I loved interviewing Author Ellie James for one of my pages that I admin at!! :D It was so much fun so I wanted to share it here too... Just incase anyone missed it! ;)
So here it is! The interview with Ellie James author of Midnight Dragonfly Series!!! :D
1) Did you
always know if you wanted to be an author?
Yes
J I’ve been concocting stories as long as I
can remember. I think I wrote my first fan-fic before I was five! I would fall in love with characters and not
want their stories to end, so I’d keep them going. It wasn’t just fan fic,
though. I had my own creations, such as the saga of a family of monsters,
followed by star-crossed cats. Then came a girl named Jacquie and her terrifying flight
through a sinister swamp, with a mysterious guy racing to help her. I had no
choice but to write the stories down. It was the only way to get them to leave
me alone. In middle school and high
school I was always the girl writing little poems (and even songs!) for my
friends, usually about something romantic, and something dangerous! Being a Louisiana native, my stories always
took on a mystical feel, featuring ghosts and danger and all sorts of things
that couldn’t be explained, and always, always a healthy dose of star-crossed
lovers.
2) What/who
inspired you to write?
Growing up
I was a big Nancy Drew buff, but the first
book I remember touching me on a deeper level Island of the Blue Dolphins. Then
came my love affair with Judy Blue (and the forbidden Rosemary Rogers novels I
found between my mother’s mattresses!) After that there’s a huge gap before
Stephen King and Michael Creighton took over. And with each genre I discovered,
the place inside of me that was always spinning stories of my own grew stronger
and more insistent. The more I read, the more I wrote.
When
it was time to pick a major for college, I remember asking what I could major
in that would involve writing. My mother suggested journalism, so journalism it
was. Of course, writing obituaries for my news-ed class wasn’t quite the
scintillating endeavor I had in mind, but everyone has to start somewhere, you
know?
More recently, I’m crazy inspired by JJ Abrams, creator
of Alias, Lost, and Fringe. History + Mysteries + The Unexplained + Possibility
+ Boy/Girl = My Perfect Recipe.
3) For the ones
who do not know about the Midnight Dragonfly series.. What is the series about?
The Midnight Dragonfly books are a
series of romantic YA thrillers following the visions of teenage psychic
Trinity Monsour in New Orleans. Glimpses. That’s all she sees. Shadowy
premonitions flickering through her dreams. Some terrify: a girl screaming, a
knife lifting, a body in the grass. But others--the dark, tortured eyes and the
shattering kiss, the promise of forever--whisper to her soul. They come without
warning. They come without detail. But they always mean the same thing: The
clock is ticking, and only Trinity can stop it.
4) What was the
inspiration for the story?
It was one of those bizarre,
unplanned things. A few years ago I wasn’t getting much sleep and woke up one
early one morning from one of the most incredibly detailed, vivid dreams I’d
ever had. I’d more than just seen a group of teen sneak into an old abandoned
mansion--I’d been with them. I’d gazed into the darkness, and smelled the
decay. I’d felt the fear, and the crazy blast of excitement at the prospect of
a game of truth or dare. My heart was still
racing when I woke up. The images lingered. I kept thinking about what I’d
seen, and from the questions came: What
happened next? What if one of the teens was a psychic? What if she saw
something…something bad? What if she had a premonition? What if what she saw
actually happened? What if no one
believed her, or at least, no one but the last guy she should let herself begin
to fall for?
As I answered those questions, the
Midnight Dragonfly books were born!
5) Is there a
story behind every book cover?
The main story behind the covers is
the dragonfly necklace featured on each. Since the books reflect Trinity’s
story, each cover contains an image of her (and I absolutely love how beautiful
they are!) And since the stories are as much about her coming into her own as
they are about solving mysteries, the decision was made to create covers that
evoked a vibe of self-discovery, rather than the mystery plot aspect. As a
side-note, my UK publisher has gone the other direction, emphasizing the
mystery rather than the emotional journey. Check it out:
About the dragonfly… On the cover of
each book is an amulet, a beautiful necklace with a dragonfly pendant. The
dragonfly (and the pendant) plays a significant role in the story, which is why
it’s featured so prominently on the covers. While writing the first book
Shattered Dreams, I needed Trinity to receive a talisman that belonged to her
mother, and the image of a dragonfly popped into my mind. I began researching
dragonflies and was blown away at how mystical they are, in particular how they
represented existing in two realms at the same time--and dreaming. For my
teenage psychic, who communicates with The Universe through her dreams, this
was PERFECT. A lot of this is explored
in the third book, Fragile Darkness, particularly a Native American legend
about what dragonflies really are J
6) Did you ever
have a writer's block while writing?
Um…yeah. Kinda. But I hate to call it writer’s block. It’s more like the
absence of words or inability to make a decision. What will happen is I’ll
reach a point in the story (more often, incidentally, the beginning than any
other place), and suddenly, even though I KNOW the story, know it inside out, I
can’t find the right words to get what I’m seeing and feeling in my mind onto
paper.
7) What did you
do to get over it?
Over the years, I’ve developed a couple of methods to get the words
flowing again. First of all, I abandon my office and my laptop. That is
CRITICAL. I get physical paper and a pencil with an eraser (not a pen) and I go
downstairs to the sofa or maybe even outside. Sometimes I go for a walk (or,
um, sweep!). Regardless, once I’ve changed the venue, I start asking questions.
Of myself: What’s wrong? Why isn’t this working? Of the characters: What’s going on? What are
you thinking? What are you upset about? What would you change, if you
could? I literally write these questions
down, and answer them. Usually, whatever is causing the block will emerge
through this process. Sometimes it has to do with plot: I had the characters
turn right instead of left, keep a secret, etc. Sometimes I have to go back and
adjust a previous scene (or two or three or more!) before I can fully move
forward. Other times, it’s more to do with a characters actions and
reactions.
As an example in Fragile Darkness, there is a scene where Trinity is
meeting a mysterious new guy, Will, at a location that has incredible
significance to Trinity. In the first draft, Trinity selected the meeting spot,
but when I actually wrote the scene, it fell so much flatter than what I was
envisioning/wanting. This is one of those “I went for a walk” situations, where
I was about a mile from my house when I realized I constructed the scene wrong.
Trinity wasn’t the one who selected the location, Will was. Suddenly,
everything flew together, and all the drama and emotion and intensity I’d been
aiming for materialized as Trinity arrived, unknowingly, at this very
significant place to her.
Bottom line: change of venue, change of mode, paper, pencil, an
eraser, and one pretty harsh interrogation of myself and my characters!
8) If the series
were to be made into movie(s) Who would you like to play which character? Leighton
Meester and Taylor Kitsch
This is something I’ve thought about (dreamed about?!?) from time to
time. And it’s funny, but when I let my mind wander that direction, I always
end up seeing a TV series, instead. The city of New Orleans, the two shops, one
artistic and the other New Age, Trinity and Dylan and Victoria, the musicians
Deuce and Trey, Aunt Sara and Julian…oiy. The possibilities are endless! Anyone know a good producer????
As for casting, for me it comes down to the eyes. I know a character
by their eyes…and after extensive searching, I’d have to recommend Leighton
Meester as Trinity and Taylor Kitsch as Dylan.
Leighton has such a strong, tough vibe about her, and Taylor just oozes
dangerous sensuality J
9) What is the
best advice you've ever recieved?
Ah, great question! I’d have to say the best advice I ever
received is the advice I now most often give: Believe in yourself. Never give
up. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do. You are the captain of your
own ship, the author of your own story, the star of your own life. You get to
decide how your life is going to play, nobody else. If you have a dream, don’t
follow it—chase it. A goal, you need
to work toward it. On my desk is a plaque that reads, “You’ll miss 100% of the
shots you don’t take,” and I try my best to live by those words. You have to
believe in yourself and follow your dreams. It’s the only way they can come
true.
10) What message
would you give to your fans?
One of the most incredible aspects of writing the Midnight Dragonfly
series is all the awesome people I’ve met along the way. The readers and bloggers
have been incredible. I feel like I’ve stepped into a whole new world, where
I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to share my stories. The biggest thing I’d
like to say to my readers is…thank you. From the bottom of my heart and the
horizons of my imagination…thank you for being so welcoming!
Flash Questions
1) Party or Read?
Read!
2) Dogs or Cats?
Cats!
3) Ice cream or Cookies?
Brownies?
4) Superpowers or Plain Jane?
Superpowers
;)
5) Crowded Cities or Laidback Countrysides?
The beach!
6) Horror or Romance?
Romance
J
7)Tea or Coffee?
Coffee
8) Books or Movies?
Books
9) Would you rather Be a hero or the villan?
Hero
10) Good Guys or Bad Guys?
Depends
upon what for J J J
11) Cool or Geeky?
Sometimes
geeky can be cool…
About Ellie James
Most people who know Ellie think she’s your nice, average wife and mom
of two little kids. They see someone who does all that normal stuff, like
grocery shopping, going to soccer games, and somehow always forgetting to get
the house cleaned and laundry done.
What they don't know is that more often than not, this LSU J-School
alum is somewhere far, far away, deeply embroiled in solving a riddle or puzzle
or crime, testing the limits of possibility, exploring the unexplained, and
holding her breath while two people fall in love.
Regardless of which world Ellie’s in, she loves rain and wind and
thunder and lightning; the first warm kiss of spring and the first cool whisper
of fall; family, friends, and animals; dreams and happy endings; Lost and
Fringe; Arcade Fire and Dave Matthews, and last but not least…warm gooey
chocolate chip cookies.
Her next book, FRAGILE DARKNESS, is available from Griffin
Teen November 27, 2012.
Ooh and there's a giveaway going on! Everyone who pre-orders Fragile Darkness and sends their reciept to Ellie will stand a chance to get a signed bookplate and a temporary tattoo!! :D Go go go enter!! :D
Till later! Take Care!
oxox
