Elena Kane, Interviewer: With me is, Erin Elliott, author of Heartsong. Upon the request of TouchPoint Press, I have decided to ask Erin Elliott about her writing process. Let’s begin, shall we? Hello, Erin. Can you start us off with why you decided to get into writing?
Erin Elliott: Stress, a lot stress. That and an overactive imagination. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I started in high school and actually wrote something, but that beast is in lock down because it’s absolutely horrible. Hey, we all have to start somewhere.
Elena: So where do you get your ideas from?
Erin: Well, that’s the tricky part. There are so many good ideas out there; it’s hard to find one that’s original. Like right now, I have an idea about this boy whose parents die in accident, only to find out he’s a wizard and…
Elena: That’s already been done.
Erin: What?
Elena: Yeah… It’s a series called Harry Potter. It’s already been done.
Erin: Oh, well, I have another idea about a teen who finds this dragon egg and hatches it then they take on an evil…
Elena: That’s been done, too.
Erin: You’re kidding?
Elena: Nope.
Erin: How about vampires falling in love with…
Elena: Yep.
Erin: Dang. Well, when I do finally come up with an idea that hasn’t been taken, I just start writing. I don’t use an outline or anything, so often times, I’m just as surprised as the reader as to where my stories go. I do keep notes in a spiral notebook, just because I have a tendency to forget minor details such as hair color or village names when I go a while in between writing. I happen to have a very busy life with three awesome kids. Damon, who is graduating this year. Thomas, who keeps me on my toes with his silliness and his first year of high school. And Megan, who is my first grade chatterbox.
Elena: But where do your actual ideas come from?
Erin: Honestly, I have no idea. I’ll go for walks and these characters just come to me, so I give them stories. I love the world of fantasy because it’s so different from my own. I struggle with writing real life stories. To me, the whole point of writing is to get away from every day.
Elena: What is your favorite mythical creature since you’re so into fantasy?
Erin: Dragons are the masters of the mythical world. I love dragons and elves, which is why I used them in Heartsong and my Sword of Lumina series.
Elena: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?
Erin: Well, not only do I write, but I teach and edit as well. I work for a company called The Editing Hall. However, I mainly stay busy with my kids and their school or after school activities. I’m weird in the fact that I don’t like to know what people think of my stories. I learned after my first story that unless I was prepared to hear bad comments or reviews then I shouldn’t listen to either. I write because it’s what I like to do. I don’t read reviews done on my books, I don’t know how many I’ve sold, and as I said before, I don’t ask people what they’ve thought of my books. I don’t want my worth or my love of writing to be based on other’s opinions. I also write under a pen name. Those are mainly romance stories.
Elena: Interesting. So how do you feel about editing? That’s mainly a critique process, isn’t it?
Erin: Well, as an editor, I’ve learned that it’s nothing personal; they’re just trying to make your story the best version possible. The first time through though, I cried.
Elena: How does it feel to finally see your book in print?
Erin: I just see it as a story complete and move on to the next one. It’s cool, but part of my weirdness keeps me from bragging about it. I always worry that people will read my books and not like it, so I hate telling people about it. As I mentioned before, it’s more for me than anything else. Is it awesome that publishers like it enough to publish it? Heck yeah! But I still just trying to keep my head level about it.
Elena: Well, thank you for your time and willingness to answer questions about your writing process. One last question before we go. What is that pen name so the readers can look those stories up, too?
Erin: Elena Kane.
Thank you for taking the opportunity to read my somewhat different post. I struggle with writing about myself so I figured I would do it in a way that allowed me to write a bit more and get a little more personal. Feel free to look up any of my books.
Books by Erin Elliott:
Books by Elena Kane:
Propose to Me: A Romance Anthology. “Proposal Unexpected”
Frozen: A Winter Romance Anthology. “Frozen Dreams”
For more information on Erin please visit:
TouchPoint Press 