busy driving her children to their multitude of activities, figuring out what to make for dinner (or where to order takeout), chasing her menagerie of crazy pets around the house, and researching the next idea. 

You can find Leanna: website, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

LEANNA ELLIS—ROUGH DRAFTS AND MARATHONS

Attribution: Creative Commons 

Please welcome award winning author, Leanna Ellis's, return visit to Over Coffee. Leanna writes a variety of genres from sweet romances and women's fiction, to dark paranormals such as her Plain Fear series.

What I enjoy about the Plain Fear series is it's rich complexity. The stories are emotionally intense and aren't shy about dealing with the crisis of faith, the heartbreak of betrayal, damnation and redemption, and set against a backdrop a group known for it's strong faith. They are also a riveting read.

Leanna kept me turning the pages with her latest, Plain Fear: Forbidden. You can read my 5 star review on Amazon.

Writing is like running a marathon. Now, don’t think for a minute that I’m a marathon runner, but I do know a few runners. And I’ve spoken to them about the highs and lows of running a marathon. There are times when you want to give up and collapse onto the ground in a heaving, writhing mass of quivering muscles. Those times come in writing a book too. For me, it’s usually in writing the rough draft. Writing Plain Fear: Forbidden, book #2 in my Plain Fear series, felt like I was running out of energy, out of words, out of ideas, and that I might crumple to the keyboard as I crossed that ‘finish line’ of “The End” on my rough draft. 

Before I revised my manuscript and sent it off to my editor, I scheduled a trip to Ohio to visit a friend of mine, Shelley Shepard Gray, who lives there and writes Amish novels. Frankly, neither of us had much time, just about two days, for me to do some research. We had originally talked about driving up to Holmes County but our time constraints prevented us from doing that. So, she told me about a little enclave in the southeastern corner of her state, right near Kentucky, which had an Amish community we could visit.

First, we checked into a fabulous bed and breakfast Shelley had frequented with her critique group. We had a little cabin, nestled against some woods. The weather turned against us and it rained most of the time. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The whole trip, early in the fall with the leaves changing and tumbling around us, the cool night air, and the dark, sinister clouds gave a wondrous atmosphere that fit my book perfectly.

Attribution: Amish on Shaefer Road
Sia McKye 

The small community of Amish huddled in the hills and dales of Ohio and Kentucky ended up being the perfect spot for my characters to have hidden. Maybe it was the time of year, not too long before Halloween, when pumpkin cannons were advertised and freshly pressed apple cider sold, but it all reminded me of The Legends of Sleepy Hollow.

That trip may have been short but it was oh so very sweet. Spending time with my dear friend, who has such a calm, giving spirit, and visiting with a couple of other writing friends while I was there, plus seeing the terrain, which planted a firm picture in my mind, gave me the energy I needed to finish my book. I rushed back home, eagerly writing all the way. I felt like a runner, turning a bend, finding a refreshment stand, a friendly face, a pat on the back, and a gulp of water before racing for the finish line.

There is a lesson in all of that, not just for writers but also for our lives. When difficulties come, and they will, we all need a friend to reach out to, beautiful scenery to inspire us, time to process it all (good food doesn't hurt and neither does laughter), and then we are ready to run the race set before us.

Amazon • Books•A•Million •
Barnes & Noble • IndieBound

PLAIN FEAR: FORBIDDEN BY LEANNA ELLIS – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

How Long Must We Pay for the Sins of Our Past?

She blames herself for her husband's death. But for Rachel Schmidt Nussbaum, redemption may only lie in the ultimate sacrifice.

When a stranger arrives claiming only she can save him, Rachel's impulsive instincts lead her on a perilous journey, one that leads her to a battle that will decide both the fate of her soul and the life of her unborn child.

A far–from–ordinary story of love and desperation, sin and sacrifice, Amish faith and vampire lore, Plain Fear: Forbidden is an imaginative thrill ride that's like nothing you've ever read before. Excerpt Chapter

Leanna Ellis is the winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award and Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award. She has written numerous books for Harlequin/Silhouette and has published four books with B&H Publishing. With her husband, two children, and wide assortment of pets, she lives in Texas. For more information, please visit www.leannaellis.com, follow her on Twitter, @LeannaEllis, and “like” her on Facebook.

Photo attributions: photos are my work unless otherwise stated, or are by author/publisher permission, or from creative commons, or wikimedia.

WHEN THE WORDS WON'T COME

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”

My guest is women's fiction author, Leanna Ellis. Her forte is handling subjects and emotion with humor.

We all hit different forms of writer's block. I think it comes with the territory. How we deal with it is also individualist. I'm a firm believer that God never allows us to face an obstacle alone. He always makes the way out for us. The secret is to see the path provided and then have enough trust to follow it, especially given the fact that humans tend to have *eye* problems. You know what I mean;  I think, I feel, I want?

I love Leanna's article of running out of words, dealing with grief and grayness of spirit. It resonated with me as I have faced similar issues this year. Leanna was provided an unlikely hero, Hilo. But I'll let her tell you all about that.


What happens when you run out of words? Recently I came back from a writer’s conference, and I was frankly all talked out. Usually I sit in the quiet (or near quiet, except for my barking dogs, meowing cat and children coming and going, okay not-so-quiet) of my house and write my books. But what happens when an author runs out of words?


This happened to me not too long ago. Right when I was supposed to begin writing my book, FACELIFT. No words. They just wouldn’t come. You see, my father had just passed away. To make matters worse, I write books with a big dose of humor and I frankly didn’t feel very humorous. Erma Bombeck once said, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” Those words are so true, and actually describe my writing pretty well. I write about deep subjects, difficult subjects, deep in the heart subjects, and package it all up in humor. But after my father died, humor was hard to come by. And the well of words I’d been drawing from for almost twenty years was dry.

What’s an author to do? First of all, I tried to be patient with myself. When I could only write ‘Chapter Five’ one day, not the chapter, just those two words: chapter five, I breathed deeply, tried not to panic, and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” Cue in the music from Annie here, right?

The words still didn’t come. Day after day I had no words to put on the page. But I was busy helping my children through their grief and as they finished up the school year. There were lots of activities to keep us busy and kept me moving even when there were days that I didn’t want to get out of bed.

But the one thing that really got me moving was my crazy labradoodle, Hilo, named after our favorite vacation spot on the big island of Hawaii. She was a puppy, not quite one year old, and she had more energy than all of my other animals and children combined. I’d raised several animals in my time but never had I experienced a dog like this. Think Marley and Me…but worse! She could jump in one bound onto my dining room table. And she did regularly. She also ate everything in sight, including ten pairs of eyeglasses. She ate half a turkey, a pound of butter, a bunch of grapes, nine spicy chicken wings (bones included), numerous boxes of tissues, rolls of toilet paper, shoes and who knows what else. So to start each day, in my pathetic effort to wear her out (at least for a while) I would take her for a walk. But I soon realized that the blue sky, sun, and soft breeze blew away the gloom I often woke with in the mornings. Now, walking wasn’t an easy task, Hilo liked to bark and lunge at anyone and any dog or cat she saw. She reminded me a bit of Tramp in Lady and the Tramp, the way Tramp could stir up those chickens was the way Hilo liked to stir up the neighborhood. She also loved to go after cars and school buses. But those exhausting walks (more so for me than her) took my mind off my sorrow for a few minutes at least.

I began writing about Hilo’s antics on my Facebook page (still do!). Then one day, I thought maybe I would write her into a scene in my novel, Facelift, just for the fun of it. Of course, I had to change her name to protect the not-so-innocent. So she became Cousin It. And soon words were flowing more easily. Suddenly scenes were coming together for me.

Through the humor of Hilo, I was able to face the heartache in my own heart but also in my characters’. I don’t think it was a coincidence that FACELIFT was about finding hope and joy in spite of painful circumstances and situations.

FACELIFT Blurb:


A ‘can do’ kind of woman runs her own business, raises her teenage daughter, and takes care of her ex-mother-in-law after a botched facelift. But Kaye learns a facelift is more than skin deep. Joy is more than tacking on a happy face. It's relying on her sovereign God who has a plan for her life. Download first chapter excerpt. Trailer

BUY:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Borders, IndieBound 

• In Facelift, Kaye feels like her life is out of control. Have you ever felt that way?

I’ll be happy to provide a book for a giveaway. Please limit to the U.S. Thanks!

~ * ~ * ~

Winner of the National Readers Choice Award, Leanna Ellis writes women’s fiction and is known for her quirky characters and wacky plots as in her current novel, FACELIFT. But don’t let the quirkiness fool you, Ellis probes the heart and plucks at the heart strings. Next year will debut FORSAKEN, the first of an Amish/vampire series. Now that is wacky!

You can find Leanna: Website, Blog, Facebook