Our special guest author today is Elena Dorothy Bowman, author of Gatekeeper's Realm (Write Words, Inc., May 31, 2007)!Elena is a published author who writes in several genres including science fiction, mystery, romance and the paranormal. She has been writing for over thirty years. She actually started writing when she was a teenager, although she didn't submit any of it for publication. She started to write in earnest as a challenge to herself. She really wanted to see if she could write a full-length novel, not just short stories or the technical papers that were a part of her profession in the aerospace industry. Publication finally came after many years of perseverance.
You can visit Elena's website here!
AUTHOR TALKS: Welcome to Author Talks, Elena! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Elena: I write in several genres including science fiction, mystery, romance and the paranormal. My early interest in space and working in the space industry had captured my imagination and was instrumental in writing my first novel in The Sarah's Landing Series—Sarah's Landing-I-Contact. All four books have now been contracted for and released in ebook format by Write Words, Inc., ebooksonthe.net and will be released in print by their imprint Cambridge Books sometime in 2007.
When the series was completed, I thought about writing a mystery novel. The mystery novel turned out to be a Romantic Suspense/Mystery/Thriller with a touch of the paranormal. It surprised me to say the least. I didn't know I could write in that genre. That novel, which turned out to be the first in a series, has now been published, by Write Words, ebooksonthe.net, as an e-book, and in print by Cambridge Books. All three novels in the series have been published in ebook formats by Write Words, Inc., ebooksonthe.net. The first and second novels are now in
print by Cambridge Books and available on amazon.com.
I am a former aerospace software engineer, an Honors graduate of Fitchburg College earning a BS Degree in Engineering and Management. And the President of the Merrimack Branch of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National League of American PenWomen.
AUTHOR TALKS: How long would you say you have you been writing?
Elena: I have been writing off and on for over thirty years.
AUTHOR TALKS: Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing? Would you like to tell us how you became published for the first time?
Elena: Bumpy ride? I'd say it was more than that. Twenty years after penning my first novel, I finally got it published. And the only way I could do that is to publish it myself with BooksInDemand, a company I discovered on the Internet, but under my own imprint. The publisher of that company also published under another name and asked me if I would
consider signing with him. He liked my novel so much he offered me a contract and a rebate on the amount I paid BooksInDemand. Through him my first novel was also released as an audio book and won the APA Award for being one of the best new audio books in 2001. But that's where it all ended. This publisher sold out to another company before going down and the company that bought him out also went down. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to go with another publisher, who also went down few years later. So there I was a writer with no publisher. That's when iUniverse came into the picture. I stayed with them until I finally found a publisher that liked what I wrote and paid me for publishing my books…that publisher is Write Words, Inc.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?
Elena: Actually, I have had agents, two in fact. One charged $25.00 a month for administrative services, but nothing ever came of it, after two years when I finally realized what I had been paying him, I woke up and left that agency. (One should never pay an agent for services). My second agent was more interested in landing the big authors than in handling an unknown, and become more interested in becoming a producer than an agent, which left me again searching for an agent. After sending out numerous query letters to agents, I finally decided, to go for broke and started sending query letters directly to publishers instead. Now,
it appears that the New York Publishers will not take on an unknown or even consider a manuscript that doesn't have an agent attached to it somewhere. Some authors prefer to have an agent handling everything for them, and I suppose if they want to land a New York Publisher they would need one. There are many wonderful small presses out there that are willing to take a chance on an unknown…not so with the big guys. I hesitate recommending an agent to anyone when there are publishers willing to take them on.
AUTHOR TALKS: Can you please tell us about your book?
Elena: It's the second book in the series of a house one could say was enchanted. A house that appears to be alive because of a relic that dates back to the Crusades. In the second book, the appearance of uninvited and mysterious spirits from an earlier era causes the unusual
experiences that befall the guests. Some disappear into strange worlds, others into prehistoric times. The main characters do all they can to enlist the townspeople and the "local" ghosts, who have inhabited the house since the 17 Century, in searching for them. But since the house
has a mind of its own, and able to invoke visions that confuse and disorient the inhabitants to the point that no one can be sure where they looked was still in existence, the searchers feel frustrated.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you plan subsequent books?
Elena: Yes, I most certainly do. I have several already out there and I am now working on two more.
AUTHOR TALKS: Are you a morning writer or a night writer?
Elena: Generally a night writer. It's more conducive to writing when everyone is asleep or close to it.
AUTHOR TALKS: Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?
Elena: I write in several genres including science fiction, mystery, romance and the paranormal. My early interest in space and working in the space industry had captured my imagination and was instrumental in writing my first novel in The Sarah's Landing Series—Sarah's Landing-I-Contact. All four books have now been contracted for and released in ebook format by Write Words, Inc., ebooksonthe.net and will be released in print by their imprint Cambridge Books sometime in 2007.
When the series was completed, I thought about writing a mystery novel. The mystery novel turned out to be a Romantic Suspense/Mystery/Thriller with a touch of the paranormal. It surprised me to say the least. I didn't know I could write in that genre. That novel, which turned out to be the first in a series, has now been published, by Write Words, ebooksonthe.net, as an e-book, and in print by Cambridge Books. All three novels in the series have been published in ebook formats by Write Words, Inc., ebooksonthe.net. The first and second novels are now in
print by Cambridge Books and available on amazon.com.
I am a former aerospace software engineer, an Honors graduate of Fitchburg College earning a BS Degree in Engineering and Management. And the President of the Merrimack Branch of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National League of American PenWomen.
AUTHOR TALKS: How long would you say you have you been writing?
Elena: I have been writing off and on for over thirty years.
AUTHOR TALKS: Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing? Would you like to tell us how you became published for the first time?
Elena: Bumpy ride? I'd say it was more than that. Twenty years after penning my first novel, I finally got it published. And the only way I could do that is to publish it myself with BooksInDemand, a company I discovered on the Internet, but under my own imprint. The publisher of that company also published under another name and asked me if I would
consider signing with him. He liked my novel so much he offered me a contract and a rebate on the amount I paid BooksInDemand. Through him my first novel was also released as an audio book and won the APA Award for being one of the best new audio books in 2001. But that's where it all ended. This publisher sold out to another company before going down and the company that bought him out also went down. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to go with another publisher, who also went down few years later. So there I was a writer with no publisher. That's when iUniverse came into the picture. I stayed with them until I finally found a publisher that liked what I wrote and paid me for publishing my books…that publisher is Write Words, Inc.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?
Elena: Actually, I have had agents, two in fact. One charged $25.00 a month for administrative services, but nothing ever came of it, after two years when I finally realized what I had been paying him, I woke up and left that agency. (One should never pay an agent for services). My second agent was more interested in landing the big authors than in handling an unknown, and become more interested in becoming a producer than an agent, which left me again searching for an agent. After sending out numerous query letters to agents, I finally decided, to go for broke and started sending query letters directly to publishers instead. Now,
it appears that the New York Publishers will not take on an unknown or even consider a manuscript that doesn't have an agent attached to it somewhere. Some authors prefer to have an agent handling everything for them, and I suppose if they want to land a New York Publisher they would need one. There are many wonderful small presses out there that are willing to take a chance on an unknown…not so with the big guys. I hesitate recommending an agent to anyone when there are publishers willing to take them on.
AUTHOR TALKS: Can you please tell us about your book?
Elena: It's the second book in the series of a house one could say was enchanted. A house that appears to be alive because of a relic that dates back to the Crusades. In the second book, the appearance of uninvited and mysterious spirits from an earlier era causes the unusual
experiences that befall the guests. Some disappear into strange worlds, others into prehistoric times. The main characters do all they can to enlist the townspeople and the "local" ghosts, who have inhabited the house since the 17 Century, in searching for them. But since the house
has a mind of its own, and able to invoke visions that confuse and disorient the inhabitants to the point that no one can be sure where they looked was still in existence, the searchers feel frustrated.
AUTHOR TALKS: Do you plan subsequent books?
Elena: Yes, I most certainly do. I have several already out there and I am now working on two more.
AUTHOR TALKS: Are you a morning writer or a night writer?
Elena: Generally a night writer. It's more conducive to writing when everyone is asleep or close to it.
AUTHOR TALKS: Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?
Elena: Write, write, write! Persevere never give up. Have faith in yourself and in your work and you will succeed.
AUTHOR TALKS: Thank you for coming, Elena! Good luck to you and happy sales!
Elena: Thank you for inviting me. I enjoyed my visit with you.
AUTHOR TALKS: Thank you for coming, Elena! Good luck to you and happy sales!
Elena: Thank you for inviting me. I enjoyed my visit with you.
You can visit Elena's tour page here or her website at http://elenadb.home.comcast.net/!
Tags: Author Talks, author interviews, online book promotion, free book publicity, author interview
Tags: Author Talks, author interviews, online book promotion, free book publicity, author interview
