Meet Author Elizabeth Rose

I am so happy to introduce you all to Elizabeth Rose. I met Liz when I lived in Chicagoland for a very brief two and a half years while I was a member of Windy City RWA chapter. She had little kids at the time and was having difficulty making time to write. Her kids are a lot older now. Of course, we never age. LOL

Without further ado, welcome Elizabeth Rose.

Thanks for having me as your guest today, Diane. I am happy to be here.

Please tell us about yourself, Liz.

I have written and published 31 books. I write medieval, paranormal and contemporary romance and love writing series. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, am married and have two grown sons. I love gardening and have an herb garden that I put to good use in some of my new recipes that are actually told by my characters on my site.

Where can readers find you?

They can find me at http://elizabethrosenovels.com or on facebook under Elizabeth Rose Author. Or on twitter under ElizRoseNovels, or they can email me at elizabethrosenovels@gmail.com.

What did you learn from writing your first book?

This is a good question. My very first book written, tho not the first published, is Book 1 of my Legacy of the Blade Series, called Lord of the Blade. (Watch Book Trailer)

I learned two things. First, give yourself permission to write whatever you want and tell yourself no one else is going to see it. (Even if they will some day.) This advice is for new authors. What was happening to me was that I was freezing up at the computer and not able to write because I kept worrying about what people would think.

Next, I learned not to keep going back and revising, just keep moving forward and crank out the first draft. While writing this book, I had a hard time getting past chapter three for the longest time. That is because I kept going back and rereading what I wrote and then revising. Then I’d have people critique it and I’d revise some more. So I was moving backwards instead of forward. Now I just finish the first draft quickly and then I have something to go back and work with later.

How long does it take you to write a book?

This answer is different now than what I would have told you nearly twenty years ago. Especially after all the time I put in writing that first book. (By the way, I revised Lord of the Blade for an editor at Harlequin who wanted to buy it, and while I was doing that, the editor who happened to be pregnant ended up leaving. And then the editor who took over turned it down. Talk about disappointment.) Anyway, now I can write and revise a 60,000 word book in about two weeks. I have my system down I guess you can say. And with pushing out the first draft before revising, it helps me to feel a sense of accomplishment when I write those last words on the page.

How many hours a day do you spend writing?

I’m kind of a do or die kind of person. I can’t just write a page and stop. It’s all or nothing. So I’ll not write at all for weeks but then I’ll sit at my computer all day when I am writing a story - and for a week straight. Good luck for my family getting meals or the house getting cleaned during this time. But I’ve been known to write up to 20,000 words in a day and also spend sixteen hours a day sitting here revising the book – which by the way is my least favorite part of the process.

What do you think makes a good story?

Dialogue, a compelling plot, and interesting characters. I can’t tell you how many books I put down because the opening pages are nothing but narrative. I guess I’m the dialogue queen and could probably write screenplays if I tried because I love writing dialogue. I also think it’s important to have the first sentence hook the reader and make them want to read more. I like to put big plots in my medieval books, though my Tarnished Saints Series is more character-oriented. If a story doesn’t have interesting and believable characters, it doesn’t work for me. If I can’t care what happens to any of the characters, than I figure there is no need to keep reading. Yes, I am tough, but there are so many books out there now-a-days, that I feel there is no need to keep reading if the first page doesn’t capture my interest.

What is your favorite movie and why?

I love Ladyhawke with Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick. It is a movie from the 80’s but is medieval and paranormal. I love it because it is a love story where the hero is cursed and shifts into a wolf during the day and the heroine shifts into a hawk at night. So they are always together but eternally apart. And Matthew Broderick – very young here - plays an excellent part and even brings a bit of humor to the movie. If you haven’t seen it, please do.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work?

My goal is to take the reader away from the trials and tribulations of their everyday life and bring them to a place where they can relax and disappear into a different reality. My favorite reviews from readers are the ones where they say I made them laugh and also cry. If I can evoke emotion from my reader, then I know I am on the right track. I want them to care about my characters as well as love and hate them – hate the villains, not the hero or heroine, that is. I want to keep them turning the pages whether it be because of an exciting plot or just wanting to know how a character is going to remedy the situation they are in. And I want them walking away afterwards remembering something in my story that they’ll think about and also talk about time and again even after they are done reading. (Ok, is that asking too much? Smile.)

If I was a first-time reader of your books, which one would you suggest I start with and why?

This is a tricky question since I write several genres of romance, so I will answer it in three parts.

If you like paranormal romance, I’d suggest you start with The Dragon and the Dreamwalker – Book 1: Fire of my Elemental Series. (Watch Book Trailer Video) My heroine, Brynn is an elemental who can control the power of fire, but water can kill her. Drake Pendragon saves her from the dragon only because he needs her help in slaying it. This is a book with a big plot and very interesting characters and some unique paranormal twists as well.

Now, if you like straight medieval, you may want to start with Ruby – Book 1 in my

Daughters of the Dagger Series. (Watch Book Trailer) Four daughters were named after gemstones in the handle of daggers because of their late mother’s superstition. They actually also have a brother who they thought died at birth and this is Onyx – Book 1 of my Scottish MadMan MacKeefe Series. The first series deals with medieval life in a castle as well as royal bastards, wool smugglers, a pilgrimage, and the process of building a castle. And the second series I mentioned brings in things from medieval times such as the Book of Hours and the Scottish coronation stone – The Stone of Destiny. I also show medieval holidays and the things they did back then that carry over to our everyday lives now. Readers can get the Prequel of this series for free!

And last, if you are a reader who likes contemporary, you may want to start with my books set on a lake in Michigan called my Tarnished Saints Series. The Taylor Twelve are all sons of a preacher but far from saints. These men are nothing but trouble. In Doubting Thomas – Book 1, we meet Thomas Taylor, the eldest of the siblings and he is accused of murdering his wife. He is the father of six young boys and the townspeople think he is an unfit father. Angel DeMitri is a widow and also a caseworker for Child Protective Services and comes to Thunder Lake with her young daughter on a vacation. But really, she is also there on an unofficial visit to investigate Thomas. (Watch Book Trailer)

I also want to mention that in my free time I create all my own book covers as well as book trailer videos.

You are so creative, Liz. I feel like a slacker next to you. LOL

Thanks again for having me as your guest, Diane, and I hope readers will stop by my website to see what’s new!

Elizabeth Rose

Website

Facebook – Elizabeth Rose – Author (Use the dash)

Twitter – User name @ElizRoseNovels

Free Dagger Prequel