Author Interviews,  Fantasy

The Sword and the Pen: Elysa Hendricks

 

Elysa, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. Let’s talk about your book, The Sword and the Pen.

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Buy links:
The Sword and the Pen
http://tinyurl.com/sword-pen
Star Crash
Star Raiders
Publisher: Elysa Hendricks
Cover artist: Joleene Naylor
Length: 72,000
Heat rating: PG-13

The Sword and the Pen

Tagline:
When his fantasy becomes reality, reclusive author Brandon Davis
learns how to live.
Blurb: It was time. After penning ten popular sword-and-sorcery
novels, Brandon Alexander Davis was ready to move on. Ready to stop hiding in his
fictional world. Ready to start living a real life. There was just one problem:
as he plotted the noble death of Serilda D’Lar, his fictional creation complete
with mile-long sword, skimpy leather outfit and badass attitude, appeared in his
study.
Was she nothing more than a crazy fan, or had Brandon finally cracked?
This warrior woman whom he knew so well, so strong yet vulnerable,
was both fantasy and reality. She was an invitation to rediscover all he once knew–that
life is an incredible, magical journey and, for love, any man can be a hero.
What are your main characters’ names?
Brandon Alexander Davis
Serilda D’Lar
Ages?
Brandon
– 35
Serilda – 30
Occupations?
Brandon – fantasy novelist
Serilda – rebel warrior

Interview

What is the most important
thing you do for your career now, as compared to when you first started writing?
I’ve been writing for over twenty years (yes, I started when
I was merely a babe in arms) and I’ve watched the publishing industry change and
grow in directions I never thought possible, at speeds I couldn’t imagine. Everything
about the industry is different except for the most important aspect – the writing.
The most important thing I did when I started my career is the same as what I do
now – I write. In the end, nothing I do matters if I haven’t written the story.
What websites do you visit
daily?
I don’t visit many websites, but I do spend more time than I
should on Facebook and reading email. I do enjoy the Romance Lives Forever blog.
I love reading the excerpts and interviews, but I have to limit myself. My TBR pile
is already at dangerous levels and I’m so far behind I’ll be dead years before I
finish reading them all.
What do you enjoy most
about life?
I like people. Though I’m content to spend time with myself and
my imaginary friends, I love being around other people – friends and family. I think
my theme song should be “I Like Life” from the movie Scrooge.
If you could give the
younger version of yourself advice what would it be?
Don’t be so afraid of making a mistake, of writing less than
perfect prose. Take more chances. Experiment. Write more. And eat more chocolate.
Do you have a muse? Describe
this person, please.
My muse lives in the attic of my mind. She finds the basement
much too dark and damp for her refined tastes. She’s a bit flighty little girl,
a bit cranky old woman and full of energy and enthusiasm. She has the attention
span of a goldfish – about 3 seconds – and is easily distracted by shiny objects.
She loves to laugh and play. When I’m writing she sits on my shoulder and whispers
ideas in my ear. She changes her appearance to suit her mood. One day she’s a fairy,
the next a vampire. Sometimes she’s a cat, sometimes she’s a cowboy. She and my
inner critic are arch enemies. They can’t be in the same room at the same time without
getting into a cat fight.
What does “balance”
mean to you as a writer?
Balance? I’m not sure what that is. I don’t have enough coordination
either physically or mentally to be “balanced.” I can’t ride a bicycle
or balance my life. I do set priorities. Sometimes family, friends and home life
are on top, other times I let my writing life take precedence. But I’ve never been
able to find a way to balance the teeter-totter of the two.
Do things your family
or friends do ever end up in a book?
Everything I’ve ever heard, seen, done, or experienced eventually
finds its way into my writing in one form or another. I don’t think I’ve ever taken
a friend or family member and morphed them into a character in one of my books,
but bits and pieces of them show up.
What are some jobs you’ve
done before (or while) you were a writer?
Star Crash
Let’s see I was a commercial casualty insurance underwriter.
I worked in various retail stores. I ran a cleaning service. I had a home daycare
centers. My husband and I owned and operated a video store and did home delivery
long before Netflix thought of it. And I still work part time for a wholesale text
book company and go out at the end of the college terms to buy back used text books
from the students.
What kind of books do you read when taking a break from your
own writing?
I read just about everything from historicals to futuristics,
from horror to inspirational, YA to mainstream. Though I have a soft spot for fantasy
romance, if it’s a good story I don’t discriminate by genre.
What do you think is the
future of epublishing?
The ebook revolution has been a long time coming. My book first
book, a western historical romance Rawhide Surrender was published in 1999 by one
of the first epublishers – Hard Shell Word Factory. Back then ebooks were a tough
sell. eBook readers were few and far between, expensive, and didn’t have the capacity
or ease of use of the newer versions. I still have my old Rocket Book ereader. I’ve
since reclaimed my rights to Rawhide Surrender and have re-released the book as
Her Wild Texas Heart.
I think epublishing is one of the best things to happen for authors
and for readers. The opportunities are both exciting and scary. I received a Kindle
Touch for Christmas and love the ease of purchasing books and having them at my
fingertips. I’m not about to give up on print, but I like having both options.
Imagine you get to go
on a dream vacation, but you have only one hour to pack and leave, and it starts
as soon as you finish this interview. What will you take with you and where will
you go?
Since I’m going to somewhere warm with sandy beaches and crystal
clear water, I’ll be packing my swimsuit and sandals and sunscreen. Other than that
I’ll need my Kindle, laptop and toothbrush. Oh, and I’d take my hubby.
What is your favorite
holiday and why?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the food, the getting
together with family and friends without the pressure of gift giving. It’s a time
to relax and reflect on all the good things in your lives.
Where were you at midnight,
on December 31st when the new century started?
My hubby is an IT guy for a major corporation, so on 12-31-99
we along with all the other computer guys were having a party at the company office.
The executives wanted to be sure Y2K didn’t crash their systems, so all the IT
people had to come in to work. Hubby knew nothing bad was going to happen, because
he and the other guys had already checked everything out and fixed the problem.
Still, the company brought in pizza and we had an impromptu New Year’s Eve party.
Not terribly exciting, but my motto is “real” life has always been: Boring
is good. Excitement is vastly overrated.
What do you like to do
when you’re bored?
Bored? What’s that? I won’t say I never get bored, but it happens
so rarely that I can’t recall the last time. Even if I don’t have anything to do,
a book to read, a movie or TV show to watch, the characters who live in my head
keep me well entertained. Sometimes I wish I could shut them up and let me be bored
for a few minutes.
If your life became a
movie, who would you want to play you?
You mean my life isn’t already a movie? Hmm, Sandra Bullock comes
to mind. Anyone but Kristen Stewart. Maybe Jack Black.
If you were a color, what
color would you be?
Since my “real” life is totally vanilla, bland, boring
I guess my color would be a warm, creamy beige. My fantasy life, however, is a phantasmagoria
of colors – pinks, blues, reds, greens, purples and oranges – neon, of course.

Please Fill in the Blanks

I love pizza with an olive oil base, feta cheese and sundried tomatoes.
I’m always ready for visiting with friends and family.
When I’m alone, I talk to my fictional characters.
You’d never be able to tell, but I’m a really boring person.
If I had a halo it would be held up by my horns.
If I could fly I’d spend all my time in the sky watching the world.
I can never ride a motorcycle because I have absolutely no sense of balance or physical coordination.

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