GET LOST IN THIS STORY…
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Dec 2012
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Dec 2012
Since my spam filter was feeling very Grinch-like and I wasn’t able to get Elle’s post up in time the day after Christmas, I am re-posting Elle’s blog again over the weekend AND giving away 3 $10 Gift Cards to commenters’ bookseller of choice throughout the weekend! Take THAT, Grinch spam folder…
HEATHER: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
ELLE: I can't pick just one! I've always been a big fan of musicals, MY FAIR LADY and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS will always be near and dear to my heart. I love, love, loved AVATAR. I think because my favorite color is blue (hehe), oh and it has a great storyline. And lately, I totally got into THE AVENGERS! Thor melted my bones, Iron Man has such great attitude, Captain America was a military man and Hulk? OMG, he cracked me up when he punched Thor...
HEATHER: How often to you get lost in a story?
ELLE:Because I have two pen names, I'm writing every minute of the day, or so it seems. I rarely have time to read. Lately, I read the advance readers copy of a great story coming out by my sister Delilah Devlin. It's a paranormal, Memphis cop story called SHATTERED SOULS. I couldn't put it down and lost two days of writing because I was lost in the story!
HEATHER: What’s your favorite “love” word?
ELLE:I love the word passion. It's stronger than the word love and makes me scoot to the edge of my seat when I hear or read the word. Passion can burn in one's heart for another person, an art, a way of life. Love is soft and fuzzy. Passion is hard, raging and intense. I like the intensity.
HEATHER: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?
ELLE:I'd take up graphic art. I think it's the creative side of me. I like making beautiful things, whether it's a story that elicits emotion or a work of art that makes you look twice. I can't paint my way out of a box, but I love creating.
HEATHER: What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?
ELLE:I love to brag about my most interesting job. I worked one summer as a State Park Interpretive Naturalist. I led hikes, hayrides and nature talks. One of my duties was to give a slide show in the amphitheater and talk about snakes found in the park. We had a collection of snakes I would bring out for the patrons to see and touch. They called me the Snake Lady.
HEATHER: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
ELLE:I'm fortunate that I was able to quit the IT profession and write full time. I've always wanted to write, but until it paid enough, I couldn't do it full time. Now I can. I've also wanted to be a published author. I published my first book in 2005 and now have many books in print and in several foreign languages. I am able to travel a lot more. In the last 7 years, I've been to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Guam, Virgin Islands, Italy, England, Ireland, Canada, Alaska and many states and provinces getting to and from Alaska on a 5-week trip. I count myself fortunate and think that my writing has given me the opportunities to go different places as well as some of the income needed to get there.
HEATHER: Dog person or cat person?
ELLE:I love both. But I have to think that the nurturer in me loves dogs more. They are a lot needier than cats and I need to be needed. As my children grew up and moved away, I found that I needed surrogate children. I have a Yorkie and a Malti-poo that are now my "children." Gotta love em!
HEATHER: How much money does it take to be happy?
ELLE:Just enough to allow me to travel. I don't have to travel first class and it doesn't always have to be to a foreign country. I love to explore different places and the people are always what makes the places so much fun and interesting. I don't have to live in a big expensive house, as long as I have a space for my office so that I can keep writing and weaving magical stories to get lost in.
HEATHER’S GOTTA ASK – ELLE’S GOTTA ANSWER J
HEATHER: What draws you to strong, earthy women and men?
ELLE: I grew up as a military brat. My dad wore a uniform every day but his roots were as a poor farm boy from Arkansas. I grew up the scrappy 3rd child of 4, living on Air Force Bases. We never knew a dull moment. We left the house practically at sunrise and didn't return until dark. If we did, mom was sure to put us to work. We hiked, biked, rode horses, swam and lived life to the fullest. Much of that time was spent in Texas, thus it appears as a setting in many of my books. When my father retired, we landed back in Arkansas on a small farm where we raised cows, chickens and dogs. We rode horses, canoed the rivers and swam in the lakes. More of a tomboy, I connect with women who aren't afraid to lift a bale of hay or ride the ornery horse. I like men with calloused hands and a strong work ethic and a way with gentling high-spirited creatures.
GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
ELLE: What do you like about cowboys and Texas?
WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?
ELLE: Leave a comment on what you like about cowboys and Texas for a chance to win one of 3 $10 Gift cards to your bookseller of choice!
FIND ELLE ON THE WEB:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Déjà vu?
ReplyDeleteApparently so!! I love the wide open spaces of Texas & cowboys just melt my heart.
Deletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I like'em strong enough to lift me in my dreams, and wearing snug blue jeans doesn't hurt one iota.
ReplyDeleteseytype at hotmail dot com
I love cowboys, they are strong and manly. I grew up watching westerns, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide and numerous others. I feel sorry for children nowadays because they don't know what they're missing.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
What do I love about Texas....cowboys, certainly...but it's also the home of my favorite country music singers Willy Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
ReplyDeleteElle is a new-to-me author but after reading about her and her work here...that will change!
kareninnc at gmail dot com
I don't just like cowboys I love me some cowboys. I have always enjoyed books set it Texas, maybe it was because my father always read cowboy books and it rubbed off on me. Cowboys are always strong heros and they really take care of their women. There is just nothing like setting down to a good western romance.
ReplyDeletequiltlady110 AT gmail DOT com
I've read about billionaires and I've read about cowboys and to see them combined is so interesting. I really enjoy cowboy stories. I find the heroes very laid back, hardworking and relatable. Mainly they seem like family man too and these are all traits I appreciate in them. I can definitely see them existing in real life.
ReplyDeleteCambonified[at]yahoo[dot]com
I like their loyalty.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for the great interview. I've actually just recently started reading books with cowboys in them. I love that they have manners and are super sexy.
ReplyDeleteiqb99@yahoo.com
I like that they get things done.
ReplyDeleteI like that Texas has better winters than here.
chey127 at hotmail dot com
I think it's the idea, stereotypical as it might be, of the rugged, independent, capable qualities of a cowboy that capture me. Then, of course, the fictional ones ride horses shirtless, which has to be a plus. Tim McGraw sings about "the cowboy is us all," and I think that's an apt lyric--we all want to be that able.
ReplyDeleteNow, let's see if I can post this--couldn't on my Kindle!
Work ethic , smart and strong , congers on the boo, great prizes thanks, have. A greaat week
ReplyDeleteKimh
kimehak@yahoo.com
I heard the saying that in Texas everything is bigger :D one of the things on my bucket list is to spend a week on a Texas ranch. Since I was a little girl watching the old western movies and then reading the cowboy romance books, I just love their down to earth attitude, being in tune with nature, also their strong characters and nurturing and loving nature.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! Happy New Year!
seelk67 at gmail dot com
I like their rugged Independence & their love of nature & the outdoors.
ReplyDeletethumbelinda03@yahoo.com
Oh... I like their strenght and alpha-ness... :)
ReplyDeletemaybe31 at yahoo.com
Mmmm....Texas makes me think of all things BIG! Lol, big steaks and BBQ, big cowboy hats and big sexy down an dirty cowboys! I would love to go there someday and just ogle the "scenery". Sounds like a great place! Can't wait to read the book! Sounds like a definite winner! Brat81978@aim.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great interview, and love your movie choices above. I loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! ; )
I love books about Cowboys. They are great heroes.
ReplyDeleteyenastone at aol dot com
Congrats!
ReplyDeleteWinner of Elle's giveaway is Seelk
Winner of $10 gift cards:
Quilt Lady
Tammy Yenalavitch
Chey
Yeah, thanks so much! I replyed to your email. I am so doing the happy dance right now!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Tammy and Chey