Elizabeth Hunter author of A Hidden Fire and This Same Earth.
I am so excited to have Elizabeth here today. I am in love with her Elemental Mysteries series! I honestly don’t know how you could not enjoy these books. Now before I turn into a total fangirl, onto the interview:
I’d been a technical writer for years penning such compelling works as The Employee Manual, An OSHA-Compliant Safety Program, and A Proposal to Save You Money. (Strangely, no one will admit to reading any of those. It’s also possible that no one actually did.) I started writing for fun a little over a year ago! I started writing in fan fiction, actually, which was a blast and a great introduction to creative writing. Very quickly, I started getting ideas for my own characters and my own universe. I just fell in love with the whole creative writing process, and I still love it.
What is the Elemental Mysteries series about?
The Elemental Mysteries revolve around two central characters, Giovanni Vecchio, a five-hundred year old book dealer (who happens to be a vampire) and Beatrice De Novo, a librarian he meets doing research. The mystery comes from a secret in Gio’s past, but it’s something that also ties in with Beatrice’s personal history, though she doesn’t know it at first. It’s a romance, but it’s also very much a mystery and hopefully, has a lot of suspense, as well. There’s also a lot of history in it, but it’s not historical fiction.
How did you come up with the idea for this series?
Story always starts with character for me. I always think of the character or characters first, then the plot grows from them. I was trying to imagine one day what I would actually do with myself if I had an eternity to live. I’m a bookworm, so I’d read, of course! From that idea came the idea of an immortal character whose life revolved around books. Giovanni Vecchio was born in my imagination, then I started sketching out his character and his background. The mystery became twisted with his past, and involves a real life mystery about a 15th century philosopher, but you’ll have to read A Hidden Fire to find out who!
Who is your favorite character in the EMS and why?
I have to pick one? I can’t! I love Gio and B’s back and forth dialogue. I love Carwyn. A lot of the humor in the book is from him (and his humor is very much like my husband’s) so he’s really fun and easy to write. I love, love, love Tenzin, who is a very difficult character for me to write. She’s a challenge, but a really fascinating one. I love them all in very different ways, but if I had to pick one, it would be Gio, because he was the first. (I know, playing favorites!)
What is your favorite genre of book to read?
I love paranormal and fantasy! I have from the time I was a little girl, and my parents read me The Hobbit. In fact, my dad had me convinced for years that Welsh people were descended from hobbits. I thought it was great! (In my defense, I was six, and my dad does have very hairy toes, and I have very curly hair.) I love the magic of it all. I grew to love sci-fi and historical fiction later on, and then mysteries! All kinds of mysteries. I love mystery.
I love your writing style! Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Thank you! That's really flattering. It’s such a huge question, but I think there are three things I’ve learned for myself:
Read. You have to read a lot. A nationally-published journalist told me once if I wanted to be a writer, not to study writing! He said to study literature and learn from the great writers of the past and present. I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that. (Though I know there’s a lot of skill that can be learned from a great writing teacher, too.) But read!
Love. You have to fall in love with your characters and your story. If you’re going to write a novel, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them! Be passionate, or it becomes a chore.
Learn. Find a group of fellow writers who will be honest with you in a supportive and constructive way. Volunteer to edit their work and learn from that! A lot of writing is just practice, but you have to be willing to learn, and you must want to grow.
What will we be seeing from you in the future?
The original Elemental Mysteries Series will be four books. That’s certain. They’re plotted, planned, and I’m working on the rough draft for Book Four right now. Is there more to write in this universe? I think there will definitely be at least one stand-alone novel for a very popular character (You Carwyn fans are loud!) and then I’m fairly certain that I’ll be developing another series that will be “in universe,” but very different, featuring two other Elementals characters. (Don’t even ask, I’m not telling yet!) They’ll all be adult paranormal. I don’t have any plans to dive into YA at the moment. As for the future, there’s always different things brewing in my brain!
Thank you so much Elizabeth for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. Oh, and just a thought: super cute southern girls named Rebecca make great Carwyn love interest…just saying ;)
More info on Elizabeth Hunter:
Elizabeth Hunter is the author and independent publisher of the Elemental Mysteries Series.
She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College in the Department of English (Linguistics) and a former English teacher.
A native of Central California, she now lives in Southern California with her husband, son, and an assortment of dogs. She enjoys reading, writing, travel, and bowling (despite the fact that she’s not very good at it.)
Learn more about her writing at her author website, elizabethhunterwrites.com or contact her by e-mail at elizabethhunterwrites@gmail.com
A Hidden Fire is her debut novel.
Giveaway Time!!!
Elizabeth has been kind enough to allow me to give away not only one book but two!
One lucky winner will get an eBook copy of A Hidden Fire and This Same Earth.
Click on the covers to go to my reviews.
Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter.
Good luck,
Yes people, this series is so good I have no shame. Oh, and there is is a sneak peek of The Force of Wind at the end of This Same Earth, and it is so good.
