Guest Author Day with Elysia Hendricks

Welcome to Dawn’s Reading Nook, Elysa Hendricks. Please let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink and make yourself at home. Comfortable? Great…now let’s get down to business.

So tell us about yourself. What got you interested in writing? Who are your publisher(s)?

Well, before I get started I'd love a frozen marguerite. Thanks. Okay, now I'm ready. I'm 5'6" tall. I have brown eyes and curly hair. I'm a writer, a wife, a mother and a daughter. Everything else is subject to change without notice.

I've always been a voracious reader, reading everything from non-fiction to science fiction. Even as a child I told myself, and everyone else who'd listen, stories. In grade school I even convinced some classmates I was an alien visiting from Venus to learn about Earth and its inhabitants.

Right now I have four fantasies, GEMINI MOON, CRYSTAL MOON, SHADOW MOON and FORBIDDEN MOON published with ImaJinn Books. In October they'll release my sci-fi romance DARK STAR DAWNING. I've also published with Hard Shell Word Factory and Dorchester Publishing, but I've since regained my rights to those books and I'm re-releasing them as ebooks.

How did you start your writing career?

I've always written short stories, but one Christmas Eve I decided to try and write what I thought was going to be a short contemporary romance. It turned out to be a sci-fi/fantasy story that borrowed heavily from Star Trek: Next  Generation with a winged telepathic alien who hitchhikes aboard a passing space ship. I wrote that book in three months then spent the next three years learning how to write. That book remains and will remain under my bed guarded by killer dust bunnies.

Tell us about your favorite character(s) from your books.

Cora Daniels from STAR CRASH is one of favorite characters. She doesn't let anything or anybody stand in the way of accomplishing her goals of escaping from the alien zoo she finds herself trapped in. And she's determined to take Alexander, the lover she'd thought was lost, with her despite his insistence on remaining to right the wrongs he's done.

 What was the first scene or character you started with when you began this book?

The first scene is the opening of the book where Cora wakes up to find herself strapped naked to an examination table.

Tell us about your current/upcoming release. What inspired it?

STAR RAIDERS is set in the same universe as STAR CRASH. Where STAR CRASH is what I call my Star Trek meets Planet of the Apes book. Every time I go to the zoo I wonder what the animals are thinking about when they look back at the people.  STAR RAIDERS was inspired by my love of Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean. What could be more fun than space pirates?

Has someone helped or mentored you in your writing career?

Over the years there have been many authors who've helped and mentored me. Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Lindsey Longford were two of the first people who read and critique my horrible beginning attempts at writing. Their kind words and gentle guidance helped me learn the art and craft of writing. I had numerous critique partners, some published, some not - Kelle Riley, Barbara Cary, Elizabeth Rose, Jean Newlin, Anita Baker, Cindy Reynders, and Karen McCullough to name a few. Myra McWethy was my first writing teacher.

Who are some of your favorite authors/books?

Kathleen Woodiwiss's THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER, THE WOLF AND THE DOVE, SHANNA, and A ROSE IN WINTER are some of the first romance books I read. Before that I focused mainly on sci-fi and fantasy - Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Through the years I've discovered so many great books and authors it would take pages and pages for me to even attempt to list all my favorites.

What was your first sale as an author?

My first sale was my western historical romance RAWHIDE SURRENDER to Hard Shell Word Factory.  I've since re-published this title as an ebook as HER WILD TEXAS HEART.

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?

Since I'm fortunate to have a husband who encourages and supports my writing habit, I don't have a full time job and I'm able to write during the day. My best writing hours are in the morning from 9:00am until noonish. Sometimes, if the writing is going well, I'll continue into the afternoon, but usually I take care of household stuff and writing business in the afternoon. Evenings are reserved for family.

If you could visit any time and place, where and when would it be and why?

As long as I could visit without any risk of having to stay there and would only have to deal with the lack of modern conveniences for a short time, I'd love to visit the American west during the 1800's. Also, I'd want a guarantee that I wouldn't end up sick, shot, scalped or raped. I'm not a courageous person. I prefer to experience adventure and excitement vicariously through books and movies.

If you could be any shape shifter, what form would you take and why?

I'd like to be a shifter like Silky in my book STAR RAIDERS. She takes the shape of a big cat or a feline humanoid, but she's actually much more. She's an energy entity who can manipulate energy into mass and take any form she wishes.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?

Nope, I think I've covered all the good stuff.

Who's more fun to write: bad boys or perfect gentlemen and why?

Oh, bad boys are definitely more fun to write and I love to read stories with bad boys, but they're really hard for me write. While at first glance my hero's may seem to be bad boys, inside they're really good guys just waiting for the right woman to tame them.

 
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and what would you do together?

Out of all your books, do you have a favorite one? If not, then which one is closest to your heart?

I don't have a favorite character any more than I have a favorite child. I love each of them - even the villains - for who they are. They all represent pieces of me - characteristics I like, those I hate, and those I wish I had. But the character closest to my heart is Sianna DiSanti from CRYSTAL MOON. She's an empathic healer who sees the good in everyone and does her best to bring it out. She's the person I wish I could be.

What character out of all your books is the closest to your personality?

Probably Brandon Alexander Davis from THE SWORD AND THE PEN. He's a neurotic, insecure writer who's afraid to experience adventure anywhere but in the pages of the books he writes.

Anything else you would like to add?

Writing is a solitary occupation, just me and my imaginary friends, I love to hear from readers and other authors. They can reach me through my web site:

http://www.elysahendricks.com

or on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elysa-Hendricks-Author/137316289643103

Thank you for being my guest today and may you have lots of sales.

Thank you for having me to visit. The conversation, the drinks, and the cabana boys were lovely.

STAR CRASH

Sci-Fi Romance

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Star-Crash-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007T2J9T0

Blurb:

When Planet of the Apes meets Star Trek what's a girl to do?

After recon pilot Cora Daniels crash lands on an alien planet she finds herself a prisoner of the Flock: a race of birdlike humanoids. Trapped in their zoo she discovers they intend her to mate. To breed. To be part of their human herd.

She's placed in a cage with a man - a powerful, virile man, but not just any man - Alexander. Was he her lost love, who'd disappeared so long ago? Here he was: naked, glistening, a warrior trained by the Flock to fight for their amusement. How could the brilliant man, the tender lover she remembered have become this animal born to dominate and destroy? Was he a pawn of the Flock or would their flight to freedom be a long-sought reunion?

Excerpt:

The women paid little attention to her or her guard as they moved through this human chicken coop. She noticed there weren't any pens with grown men. If the women were hens, where was the rooster?

The next pen answered her question. Naked except for protective cups over their genitals, ten boys ranging in age from four to ten practiced fighting with wooden swords. Her attention shifted from the boys to the adult male who directed their training. Though his back was to her, he appeared as naked as the boys. Forgetting the guard, she paused to watch.

Bronze skin shiny with sweat rippled over powerful muscles as the man instructed the boys in swordplay. With his dark hair and straddle-legged stance, the youngest boy looked like a miniature version of the man. Cora smiled at his clumsy attempts to imitate his elder's fluid movements.

The boy watched the man intently, but his small body, round with baby fat, refused to cooperate. He tripped and sprawled in the dust. His wooden sword slipped from his grip. The other boys' laughter stopped abruptly at the man's sharp command. The man knelt next to the boy, said a few quiet words then handed him back the wooden sword. The boy rubbed the tears from his cheeks with grubby fists, leaving streaks of dirt. The man's compassion for the boy touched Cora, made these people seem less like animals. More human.

At one time she'd dreamed of someday having a child like this--Alex's child. That dream had died with him. Losing Alex had killed that need inside her. Now she lived to explore. Relationships, love and caring for others were no longer part of her life.

Still, her gaze moved back to the man and traveled from the top of his head, covered with sleek shoulder-length ebony hair, down his broad shoulders to his narrow waist and taut bare buttocks. Her breath caught at the beauty of his form. His unashamed masculinity woke her buried femininity. Her nipples tightened in response. At some primal level her body recognized this man. No one since Alex had stirred her like this. "Turn around," she whispered. "I want to see your face."