About Elanna Reese:
Elanna Reese grew up in the Chicago area and like most people who grew up in Chicago, she no longer lives there but loves to tell everyone she grew up there. In Nice Guys Come Last, the city takes on a role as a character and will continue to do so in future stories.
She currently lives in Wisconsin and enjoys writing fiction that might push some traditional boundaries. Her favorite heroine is a woman strong enough to decide what she wants, regardless of others’ opinions. Her favorite heroes are alpha males who realize they want a woman with a spine. And As long as there’s an eventual happy ending and everything is safe, sane, and explicitly consensual (seriously, consent is sexy), she’ll write about it.
When not writing, Elanna usually tries to convince herself that she should go running or bike riding, but normally caves in the luxury of reading through some of the great stories by other authors. And drinking coffee – lots and lots of coffee from a local coffee shop.
What inspires you to write?
The characters who live in my mind. Random interactions. People watching. It’s honestly something I am not sure I can elucidate. I touch on a nugget and unravel it by asking questions until I get enough to write something.
For example, in an upcoming novella, I wanted to write about a character who was supposed to be the main character of another story. I liked playing on the idea of arranged pairings and how amazing someone would have to be to convince a young woman to disappoint her family and put her duties aside. Would he be wealthy and powerful? Or man who worked with his hands and didn’t make much money? The scenes start playing out in my mind. Usually when I am in the shower (my water bill is on the hefty side). And then once I decide that I like the scene, I write it out.
Tell us about your writing process.
I dislike the word pantser and prefer gardener. When I write I know what my end goal is, then each chapter I ask myself what I need my characters to do in order to get to that end goal. Once I figure out what they need to do, I figure out how I can make it more difficult for them. And then I start writing (usually after taking a long shower and figuring out the scenes in my mind).
I don’t have an official outline, but i do have a very firm idea of where I want my characters to go and how I plan on getting them there. Occasionally it means I write myself into a corner, but getting those characters out of the corner opens the door to some really interesting writing. An upcoming novel, under a different pen name, has a chapter that is possibly my best writing to date and resulted from writing myself into a corner.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
All the time. I have conversations with my characters (much to the concern of friends and family), but more often than not, I trust them. Very rarely do they steer me wrong. Since most of my writing is focused on characters and their development over an action plot line, I need to listen to them. I need to know them better than my own family. So yeah, they talk to me, all the time.
What advice would you give other writers?
Just write. You can only become a stronger writer by writing. All the classes, books, and workshops can only give you tools that will help you, but without the words under your belt, your writing won’t improve. The same can be said about reading. Read everything and anything. Even if you don’t like it. And if you don’t like it, ask yourself why. If you do like it, ask the same question. When you have the answers, apply it to your own writing.
So just write and read and write some more.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Honestly, I wanted to make some pin money and started self-publishing. The more I wrote, the more my characters ran off and I barely kept up with them. So I followed my muse from the realm of short fiction aimed at adults to romance novels.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I am not sure. Self-publishing no longer holds the stigma of the past. Also, it allows the market to decide what they want to read. For romance, it’s a bit of a proving ground for traditional publishers to snatch up talent.
I do like that publishing has turned democratic with the advent of eBooks and self-publishing.
What genres do you write?: Romance
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
Link To Elanna Reese Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
