ellenfisher

Denise: "Love Remembered" and "The Light in the Darkness" both have a setting in colonial Virginia. What led you to write about this time period? What are the protagonists searching for in their lives?

Ellen: I have lived in Virginia almost all my life. I grew up a mile or so from a beautiful old colonial house, which I visited frequently. Also, my mother, a freelancer for the local paper, wrote numerous articles on historic Virginia landmarks, usually taking me along. And I fell in love with Valerie Sherwoods lovely colonial Virginia romances about the same time I went to college in Williamsburg. So naturally all the ideas I had for historical romances revolved around colonial Virginia!

Denise: Have you taken writer's courses or attended workshops to build upon your skills?

Ellen: No. But that's a very good question, because no one is born knowing how to write. I've devoured romances on a daily basis since I was sixteen. But when I started seriously trying to write one, I began reading them more analytically, trying to figure out why one plot or character worked for me, and another other didn't. I still didn't learn everything that way, but it helped my writing quite a lot.

I now belong to EPIC (the Electronically Published Internet Connection) and discuss writing with other authors, and I read online articles about writing, both of which have helped my writing develop, too. My first book, THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS, had some head-hopping (abrupt changes in point of view within a scene), but I've subsequently become extremely conscious of POV, and there is no head-hopping to be found in my later books!

Denise: "In Isn't It Romantic" you've paired a gorgeous actor who left the fast-paced madness of Hollywood with a small town girl. What is he searching for and what does he find?

Ellen: Kipling Stanton is searching for a little peace and quiet. He's tired of being hounded by the media, tired of his every move being newsworthy, so he moves to small-town Virginia. He finds himself masquerading as the husband of the woman next door. Before long he's falling head over heels for her… this IS a romance, after all.

The setup of ISN'T IT ROMANTIC? is a pretty standard one (the pretend marriage that leads to love between the characters) but I had a lot of fun with it and let the plot lead to all sorts of silliness. In fact, I wrote "Isnt It Romantic?" just for fun, and the response has been very positive. It has garnered the most five-star reviews of any of my books, which surprises me, as it's short (its a 33,000-word novella) and relatively lightweight. Evidently, sometimes readers and reviewers just want to have fun too!

Denise: Maxfield Sinclair is a science fiction author admired by fans for his popular series. Drew Cooper is a literary professor who isn't impressed with Maxfield's books. In "All I Ever Wanted," how do they come together, learn to accept and love one another?

Ellen: This is my favorite book so far, and it received two Reviewers Choice awards. Max is a somewhat unusual hero, a shy, introverted type who hasn't had a relationship with a woman in years. He's a far cry from the average sexually confident, alpha male hero!

ALL I EVER WANTED is an "opposites attract type of story - Max is a regular guy who likes pizza, beer, and action movies, whereas Drew is a snobbish woman who likes caviar, cognac, and Jane Austen. Eventually, though, they discover they have more in common than they originally believed. And that, in my opinion, is how real love comes abou t- when you learn to look beneath the surface, and beyond your original impressions of someone, to find out what they're really like.

Denise: The cover for "The Nerd Prince" is not only beautiful, but it draws you into the story demanding you read the book. That makes it a successful cover. Tell us about Cade and the cellist who changes his life?

Ellen: Thank you, I love that cover too. It was created by Eliza Black, as all my NCP covers have been so far. But I should mention the cover isn't specific to my story. THE NERD PRINCE was part of NCPs "14 Days of Fairy-Tale Romance" promotion, and all fifteen stories in the series had the same cover. So the cover doesn't really reflect my story and characters, but it is very romantic and beautiful.

THE NERD PRINCE was an unusual story for me because my editor wrote me in January and asked me to produce a story based on a fairy tale for this promotion in February. Since I'm not a fast writer, and I usually write long novels, I wasnt inclined to participate. But I looked through my partials (I have lots of two or three page ideas Ive saved in Microsoft Word for a rainy day) and found a brief scene with an annoyed man whose neighbor is playing the cello and irritating the heck out of him. I suddenly realized how I could write the rest of the story based on the old fairy tale, "The Frog Prince." I emailed my editor, told her I'd do it, and wrote the rest of the story in a week.

This is another story about looking beneath the surface - Shell originally takes Cade to be a video-playing, poorly dressed nerd. But she finds out there's another reason for his sloppy appearance and his apparent disinterest in living. And she sets out to do something about it!

Denise: Has New Concepts publishing accepted all your novels? What has your experience with this publisher been like? Your books are all in e-book format? How can we order the newer titles?

Ellen: My first book, THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS, was a print romance released by Bantam in 1998. It's out of print now, so it can only be found in used bookstores and on Amazon. All my other books are from New Concepts Publishing, all in ebook format, and they are all still available. And I am thrilled to say that the first romance I wrote for NCP, LOVE REMEMBERED, will be released in trade paperback in October or November!!

I've had a great time writing for NCP. They produce gorgeous, New York-quality covers, and they don't object when I switch back and forth among subgenres as I'm prone to do. They've never yet rejected one of my proposals - my editor likes my writing. Which is an excellent trait in an editor, IMHOJ.

Denise: How have you promoted your novels? Does the Internet play a major role?

Ellen: Since e-book readers are pretty much without exception computer literate, the Internet definitely plays a major role in my promotion. I have bought banner ads, taken full advantage of "Authors News" sections on sites, posted to bulletin boards, and joined a lot of Yahoo groups. I make sure my books are reviewed everywhere possible. I also ordered bookmarks featuring the covers of my two romantic comedies and sent them off to a lot of sites that send them out in goody bags. I've recently participated in two print ads with other NCP authors, in the August issues of Romantic Times and Arabella Magazine. Those were relatively expensive, but I hope they'll be worth it!

Denise: Do you have any writing or marketing tips for authors who are just starting out?

Ellen: There's an article on my site outlining basic promotion for the e-published romance author.

The basic gist of the article is that an e-published author has to make her name known to online readers, without going overboard and being obnoxious about it. I outline various ways to do that, such as joining Yahoo groups, posting to sites, and so forth.

Online I strive for a friendly but not overbearing tone - you can really irritate readers if you post too much or talk about yourself too frequently. I'm actually very shy in person, but I love chatting with readers and other authors on loops and boards!

Denise: What are your future writing projects and goals?

Ellen: I want to write good romances, in various subgenres, and continue to build a name for myself. Within five years I'd like to be making a living wage at writing.