As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How has that childhood dream affected your career? What didn’t I want to be? I think I went through ALL the things a little girl dreams of being. First it was a teacher. Then I wanted to be a vet from 6th to 8th grade. After the vet came the… can anyone guess? Yep, LOL, an actress! That was a short lived dream though when I joined the drama team and realized getting on stage was just not my thing. Then I had a new dream each year, each a little sillier than the other. When I met my husband and had the chance to stay home and write and raise our kids, I decided being a wife and mom was an awesome career. Writing? That was pretty cool too. Then I discovered a hidden talent in graphic design and that is now my actual ‘job’. It was never a dream however, just a neat twist of fate!
Tell us about your latest book. Do you have anything new in the works and can you tell us a bit about it? My latest book is a Southern Romantic Comedy titled A Very Southern Affair and the story takes place in a fictional Alabama town. The heroine, Hollee, is cursed in love and is desperate to help her cash strapped town bring in some revenue and some jobs. Kaiden, the hero, is from Pennsylvania, and to say he experiences culture shock when he lands in the south is an understatement! Worlds literally collide in this hilarious story of North meets South. I am currently working on the sequel, A Very Southern Dilemma (working title), involving Hollee’s best friend, Estelle.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? I haven’t had a decent moment of writing time since I’ve been pregnant with youngest. I try to listen to music and sit in the bedroom away from the all noise of the rest of the house.
How did you deal with rejection letters? If the publisher is considerate enough to give me a good valid reason, I use it as a learning experience. Sometimes though, rejections letters can be all over the place. Stories just don’t suit every publisher. And I’d rather they reject me than accept something they don’t love or feel would fit well in their house.
Where do you as an author draw the line on gory descriptions and/or erotic content? I haven’t written anything with excessive amounts of gore, so I’m not sure there. But on sexual content, I’d have to say I draw the line when I think about my mother or mother-in-law reading it. Both of them take my books to work for their co-workers to purchase/read, and I don’t want them to be embarrassed or ashamed of what I write or wish they hadn’t shared my book with a friend. I do write sex, but I do so in a manner that I hope is sensual and sexy, yet tasteful. Just enough description to make you squirm. *wink*
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research? Oh you know, just the typical how to kill someone in various ways…. I tell you, people don’t want to mess with authors. *grin*
Don’t forget to give us links to your website etc.
Website – www.elainalee.com
Blog – elaina-lee.blogspot.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/ElainaLeeAuthor
Thank you SO much for having me!!!
That’s right! We have the ability to think up all kinds of nasty ways to kill someone. ((((Wink))) Loved the interview, and I adored the book!