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| With Elizabeth Walker, who is on my left. |
I thought it would be fun to cut, paste, and
edit an interview I had earlier this year with fellow author, Elizabeth Walker,
to let my followers know what’s going on in my writing life and offering other interesting
tidbits. Take it away, Elizabeth…
First off, would you like to tell a bit about
yourself and your writing.
I’d be happy to, Elizabeth! So, I have a confession. Besides being a
late bloomer as a writer (I started in my mid-thirties), I didn’t seek out
writing for young adults as I primarily do now. Nope. I lurked in the deep pool
of the supernatural romance genre before I ever considered dipping my toes into
the welcoming waters of young adult fiction. The idea to write for the younger
crowd actually came to me through a dream I had around 1998. In this dream, I
saw seven arches, and there were seven people (five kids, two adults) with crystals
in their hands, walking up to these arches. It definitely had an “Indiana
Jones” feel to it. I really thought about that dream a lot to the point where
an idea for a book began to grow, and take root. So, I thought I’d challenge
myself and write a novel—a series—that would appeal to my son, who at the time
was the target age of my audience. I’ve always loved the time travel genre, so
I imagined the arches I saw vividly in my dream as time portals. Then, boom. The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis was born.
To say it’s been a long haul is an
understatement. It’s been an uphill climb with peaks and valleys. I started
gathering ideas and writing the first draft in 1999 before I signed a
publishing contract with a now defunct publisher in September, 2011. Now, this
was a back and forth project. During the twelve years before I signed a
contract, I wrote a second book in The Last Timekeeper series, created and
penned two novels for another young adult book series entitled Mysterious Tales
from Fairy Falls, revised and edited my supernatural romance, took a writing
correspondence course and various writing workshops, and worked at the local
animal shelter. I finally returned to The
Last Timekeeper and the Arch of Atlantis in 2010 to revise and polish it,
and kept sending the manuscript out until I struck gold with a publishing
contract offer. And even then, after all that, there were major revisions on
changing my point of view over from five characters to one character. But I was
determined, and did it. In early 2015, Mirror World Publishing, a local Windsor
publishing company rescued my time travel adventure series, and the rest is
history! Pun intended.
Do you have any new books coming out?
I sure do! The second
book in my teen psychic mystery series, Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls will
be released (tentatively) May 17, 2019. It’s entitled, Blackflies and Blueberries, and is about seventeen-year-old Hart Stewart who possesses
psychometry—the
psychic ability that discovers
facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with
them. In the first book in this series, Lost
and Found, fifteen-year-old animal communicator Meagan Walsh is coerced
into helping the shelter animals save their home before it’s too late.
You currently have two series, the Last
Timekeepers and Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls. Do you have more books in
store for both series? And – how do you write two series at once? Do you
alternate writing one book for one series, and then go back to the other?
Definitely yes to the
first question! I plan to have ten books, plus the prequel written for The Last
Timekeepers time travel adventure series. I know, go big or stay home. Wink.
Presently, I have Book #1, The Last Timekeepers
and the Arch of Atlantis, Book #2, The
Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, and the prequel, Legend of the Timekeepers published. I’m working on Book #3, The
Last Timekeepers and the Noble Slave, which should be out sometime in 2020.
I have five books
planned for Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, starting with Book #1, Lost and Found published in June 2017.
The next installment, Blackflies and
Blueberries will hopefully be released May 17th, 2019, as
mentioned above. All these books revolve around the same setting (Fairy Falls)
with a different cast of characters with psychic powers for each book.
When writing two
series at once, my plan is to release one book and write one book during the
course of a year. So, yes I alternate writing the books for each series, which
helps me produce fresh content every year and building both book series
backlists at the same time. Trust me, I’m never bored with writing about the
same characters, that’s for sure!
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| Sharing my reading wares at the Windsor Comic Con |
Do you enjoy being a writer in the Windsor
region? What are the pros and the cons (if any!)?
Yes, very much!
Comparing to where I used to live in the Huntsville area (seven hours drive
north), Windsor has more opportunity for a writer and hosts a few writing
groups to help writers improve their work for publication. Add in the fact that
there’s the Windsor International Writers Conference here, and you’ve got a place that gives a
writer plenty of chances to grow and learn. Though as a con, I’d have to say
that it’s not a huge ‘arts’ oriented community, like Toronto. But we’re talking
a different demography here. Windsor also boasts about seven publishing
companies and over a thousand published/self-published authors. Not too shabby
statistics for a city that’s known more for their manufacturing acumen.
Do you have any advice for new writers?
Never stop investing in yourself. Invest
in the best. That’s in yourself, and in your readers. Your readers deserve the
best of what you have to offer them. Start building your author platform and
brand early, even before you’re published. Surround yourself with the best
possible team. Never stop learning. As you grow, so will your readers, so be
prepared for this. Oh yeah, and never give up. That’s a given and should be
part of any author’s credo.
And – do you have anything else you would like
to add?
Just a couple of
things. I have a few freebies available on my website, so head over to my Home and Fun
Stuff pages to find out
what I’m offering! Oh, and if you live in the Windsor area and order any books
through Mirror World Publishing’s Bookstore, delivery is FREE!
Thank you for grilling
me on my blog today, Elizabeth. I appreciate your support and interviewing
prowess. Wishing you all the best! Cheers!
Meet the Author/Interviewer:
Elizabeth J. M. Walker
lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing.
Connect with Elizabeth
J.M. Walker:
Facebook:
Goodreads Author Page:
