Elodie
Parkes is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often
with a twist of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, or suspense. Her books are always
steamy.
Her tag is, Cool stories: Hot love scenes.
She
works in an antique shop by day and writes at night, loving the cloak of silent
darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.
Elodie
is joining us all the way from Canterbury. Her two dogs are eyeing me and
licking their lips. Ah-ha! They know I keep doggie treats handy.
Thank you so much, Elodie for joining us
today. Let’s get started. You’ve got ten seconds to describe your writing
style. Ready… set… go!
Romantic.
Thoughtful. Emotional. Addictive. Erotic.
I love your books Rescuing Cade and A
Fairy Tale Romance. I enjoy the twists in your storylines. Do you have any authors
who have influenced you or do you have a favorite authors you enjoy?
I’ve
purposely not allowed writers and books to influence me. For instance, I love
William Gibson books. He can do no wrong in my eyes, but would never attempt to
be influenced by his work. I write completely different works. My stories are
love stories with twists of paranormal, or suspense, or mystery that are woven
into what could happen in real life. I could never approach writing like
another author, my story and my characters drive me. I guess that other writers
whose books I read lots don’t write erotic romance. I’ve read all Christine
Feehan’s Dark series, but when I write paranormal, I don’t feel I’m influenced
by her work. I read Henning Mankell and there’s no way I could be influenced to
write as he does, because his Swedish environment influences him even though he
now lives in Africa. Same with Ruth Rendell, I’ve read nearly all her work. Its
good stuff but I’ve felt no influence.
I’ve dot
pointed what strikes me about the above author’s work.
- Ruth Rendell, insight into the dark side of human
behavior
- Henning Mankell, the atmosphere he creates, often
wide open, empty spaces, bleakness
- William Gibson, intelligence, insight into
society and the manipulation from powerful people, description, and scene
setting.
- Christine Feehan, the creation of some of the
most loveable male characters around, those Carpathians are to die for.
Real life
influences me. I get my story ideas as I’m moving through life, from meeting
people, seeing buildings, scenery, sign posts, all kinds of things will make a
story idea drop into my mind. Then the characters start to talk. I guess that’s
a little obtuse, but that’s how it happens for me. One of my vampire romance
stories came from driving past a building that had an old Inn sign in the front
garden, but the building was clearly not an Inn. There was an air of mystery
about the place, though and a story dropped into my head very quickly. I used
the name on that sign for the title. Then a paddock full of lovely horses
inspired one of my shifter stories. Stories just arrive in my head and have the
characters already formed in some magical way. I always fall in love with my
characters and miss them like crazy when I have to let them go .
It’s fascinating how story ideas pop
up then follow you around. When did you begin writing?
I started
writing when I was seventeen, but I quit early on writing fiction because I
needed to write academic stuff. After life got in the way for a number of years,
I suddenly found my mind was crowded with fiction story ideas again and I went
back to writing them.
You are living proof what one can’t
escape the writing muse! When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I don’t really.
That’s funny huh? I write but I think the definition of a writer has changed
along with the radical changes in the publishing world.
When you think about it, writing is
an art form. Writing, painting, creating music – whatever your title, you
create something wonderful for others to enjoy. What is your writing process?
I don’t have
a process per se. I write when I have time. It’s always there nagging me to get
back to, but I have to fit it around my day job or starve. I suppose I stay up
late writing because I feel peaceful then, but there are no habits attached.
Size counts… on average how
loooooonnnnnggg do you like your (um, how do we put it delicately) manuscripts
to be; (in words silly, not inches) and how steamy?
I write
erotic romance. The love scenes are graphic. My stories must have happy endings
and I enjoy that, giving happy endings to characters. I feel as if there are so
few in real life. My stories are just told, the length varies from 15 K to 45 K
whatever tells the story.
I usually drink tea or wine when I
write. I also keep a jar of dark chocolate M&M’s handy. What snacks do you
enjoy while you write?
None. I
might drink a cup of tea or a glass of water, but I have lots of allergies and
have to be careful what I eat.
Food allergies suck. But you stay
healthy in the long run!
It’s time to get to the nitty-gritty
in reference to writing:
Are you most productive in the morning,
afternoon or are you a night owl?
I am a night
owl in all facets of life.
Are you a plotter or a pantster?
Both at
different times and mixed together sometimes.
Which is more important: plot or
characters?
For me
they’re equally important. They drive each other.
Do you ever experience writer’s
block?
Not so far.
I never have enough hours in the day so there are loads of manuscripts on my
desktop in various stages all clamoring to be finished.
Do you write thing at a time or more
than one? How do you balance them?
I often
write more than one thing at a time, but in general one will take over and I’ll
finish it then go on to the next as the other sleeps before I go back for the
first creative edit before it goes to the editor and then is submitted.
What is your least favorite part of
the writing or publishing process?
Oh hell,
marketing, promoting. It’s so time consuming, such a stressful experience and
so hard to know what to do for the best. I’d like to reach readers more, and in
a more intimate way, but time forbids that for me.
What is your best marketing tip?
I have
nothing for you. Try anything and everything to reach your audience.
What advice would you give other
writers?
If you love
writing, keep at it even in the face of the saturated market, the capricious
industry, the negativity and competition, because when a reader tells you they
loved your story it makes up for all those things.
WHEW! That
was awesome! Thank you so much for joining us today. Girl, you gotta tell me where
you got those adorable boots!
She has also released titles as an individual indie author.
Find Elodie
online: Blog Facebook FB Twitter Tsu
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+ G+ Pinterest YouTube Amazon USA Amazon UK Manic Readers
Check out her new release from Evernight
An erotic romance, with Dom/sub and spanking elements—a contemporary,
magical love story.
