~~ ELLEN FISHER ~ Spotlight Interview with Tracey West ~~

 
Ellen Fisher is relatively a new author to the romance genre.  To date, she has had 2 works published with many more on the horizon.  After reading her upcoming release, All I Ever Wanted, just recently, I am going to be keeping an eye on this author for future works.  I was pleasantly surprised by her talent, her creativity and definitely impressed.  But let’s learn a bit more about this new talent, shall we…

Who is Ellen Fisher: the mom, the author, the wife?

Ellen – Hi, Tracey!  Thanks very much for your kind words about my writing.  I am currently a stay-at-home mom with three kids (eight, five, and two).  Before I had kids I worked as an insurance underwriter.  Once I was at home during the day I started writing, at first more as a hobby than anything else.  I am a compulsive journaler (I have a journal detailing my kids’ accomplishments that’s over four hundred pages long and still growing!), but my real love is writing romance.  It’s kind of like an addiction… I can’t stop *g*.  I also sing with my church choir and very occasionally play the cello with them.  I also spend an inordinate amount of time surfing the internet when I really ought to be vacuuming!

Where do you call home?

Ellen – Virginia is my home.  I was born in Virginia Beach, went to college in Williamsburg, and now live in the Richmond area.  Except for a few years in Charlotte, NC, I’ve always lived in Virginia.  My first two books were set in colonial Virginia, and my contemporaries are all set in a fictional Virginia town.  I love Virginia and hope I never have to leave it again.

What/Who inspired you to begin writing?

Ellen – My parents were freelance writers for the newspaper.  My mom’s parents both wrote for the newspaper, and her grandfather did too.  Obviously I got the writing gene, but somehow only for fiction… I couldn’t write a newspaper article to save my life.  I started writing novels when I was nine or ten, turning out a couple of fairly long books about dogs and horses—my obsession at the time.  I switched to writing romances when I read Deceive Not My Heart, by Shirlee Busbee, when I was sixteen. 

Was your journey to publication a difficult one?  What was your first book published?

Ellen – My first published romance was The Light in the Darkness (Bantam, 1998).  I submitted it to every New York publisher out there (I wasn't on the Internet at the time and had never heard of e-publighing) and it was flatly rejected by everyone.  (There were more New York publishers back then-- I think I accumulated eight or nine rejections.)  At last, just when I had pretty much given up hope, I got “the call” from Bantam, and I was ecstatic.  Unfortunately, they rejected my next book, putting me pretty much back where I started!

Is there anything that you would do differently while trying to get published?  If you did it again, what would you do differently?

Ellen – I can’t say I’d have approached e-publishers first, because at the time I sold my first book e-publishing was an idea I was totally unfamiliar with.  But nowadays I wouldn’t focus so much on trying to sell to New York—it’s great for writers that there are so many alternatives now.  Every romance doesn’t fit neatly into the categories that New York publishers prefer, and e-publishers are a lot more likely to accept books that are a little different—like the colonial romances I write.

What is your writing process like?  Do you outline the stories first, or do you just go with the flow? 

Ellen – I never outline.  An idea, or a scene, or a sentence pops into my head, and I write it down.  Before long I’m writing furiously, with only the vaguest idea of where I’m going, yet it all comes together in some mystical fashion I’m afraid to examine too closely.  I am very much a subconscious writer—my brain does most of the work while I’m walking or taking a shower.  I do have to revise pretty carefully to make sure I don’t have gaping holes in my plot, though.  Fortunately my husband always reads my manuscripts several times and points out all the problems.

What is your writing schedule like?

Ellen – I get up early in the morning (around six) and write before the kids get out of bed.  If I have something I’m working on seriously, I also write in the afternoon while my two-year-old son sleeps, and then again in the evening when Dad is home to keep the kids out of my hair.  My writing schedule is obviously built around the kids… my two-year-old doesn’t really approve of me sitting at the computer.  He thinks I exist to read him books!

Your first book published, The Light in the Darkness is with a print publisher, Bantam.  What can you tell us about that book?  Where can we get it?

Ellen – The Light in the Darkness is a colonial Virginia romance, about an alcoholic, angry planter who weds an ignorant tavern wench without any intention of treating her as a true wife.  She transforms herself into a beautiful, intelligent woman, and he begins to fall in love her—but very much against his will.  It’s out of print, so your best bet is finding it in a used bookstore or used on Amazon.  I hope to get the rights back in a couple of years and to get it reissued as an e-book.

Was the experience like working with a print publisher and an e-publisher?  Were there any differences in your experience?

Ellen – Oh, definitely.  Print publishing is SLOOOOOW.  I had to wait a full year for Darkness to be released after Bantam bought it.  Nowadays I know New York authors who have to wait eighteen months.  NCP, on the other hand, scheduled Love Remembered only six months after they bought it.  This varies from e-publisher to e-publisher, though—some of them release books only a couple of months after they buy them, while others have full schedules a year or more in advance.
Something I love about NCP is that they ask for an author’s input on covers up front, so they get little details like hair color right!  My cover for Bantam had a historical inaccuracy that really bothered me, and that could easily have been avoided had they simply asked me to provide a picture of a colonial Virginia house.  My cover for Love Remembered, on the other hand, was historically accurate, not to mention gorgeous.  I’m very fortunate to write for an e-publisher that produces incredibly professional covers.  The cover of Love Remembered (by the fabulous Eliza Black) has been nominated for The Romance Studio’s Ari award, and no wonder—it easily rivals anything New York produces.  I can’t wait to see the cover for All I Ever Wanted!

Your book, Love Remembered, a Historical published with New Concepts Publishing, has received very good reviews.  What was the inspiration for this story? What can you tell us about it?

Ellen – I had a dream one night about a claustrophobic hero, and when I woke up I wrote the first couple of chapters of Love Remembered.  My first hero was very alpha, so I deliberately wrote Gwaltney, the hero of Love Remembered, to be a little more likeable.  I love Gwaltney’s wry sense of humor!
This book didn’t have an easy road to publication, however; Bantam rejected it, and then it was rejected by a lot of other publishers.  When I finally admitted to myself that the ending was terrible and totally rewrote the last fifty pages, I sold it to NCP almost right away.  I learned an important lesson: everything I write is not golden! It’s not easy to toss out fifty pages, but it’s a lot harder to find yourself stuck with a 400-page manuscript no one wants.  Nowadays I am much more likely to revise a manuscript right away if I get negative feedback on it.

Did you ever think Love Remembered would be received as well as it has?  It is a Sizzling Romance Award Nominee for Best Historical Romance of 2003, it received many high ranks; 4 roses, 4 ribbons, 4 angels….all incredible reviews and reader comments.  Has it all been a surreal experience?

Ellen – I really didn’t expect so many good reviews!  I’m thrilled that so many people have liked Love Remembered.  Stunned, but thrilled. 

Your upcoming tale is All I Ever Wanted, a February 2004 at New Concepts Publishing.  I just finished reading this book a few days ago and I have to say, you have an incredible talent for writing Contemporary Romantic Suspense stories.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and I was hooked from the first few pages Ellen.   What can you tell us about this book?

Ellen – Oh, you’re so sweet to say that, Tracey.  Since All I Ever Wanted is my first foray into contemporary romance (The Nerd Prince will actually be published first, but AIEW was written much earlier), I admit to worrying about whether readers will like it.  All I Ever Wanted has a humorous and contemporary feel to it which is totally different from my rather dark, angst-filled historicals.  I adore my hero, Max Sinclair, who’s a clueless and sweet beta-type hero.  I also love my heroine, Drew, who starts out as a snob but learns to lighten up along the way.

Why the change from Historical to Contemporary?  Do you prefer one genre over the other?  Do you find one more difficult than the other?

Ellen – I switch back and forth in my reading all the time.  I love serious historicals as well as funny contemporaries, and I read the occasional paranormal or futuristic romance too.  If I read one subgenre all the time, I get burned out.  The same is true of my writing—if I write the same subgenre all the time I get bored.  I’m sure I’ll write a historical again one of these days, and I’m certainly not limiting myself to contemporaries, since I already have a sci-fi romance scheduled for later this year.  I must say I find contemporaries the easiest to write, though.

Would you say that you have received more recognition with your e-books or the print release?

Ellen – That’s an interesting question.  My print release almost certainly reached a bigger audience, even though it wasn’t a huge seller, because even now an awful lot of romance readers aren’t really familiar with the concept of e-books and don’t buy them.  My print release was also released in an Italian edition, so I occasionally get a fan letter from Italy, which is way cool.  But I don’t think there’s much doubt I’ve gotten generally better reviews for Love Remembered, my e-book, than I did for my print book.

Where do you do your research for your books?  How much researching do you do?

Ellen – I majored in history at the College of William and Mary and spent a lot of time during those four years wandering around the historic area of Colonial Williamsburg.  I have two wide shelves of history books, plus a notebook full of historical details I’ve accumulated from library books and visits to historic houses.
When writing my contemporaries and my sci-fi romance, I’ve been able to find what I need with quick searches on the Internet.  For example, for The Nerd Prince I had to look up the scientific names for a couple of seashells, but that was very easily accomplished.  I love the Internet!

When you write, do you have props that get you in the mood to write?  Music playing perhaps? Candles? Or do you need total silence?

Ellen – The only prop I need is a quiet office devoid of children!

Is there a specific time of day when you find the words flow better?  Night time or day?

Ellen – I write best in the morning because I’m most awake then.  I am definitely not a night owl.

What do you want readers to take with them after reading one of your stories?  What do you hope they ‘get’ from one of your books?

Ellen – I want readers to be emotionally moved by reading my books.  I want to make them laugh or cry, or even better, do both!

Will we see another published book from you sometime in the future? 

Ellen – Absolutely.  The current tentative schedule for my upcoming books (all coming from NCP) is:
All I Ever Wanted (contemporary romance novel) and The Nerd Prince (contemporary romantic short story), both in February 2004
Isn’t it Romantic? (contemporary romantic comedy novella), May 2004
Never Love a Stranger (sci-fi romance), August 2004
Considering five years elapsed between my first and second books, having so many books issued in the space of a year is a great feeling!

What do you find the hardest and/or the easiest thing(s) about writing?

Ellen – Kids are the hardest thing about writing.  The constant interruptions make it hard to maintain my train of thought.  For example, right now my two-year-old is standing at my elbow, very seriously explaining to me his deep and desperate need for a bath.  (“Bath!  Right now!  Need a bath!”  Like it’ll kill him to wait five minutes!) 

I’m not sure writing is ever really easy for me.  I have to work at it.  But I can’t live without it.  If I don’t write on a regular basis, I’m not happy.

What one of your books is your favourite?

Ellen – Uh… it’s pretty much a tossup between All I Ever Wanted and Isn’t It Romantic?, my upcoming contemporary novella.  I really like my contemporary “voice” and think it sounds a little more like the real me.  Plus it was easier to work humor into my contemporaries.  I guess it’s not really surprising that I like my own sense of humor… I just hope everyone else does too!

What hero/heroine was the biggest challenge to write? 

Ellen – Edward Greyson from The Light in the Darkness, a misanthropic, alcoholic hero, and Cordelia Ashton from Love Remembered, a shrewish, sharp-tongued heroine.  Both these characters had a whole lot of growing to do by the end of their respective books!

Have any of your stories gone off in a completely different direction than what you had planned?

Ellen – When your method of writing is to produce one sentence and go from there, you’re occasionally going to find that your story morphs bizarrely.  Sometimes my characters do things I never planned at all.  When I started writing All I Ever Wanted, it really never occurred to me that the hero would be dumb enough to go out on a date with the heroine’s sister!  But somehow these twists and turns always produce a better story.  I guess my characters write better than I do.

What makes a hero attractive to you? 

Ellen – His pecs.  No, seriously… I love a hero who’s vulnerable.  I’ve written both alpha and beta heroes, but underneath it all every one of them has been vulnerable, almost fragile in some ways. 

Who is, or has been the hero in your life?

Ellen – My husband of twelve years, who is genuinely heroic, having survived a couple of bouts with cancer (he was diagnosed for the first time at the tender age of twenty-five).  He is now perfectly healthy and the world’s greatest husband and father.  We started dating in high school, and I haven’t really looked around since.  He also edits my books before I send them out, for which I am profoundly grateful, because he has a sharp eye for sloppy writing!

Do you find it difficult to balance home, family with your writing?

Ellen – Well, the kids have to come first.  There have been times when I simply couldn’t accomplish a lot of writing.  My oldest daughter was reading by the time she was two and a half, and when she turned five I homeschooled her for a year, since most kindergartens don’t deal well with a child who adds and subtracts in her head and reads Harry Potter and Charlotte’s Web.  I didn’t get a lot of writing done that year, but it was worth it—she would have been very bored in a regular kindergarten.  After that year we were able to get her skipped a grade in the local schools, so I got my writing time back. 

Most authors are also avid readers as well.  Do you read a lot?  What books would we find on your shelves at home?

Ellen – Sure, I read about 150 books last year.  Most of them were either contemporary or historical romances.  I also read older science fiction (I love Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Edgar Rice Burroughs) and I’m slowly working my way through Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. 

Where would you like to see your writing career go in the next few years?

Ellen – Most importantly, I’d like to continue to produce books that get good reviews and good feedback from readers.   I hope this will eventually make my name much better known in the romance community. 

What are you working on next? We discussed earlier, your February release, All I Ever Wanted (REALLY good book).  What is coming up next?

Ellen – I’ve finished Isn’t It Romantic?  I still need to finish up Never Love A Stranger.  That’s my first sci-fi romance, and it’s definitely not the easiest thing to write.  I love, love, love my hero, but hashing out the plot is making me crazy.  I’ve also got a couple of fun contemporary novella-sized ideas I’m playing around with, but that I haven’t approached my editor with yet.

You have a story, The Nerd Prince coming out in February as well, the 6^th of February to be exact.  It is a part of New Concepts Publishing Valentine’s stories that are special releases.  What can you tell us about your story, The Nerd Prince?

Ellen – The Nerd Prince was a lot of fun to write.  My editor asked me if I was interested in producing a short story, and after a few hours of thought about what I should write, I sat down and started writing.  Within a week, I had completed it (although I spent two more weeks editing it).  I think of myself as a slow writer, and if you’d asked me if I could turn out almost 14,000 words in a week, I would have laughed at you.  Shows you what I know!
The Nerd Prince is about Cade Ryan, a nerdy man whose life is turned upside down when he meets a beautiful, vivacious cellist.  I mentioned earlier that I play the cello (although very poorly nowadays, as I haven’t taken lessons since college), so I put a little of my own personal history into that character.  I also included seashells as part of the story—my dad has a huge seashell collection, and I’ve always loved them.

If you weren’t an author, what do you think you would be doing instead?

Ellen – Vacuuming my floors on a more regular basis, probably.  Heaven forbid!

Is there anything else you would like to add Ellen that we haven’t covered?

Ellen – Readers can find excerpts of All I Ever Wanted and Love Remembered, along with other upcoming releases, at my website. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Tracey!

Readers can learn more about Ellen and her titles at her website, http://users.erols.com/ellenfisher/

Watch New Concepts Publishing for more of Ellen’s work, especially February 2004 for two of her stories at www.newconceptspublishing.com

Thank you so much Ellen for doing this interview.  After reading All I Ever Wanted, you have a fan in this reader <g> I wish you all the best and much success!