Interview: Erin Kellison

NRR: Can you share with us how you got started in writing?

I think I always wanted to write. I asked for a typewriter for Christmas the year I was in 4th grade.  I typed a lot of titles, but no actual stories. I had no idea how to go about writing a story. Undaunted, I attempted my first novel two years later—a dark, contemporary fantasy. I’ve got the hand written pages in the garage. I remember loving college rule paper. English was always my favorite subject (it’s what I got my BA in, too). I’ve taken classes and been part of critique groups, but my first determined effort was a co-written book with my sister. I was completely hooked and immediately went to work on another book, which became the first in my Shadow series, Shadow Bound. You can read an excerpt here: http://www.erinkellison.com/books/shadowBound.html

NRR: How were you inspired to write the SHADOW series?

I was reading a lot of vampires and weres, and I was loving them. But I didn’t want to rub up against the worldbuilding of another writer. (There are fantastic series out there. I’m dying for the next Patricia Briggs book.) I wanted to build my own world, so I started looking for a mythological being that had the same kind of pathos I associated with vampires. I found it in a banshee. I conceived her as having one foot in this world, and one foot in the next. Shadow is another word for magic, which permeates the fae Otherworld… and it’s starting to trickle back into ours.

NRR: What is your guilty pleasure?

Easy. Reading all day in bed. I don’t get to do it very often. Just typing this fills me with longing.

NRR: What is in your to be read pile?

A million books. Really. I’ve got so many that I even have two garment storage bins (the skinny ones) full of books under my bed. My shelves are full and I’ve got stacks everywhere. The list on my Kindle is long. First up: I’ve read book one of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. I’m looking forward to reading the rest at my first opportunity. 

NRR: What was the most challenging part of writing SHADOWMAN?

My hero! Let me count the ways he was a pain in the arse to write: 1. He’s made out of Shadow. Not skin and bones. Very tricky. 2. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be human. I had to make sure that I didn’t superimpose human expectations on him. 3. He’s the Grim Reaper (aka Death). Always fun. 4. The form he takes depends on how the human looking at him perceives Death. So if a character thinks Death is like Skeletor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, then my hero looks like Skeletor. If a character, like my heroine, thinks of him as a seriously hot dark lord, well then, he looks like that.  All very tricky, let me tell you.

NRR: What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring authors?

The secret to writing and getting published is to write. This advice is also known as Butt in the Chair. By far the most excruciating aspect of writing is having the discipline to do it day in and day out, not knowing if what you are working on is any good. 

NRR: Can you share with us the storyline of SHADOWMAN?

Shadowman is book three in my Shadow series. It’s a stand alone, but the first meeting of the hero (Shadowman) and the heroine (Kathleen) takes place in book one, Shadow Bound. Like all my books, I’ve got a bit of a fairy tale going on—in this case, a very dark take on Beauty and the Beast. Shadowman (he’d be the beast) is determined to find Kathleen, even if it means forging a gate to Hell to do so.

And you can find an excerpt here: http://www.erinkellison.com/books/shadowman.html

NRR: What is next in the works for you?

Mayhem! I’m working on book four in my Shadow series, Shadow Fire, which will be released July 2011. Think hot. And then I’ll be writing the second installment of Cam and Ellie’s story, which began with the e-novella, Shadow Touch. Part II, as yet untitled, should come out next May. AND (drumroll) Shadow Touch will be offered for free Sept 4 to Sept 10. I’ll have links up on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/erinkellisonauthor) as soon as it goes on sale. Please consider following me—I’ll be having contests and giveaways all month long.

Thank you so much for having me!