November Author Interviews Featuring Melissa D. Ellis

Today I'd like to welcome, Melissa D. Ellis! 

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. 

I'm excited to have you and can't wait to learn more about you.

1. Where do you find inspiration for your books? 

In my late night walks. Nightly, to unwind for bed, I take a 3 mile walk. Sometimes I listen to music. Sometimes I don’t. Being left alone to my thoughts, in the dark of night, my mind wanders in so many different—and often creepy—directions.

I also find inspiration in stories that other people tell me. It can be something as small and funny as telling me about the time you cut a neighbor girl’s hair and her mom got mad at you.... Somehow, I my mind creates a book-length story that stemmed from that simple small scenario.

2. Is there a routine to your writing?
Unfortunately, no...There is no method to my madness. My writing is about as chaotic and erratic as my home—laundry piled up, dishes in the sink, unmade beds... I’ve tried being organized with an outline, but I never stick to it. In fact, I never even look at an outline after I create it. I forget all about it--completely undisciplined. 

3. Who are some of your favorite writers? How have they inspired you?

Stephen King, would have to be at the top of my list. Aside from the fact that I enjoy horror and he writes about it intelligently, I am inspired by the fact that he makes the hard decisions. While other authors give a happily ever after to their stories to satisfy the masses, he can be found killing off our favorite character or ending a book on the most miserable note possible. It’s what makes his stories come to life. The hard decisions.

I’m also extremely enamored of Anne Rice’s work. Extremely.

4. What are you working on now?
As I endure the torturous editing process of “Lycanthrope” (Book Two of the ShadowShifter series), I am also working on a novella called, “When Mara Went Missing” (a ghost story). “Blood Moon” (Book Three of the ShadowShifter series) is in the early writing stages as well.

5. What advice would you give to unpublished writers?

Always read the fine print when offered a contract from a publisher and look at their current work. What do their books look like? Are they lacking in quality in content and design?

I was burned badly a few years back by a previous publisher but was (unnecessarily) desperate to be signed so I signed with the first one offered. I had to go through the court system to be released from them, use a pen name for a year, and will probably never get money back from their deceit and lack of organization. My current publisher, though small and very new, went through a rigorous vetting process with me. It used to be the other way around, but with advances and advantages of self-publishing, authors now have a strong hand in the business on our own. We truly do.

Coffee or Tea
Coffee

Wine or Beer
Wine

Movies or Books
MOVIES (since having children...I can only devote 2 hours to a story every once in a while. I miss Books.)

Hemsworth or Pratt 
HEMSWORTH (Liam, to be more specific.)

Summer or Winter
Summer

Beach or Mountains
Mountains

Pizza or Cheeseburger
Pizza

Love at First Sight or Friends to Lovers
Friends to Lovers

Halloween or Christmas
Halloween

Game of Thrones or Outlander
NEITHER... Can I choose THE WALKING DEAD? :)

Bio

An avid fan of horror since before she was saying her alphabet, Melissa D. Ellis writes spine-tingling Young/New Adult fiction in hopes that you'll always look under your bed before sleeping at night. She studied Music Therapy, Theater, and English at Tennessee Technological University and even received a degree in Christian Counseling from Heritage International Bible College and Seminary.

When she’s not writing, she’s making a living as a voice instructor and musician, enjoying the outdoors, conjuring up scary ideas to write about, quoting movies, changing diapers, running carpool, being a mom, drinking a lot of coffee, or eating.

Melissa makes her home in Crossville, Tennessee with her husband and three boys.

Blurb

Because of her flaring temper and a taste for the dramatics, sixteen-year-old Jules Taylor has landed herself in summer school after a public outburst. There, she meets her handsome next door neighbor, Broderick Cooper. Although she finds him intriguing, she remains determined to keep her distance. More and more, their paths continue to cross until she can no longer deny the tenacious draw she feels toward Broderick and soon their lives become completely entwined with one another.

As Jules becomes consumed with Broderick's love and supernatural gift that he has shared with her, an unprecedented evil punches its way into their quiet little town, unleashing hell on Earth! One close brush with danger and a terrorizing chain of events begin to unfold, forever changing her life as she opens her eyes to a sinister world that walks within her own and has ultimately targeted Jules as its next victim…

Waiting for her in the darkest of shadows—evil incarnate and legendary as fairy tales.

SHADOWSHIFTER
**Available in print and e-book NOW!**

Amazon http://goo.gl/sT3TXJ
Nook http://goo.gl/CEYJiD
iBooks https://t.co/sJOQqzY63E
Smashwords https://goo.gl/Wv40Kq
Kobo https://goo.gl/OJ46Wc

Add to Goodreads https://goo.gl/lhhA4a

Author’s website: www.melissadellis.com