Author Interview -Ellouise Liston
Hello friends and lovers!
This is the first post of 2022 and we’re starting off with my first author interview with the talented Elloiuse Liston, whose debut was, Hooking Up With Mr. Wrong!
This year, I’m starting a series where I’ll be interviewing romance indie authors from around the world. The same authors who bring you so much joy when you read their romance books and make your heart flutter with their heroes.
Let’s get started with our first ever, indie romance author interview of 2022!
Tell us about yourself!
HAHA I always feel like a kid on their first day of school with this question, but here we go. My name is Ellouise, but I prefer Elle. I write romance novels, though some are romcom, others are fantasy and I also have some darker books in the works. Basically anything I write will have a romance as the focus. My first book is a romcom, enemies to lovers, surprise pregnancy romance 'Hooking up with Mr Wrong'. When I'm not writing, I work as a high school English teacher and love spending any free time I have reading, talking about books on my youtube channel or spending time with family and my furbaby. I am also a lover of horror movies. I'm not kidding when I say that I was raised on them. When other kids watched The Wiggles or Blues Clues, I was watching Scream, Friday the 13thand Nightmare on Elm Street (Jason is still my favourite). My family made sure not to restrict what I watched, not wanting to restrict my imagination and I have to say I'm forever grateful. Well, I think that is all I can really say about me.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Like many of us, I've been writing since I was 6, but it wasn't because I fell in love with books. Truth is, I didn't get into reading until I was 15 and read Twilight, but it was my love of story that led me to write. I've spent my childhood watching so many movies like the classic horrors and 80's teen flicks and much more. My family made sure I was educated in movies LOL and being around these stories made me want to create my own, so I would write in a notebook, play out the stories with my barbie dolls and even tell stories to my classmates. But it wasn't until I was 17 and I took a class in school where I had to write a short story. Fast forward to graduation and my teacher had mentioned me in his graduation speech to our graduating class (yes I sunk into my chair when everyone looked at me), then afterwards he pulled my mum aside and told her ‘if she does anything in her life, make sure she keeps writing' and so I did. He is also a reason I decided to teach and I continued to write but really took it seriously a couple of years later and now here I am.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite? Why is it your favorite?
Wow this is really hard.
I have written 2 books (One is on the way). My debut novel is 'Hooking Up with Mr Wrong' which is an enemies to lovers surprise pregnancy romance and my second book 'Of Blood & Water', releasing February 15th 2022, is a fantasy romance which is a loose little mermaid retelling. I am currently working on the second book for 'The Hooking Up series' and nearly done.
Now for the hard question LOL. They are both a favourite for different reasons, but my ultimate favourite - if I have to choose - is 'Of Blood & Water'. It has to be this book because I have been working on this book for 7-8 years, and it has changed and developed so much through the years, I have also put so much of myself in this book.
My little girl heart is jumping for this book because when I was a kid, I always loved the little mermaid but believed there was more to the story and I was happy to explore that. I also put parts of my personality in all of the characters. My protective nature in Braelyn (my MC), my cautiousness in Bex (Male MC) and the dark twisted side of myself I don't let out much in Tatiana (Sea Witch). This book is a big part of me so I have to say it is my favourite.
Out now!
Out February 15, 2022
What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?
The beginning was the hardest for me. It changed so much throughout the years and it was tough trying to show the world without being info-dumpy. I always struggle with the beginning in books.
Why did you choose the self publishing route?
I am a control freak so it was only to be expected that I'd want to self publish, but I liked knowing that the end product was something I did. I worked with the editor, I worked with the cover designer and I set my own deadlines and release dates. It makes writing feel like a business and that is exciting to me. I only wish I did more research into marketing when I was starting out, something I'm still learning but that's what this is, a learning experience.
What genre do you write?
Dark romance, contemporary romance, and fantasy
What part of writing is the most fun for you?
Brain-dumping ideas, visualising scenes with music. Sometimes I get so emotional I either grin like an idiot as the song plays or I cry.
Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?
The most? It's a tie between Braelyn and Tatiana.
What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
I tried to be a plotter, but I think I'm a mix. I like to spend a bit of time finding music and seeing if I can visualise a scene, if I can I write it in a notebook. I do this until I get a rough idea of my story structure and many scene ideas and a full playlist. I sometimes do character outlines but it's just a brain dump of their life and their traits. After I have all this information, I start writing and I plan the chapters as I go. It's a mess but it works for me.
What does your writing schedule look like?
My schedule is different some days because of work but I basically work on multiple book projects during the week. During the work week lately this is my schedule: I wake up at 5am and write my secret project for an hour which usually gets me 500-1000 words, then get ready and go to work. When I get home, depending on the day, I either workout or film a youtube video, then cook followed by editing a chapter or 2 of the second 'hooking up' book. Then I spend the rest of the night reading and hanging with my fiance until bed. As for the weekend, I focus on brain-dumping for book 2 of my fantasy romance series (this book is only for the weekend). So yeah, I'm working on 2-3 books at a time but they are at different stages.
What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
Sometimes both. Depends because every story is different.
What risks have you taken with your writing that have paid off?
I'm not sure if it's paid off, but I know that it is risky to publish a romcom and a fantasy romance under the same name because of branding but when I chose to do this, I told myself that I was going to do it my way and write the books I want to write and be myself on social media. So that is what I'm doing.
Tell us about your upcoming book, give us title, release date:
Okay, so my fantasy romance book 'Of Blood & Water' is a little mermaid retelling with the following tropes: enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, forced proximity, some memory loss, and couples that have history. I think that is it. Now this book is set in a world were sirens and humans are at war. Braelyn, a siren princess is abducted by the humans and held prisoner by the king. She feels alone, like she will die there until she finds an unlikely ally in one of the kings soldiers. Together they must work to find an escape and hopefully destroy the king in the process. On the other side of the kingdom, Luna, Braelyn's sister is wracked with guilt at losing her sister so she enlists the help of a band of misfit humans that have the same goal, to stop the king. She just has to keep herself from falling for one ...
BLURB
Braelyn was a princess who was sheltered in the undersea kingdom of Kymora, dreaming and training for a day that she would finally face the monsters who killed her mother, the humans. Humans have been at war for years after Braelyn’s mother fell in love with a human who then left the kingdom and the safety which eventually led to her death. Now Braelyn wants to even the score, but what would happen if they get her before she gets them?
Who would you cast?
I've always seen Holland Roden as Braelyn with her red hair and fair skin. I'm not sure about Bex but I've always seen a blonde Brittany Snow as Luna, Jude Law as Argent and Kate Winslet as Tatiana.
Where can readers follow you?
Links can be found for my books & socials HERE.
Concluding this interview, what would you like your readers to know?:
That I am so happy to be a part of this bookish community. Everyone has been so welcoming and lovely and I hope to give you more stories to devour.
This is my first interview of many coming up! So excited for our community to learn about our romance indie authors.
If you’re a romance indie author and are interested in having an interview on my blog, click here to be directed to the form.
Happy Monday!
Xoxo, Vivian Mae
