Today I am super excited to welcome to RFTC author Elisabeth Staab. Elisabeth will be a featured author at the Olde City, New Blood mini-con that is taking place in St. Augustine this coming February and I am super excited to meet her. Elisabeth is the author of the Chronicles of Yavn series and she is here today to answer some questions. Please give Elisabeth a warm welcome.
Elisabeth Staab lives in Northern Virginia with her hero and soul mate, Tom. She has been a telemarketer, a web page editor, a software developer, a reader for the blind, a technical trainer, a coffee shop barista, a teacher, a tutor, a homemaker, a government project manager, a graphic designer, and a professional ebayer. Finally, she's landed on being a writer - which is what her high school guidance counselor originally suggested anyway.Elisabeth believes that all kinds of safe, sane, and consensual love should be celebrated--but she loves the fantasy-filled realm of paranormal romance the best.
Places to find Elisabeth:
First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Uhm, let’s see… I live in the suburbs outside of Washington DC. I love music, reading, and silly movies.
Did you always want to be a writer?
Not professionally. I’ve always written. I wrote poems and short stories in school, and my essay questions in Social Studies always bled into the margins because I felt like I had an awful lot to say. But when my guidance counselor suggested I major in English, I was all, “Ew, no, I don’t want to be a writer!” Talk about clueless.
What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
A plotster! I am becoming more of a plotter all the time. I was a total panster at first and I managed okay, but I found that writing a multi-arc series that way got very difficult. I still don’t plot with the degree of detail that some authors do—I let a lot of the story unfold organically and sometimes the characters hijack my plans entirely. Having an outline though has become a must for me.
Where do your ideas come from?
I guess it’s a mix of imagination, life experience, and things I see or hear that inspire me. Sometimes, I’m really not sure. I’ve got characters that I craft because I feel like I need a character with certain personality traits to round out my world. Some, they just kind of show up. Today I ran into someone randomly and my conversation with them inspired a new plot thread for what I hope will be a future book.
A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
King of Darkness and the Chronicles of Yavn is urban fantasy romance that features vamps and wizards in a fight of good against evil.
What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I almost always prefer romance, I usually prefer the gritty, dark, action/adventury stuff. Sometimes comedy. Angst is good too, so long as I know it’ll end well. Make me laugh, make me cry. Better, make me laugh until I cry.
Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
Oh god. That’s like asking me if I have a favorite body part or a favorite child!
What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Strange, but sometimes it depends on the character I’m writing. I may find a love scene challenging from the point of view of a character who’s not comfortable with intimacy. Getting a dark character to be comedic or tender might be hard but getting him to kill stuff and have hot sex might be easy, lol. Often though, it’s love scenes and fight scenes, largely just because of all the moving parts.
If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Oh, wow. Picking just three… Jeez. I’ll go with JR Ward, John Grisham, and Christopher Pike.
Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Always! I just turned in the final proof of book 2 in the series, Prince of Power, and now I am working on Guardian of Daylight, book 3 of the Chronicles of Yavn. That’ll be Lee and Alexia’s book, for anyone who’s familiar with the characters.
ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA…
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human—although, drifting among the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons’ blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the king of vampires this party girl’s life turns dark and dangerous.
BUT TIME’S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF VAMPIRES…
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate has gotten it seriously wrong…
Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |
Check out the Chronicles of Yavn series:
Click on cover for more info.
Don't miss your chance to meet Elisabeth Staab at the Olde City, New Blood mini-convention in St. Augustine, FL this coming February 8-10th. Need MORE of an incentive to come chill out with some awesome authors by the beach?? How about if you win FREE REGISTRATION?? That's right... this week we're having a blog-hop-style contest and you could win your way in!!
To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form, AFTER you answer the blog question in the comments below. All of the featured bloggers for the event will be hosting special guests from Olde City, New Blood this week (September 30th – October 6th) and every post is another chance for you to enter to win. There will be additional chances to enter at some of the featured authors' websites, as well. There will be 3 winners, who will be chosen randomly from all entries, announced on October 7th. (Winners will be responsible for their travel and hotel costs, but their registration fees will be covered by the mini-con!!) For a complete list of blog posts and extra author entries, please see the official contest announcement on the website.
Lots of great goodies up for grabs. Check out all of the great prizes you can win.
Up for grabs:
- 1 lucky winner will win a ARC copy of King of Darkness (US Shipping ONLY)
- 3 lucky winner's from BLOG HOP will win Registration to Olde City, New Blood mini-con.
To Enter:
- Please leave a comment answering the following question: If you could ask your favorite author any question what would you ask?
- Please fill out each Rafflecopter form
Good Luck =)
a Rafflecopter giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway
Can I be in your next book? :)
ReplyDeleteNever say never. I am inspired by people I meet every day!
DeleteHow? I have no creative ability so it fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteHow as in how do I wrote books? I dunno. I can tell you it isn't easy, I struggle with every book and at least once I wind up going fetal on the sofa and telling my husband I suck. But everyone's brain is different. :) I can't make my brain to algebra if it's life or death.
DeleteDoes the premise of the story come or do your characters?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a little of both but usually I start with the characters. When I started writing King of Darkness, I saw Thad, the vampire king, very clearly in my head. I then went about trying to figure out who he was, who his love interest was, and so on.
Deletethanks for a great post and congrats to Elizabeth on the new release! I'd ask... can I read your next book :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin! If you're asking about beta reading, I appreciate the offer. I am currently in the blessed position of having more readers than I can possibly gather feedback from at the moment but it never hurts to shoot me an email.
ReplyDeleteHow would you feel if your book was converted into a movie?
ReplyDeleteOh dude, that's be awesome!
DeleteThanks for the interview and awesome giveaway. Looking forward to reading this book
ReplyDeleteThank you for checking it out, I hope you love King of Darkness!
DeleteWhat is your biggest inspiration?
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one...the world around me, I guess.
DeleteMy question would be how do you cope with all the voices in your head? It must get crowded in there. :D
ReplyDeleteIt's not easy. I'm lost in my own little world a lot. I have a file on my computer called "half-baked story ideas" where I dump all the thoughts that come to me that I want to write about but just don't have time to. I get stressed though, on the days I don't have time to write. Right now my main job is kid wrangling, not writing, and there are a lot of books struggling to get free. It's no picnic!
DeleteHave you ever met someone (stranger or friend) who you thought simply must be a character in one of your books and you created a character based on them? And how much fun or work was it?
ReplyDeleteivegotmail8889@yahoo.com
All the time! I've never put the exact person in as a character, put I am inspired by people I meet every day and their cool quirks and traits. Thad, the king in King of Darkness, was very loosely based at first on a former client of mine.
DeleteMy favorite author is Patricia Briggs. I would ask her how Bran was turned into a werewolf.
ReplyDeleteI'm always curious about that myself!
ReplyDeleteMy question would be how do you pick names for your characters and there are so many great authors I would love to ask.
ReplyDeleteSome characters tell me what their names are. Sometimes I use a baby name book or I use the name of a person who inspires me for some reason.
DeleteMy question would be what do you do when you get writer's block or stuck in the middle of scene?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the situation. Usually I take a break and let it percolate while I do something completely different OR I try to keep writing anyway and I just know I'll have to fix it when I come back through to edit. Like Nora Roberts and so many of the other greats say, you can't edit a blank page, so sometimes it helps just to get *something* written so you're not staring at a whole lot of nothing.
DeleteI thinkit would be: Can I be a character in your next book????
ReplyDeleteYou never know. Authors get inspiration from all over. ;-)
DeleteMost interviews always ask this question - but I love hearing the answers. How do you come up with your ideas - and how do you keep things fresh from one book to the next?
ReplyDeleteWell, I try to do a lot of different creative things that keep me inspired. Everything from listening to music to playing with my kids can give me ideas. And I keep a bible of what I do with each character so I'm not just making them all photocopies of each other. It's a challenge, but a fun one.
DeleteWhat would you ask your favorite author?
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent question, and I'm not really sure. I was once lucky enough to meet JR Ward and even though I am rarely one to get tongue tied, all I managed was "hi." :P
DeleteI would ask what authors influence them and where their ideas come from.
ReplyDeleteA lot of authors influence me. I'd say Suzanne Brockmann maybe the most--I've studied her use of POV, humor, and structure relentlessly. I love everything about the way she writes. Also JR Ward, Larissa Ione, Damon Suede quite a bit, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane, Lori Wilde, Lara Adrian...long list, but that's what comes off the top of my head.
DeleteWho would you most like to meet?
ReplyDelete