I am welcoming Elyse Douglas today. They wrote the awesome holiday tale The Christmas Diary. Be sure to check out my review after my interview with Elyse Douglas.
Little Blurb about Elyse Douglas:
(We are a husband and wife writing team. To keep it simple, we’ll use the pronoun I)
1. Who or what inspired you to become a writer?
I heard a story teller in Kentucky when I was young. He was entrancing, the way he blended character, atmosphere and plot. The impact was dramatic. People laughed, cried and shouted. I witnessed the power of a good story expertly told. I wanted to do that. So I embarked on becoming a writer. And then I embarked again… and again… and, somehow I think writers are always embarking, journeying and then embarking again. But that story teller from Kentucky inspired me to buy the first ticket for what has become a long series of ticket buying, and embarking on journeys.
2. How long did it take you to write The Christmas Diary?
Six months on the first draft. It lay around for months more, then was rewritten, reedited and proofed and then revised. All total, about a year.
3. While writing how many times do you go back and rewrite a plot?
Every book begins with the title. The title is a small poem and the plot grows out of that. Once underway, the book unravels with hope-filled happy surprises. If by page 50 the book lacks life, it’s abandoned. If it flows, I rarely rewrite the plot.
4. You run into a bookstore, where do you go first?
To the hardback new fiction releases.
5. How many books in a month do you tend to read?
Eight to ten books.
6. In all the books you’ve read. Who is your most favorite character and why?
Ebenezer Scrooge. He’s loathsome, rich, greedy, mean, frightening, odious and then… loveable, generous, delightful, joyful and loving. It is very difficult to write a character any more entertaining, complex and textured than Scrooge. But then, Dickens was skilled and supreme.
7. State 5 random facts about yourself.
A fair jazz pianist
Speech-language pathologist
Believe in reincarnation
Grew up in a family of astrologers
Love watching kids catch the spark for learning and exploration of life.
8. Your favorite Genre? Romantic mystery.
9. What are you currently reading? Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter
10. What is the best book you’ve read? Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
11. Any new projects coming up? Currently working on three. Two mysteries and one romantic mystery.
Book Blurb:
Author BioElyse Douglas is the pen name for the husband and wife writing team of Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse’s mother was a painter and her father a textile consultant. Elyse began writing poems and short stories at an early age, and graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s Degree in English Literature. Douglas grew up in a family of musicians, astrologers and avid readers. His grandfather was a gifted humorist and storyteller from Kentucky.
Elyse Douglas’ four novels include: The Astrologer’s Daughter, Wanting Rita, The Christmas Diary and Christmas Ever After. They live in New York City.