Hello! Today I’m so excited to have mystery author Ellie Ashe here to answer a few questions about her writing process, her books, and what she does when she’s not at the keyboard. I hope you enjoy this Author Q&A.

Hi and thanks for having me! I’m so happy to introduce my latest release, A Novel Death! It’s a new series for me, set in the fictional town of Danger Cove—a small coastal town that is no stranger to mystery and murder. I’m thrilled to be a part of the Danger Cove series and the amazing authors who have created such a fun series.

A Novel Death is the first in the Danger Cove Bookshop Mystery series. Here’s the blurb:

When Meri Sinclair inherited Dangerous Reads, she inherited a legacy. It’s Danger Cove’s only bookstore, and her grandmother had made sure that it was a warm and friendly places for readers of all ages.

To get off on the right foot, Meri invites celebrity author Cal Montague, a Danger Cove native who grew up to become a solid B-list actor, to debut his tell-all memoirs, Tales I Shouldn’t Tell. Turns out someone else thought Cal shouldn’t be telling tales, too. Before the event can even start, Meri finds the guest of honor in the alley—shot dead.

With motive and opportunity, the police have Meri in their sights. To save her business and her own skin, Meri, sets out to help the Danger Cove police find the real killer—before the murderer returns for a sequel.

Tell us about your main character.

Meri Sinclair grew up in Danger Cove, but has lived in Seattle for the last decade. But after an ugly break-up that was far too public, she’s retreated to her hometown. She’s just inherited her grandmother’s bookstore and is basically starting over. Being suspected of murder is not the homecoming she was expecting!

How many books have you written? What are you writing now?

I’ve written three novels and two short stories in the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries series. I have also written a fun, light romantic suspense novel, A Good Kind of Trouble, the first book in the Trouble in Twin Rivers series (which I will get back to…eventually). And now I have the new Danger Cove series.

Currently, I’m working on book 4 in the Miranda Vaughn series, and I expect that it will be out in early 2017.

Do you listen to music when you write?

I like to listen to either background noise, like the sound of coffee shops or rain, or movie soundtracks. For background sounds, I go to either asoftmurmer.com or coffivity.com. I’ve also been using brain.fm, which has been interesting. It’s supposed to provide sounds that help you focus.

I’ve also recently discovered that video game soundtracks are good for writing. They’re designed to keep you focused and in flow while playing—a great state of mind for writing, too.

Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?I write in Scrivener, which is the best writing program that I’ve found. Recently, I’ve also started using dictation software, but it’s so new yet, I’m not sure if it’s going to help me or not. I like it, but it does require a ton of editing later.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

I know everyone says to finish your works in progress, and I both agree and disagree with that. I disagree because I have numerous half-finished manuscripts on my hard drives that I’ve abandoned. But I don’t regret moving on before they were done. In every case, I learned something important while writing them—and sometimes that lesson was that this story could not be saved.

But I also recommend that you do finish a manuscript because the first time you do, it’s absolutely the best feeling ever! And you will want to do it again. And again. Once you get a taste of that, you’re going to get addicted.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I love to cook and bake and try out new recipes on unsuspecting friends and family. Most are good! I love photography, reading (of course), knitting, sewing, and gardening.

What is your favorite motivational phrase.

“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” —Edward Abbey

Thanks for hosting me! It’s been fun!

A Novel Death

A Danger Cove Bookshop Mystery

By Ellie Ashe

Released July 12, 2016

Gemma Halliday Publishing

Author bio

USA Today best-selling author Ellie Ashe has always been drawn to jobs where she can tell stories—journalist, lawyer, and now writer. Writing fun romantic mysteries is how she gets the “happily ever after” that so often is lacking in her day job.

When not writing, you can find her with her nose in a good book, watching far too much TV, or trying out new recipes on unsuspecting friends and family. She lives in Northern California with her husband and three cats, all of whom worry when she starts browsing the puppy listings on petfinder.com.

Visit Ellie at:

ellieashe.com

Twitter.com/ellieashe

https://www.facebook.com/EllieAsheBooks

newsletter sign-up: http://bit.ly/EllieNews

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/ellieashe/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/EllieAshe

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/2abn2ND

A Novel Death can be purchased here
Amazon:  http://amzn.to/29l4zO1

B&N:  http://bit.ly/NovelDeathBN

Kobo:  http://bit.ly/NovelDeathKobo

iBooks:  http://bit.ly/NovelDeathAP

Smashwords:  http://bit.ly/NovelDeathSW

Hello! I’ve been MIA because I’ve been deep in edits. When edits meet life it makes for an interesting adventure. In the past my edits have always been for myself. I’ve written a draft, printed it and revised and tightened. This was done on my schedule, no real deadline. In other words, I could edit at a leisurely pace. No pressure. Ahh, the good old days.

This is my beast of a manuscript.

So, what was the difference this time? I have an agent and she read my manuscript and had some feedback for me. When the manuscript landed back in my inbox I dove right into the edits. While she didn’t give me a deadline for turning the manuscript back into her (bless her), I knew that there was a clock ticking. Without the edits completed, my submission to editors was on hold. Tick. Tick. Tick. As I worked through the edits I found myself deeper and deeper in the writer’s cave and everything else seemed to fade away. I found myself for nearly 5 weeks living, eating, and breathing those edits. There have been some hot, miserable days recently where my motivation was a big fat zero for most things. But not my edits. You see, the light at the end of this tunnel was the submitting to editors and that light (I admit, sometimes the light was a little dim. LOL) kept me moving forward.

On Sunday afternoon I finished my edits. WooHoo!!!! I was so excited. But, I didn’t get carried away with my celebration because I’m really not done yet. I decided to let my manuscript sit for a week and then I’m going to do one last proofread of it before it goes back to my agent.

Publishing is a long process. And it’s a process that I am enjoying. Heck, the alternative is to give up and never know what could have been. Onward to proofreading!

D

Dreary day. Sticky notes. Plotting board. Coffee. I spent time over the weekend laying out book two in my cozy mystery series.