Elizabeth Thomas interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Elizabeth Thomas, and I write in several genres. I was born and raised in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and I graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, but I now live in a suburb of Austin, Texas.

When did your love of books begin?

I have loved books ever since I can remember. My mother read to me constantly, and from the age of 5 or so, she walked with me to the library every week and let me check out books.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

By the time I was 9, I had discovered I could write my own stories, and I knew that's what I wanted to do for a living.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

A lot more difficult than I thought it would be as a kid, that's for sure! Thank goodness I'm stubborn. I'm still trying, almost 50 years later. And I've had some success. I'm happy to be able to say that my historical romance, Arden's Act, was actually selected by a small independent publisher, though I was glad to have the rights come back to me and be able to do a self-published version. And I have had versions of my play, The Circle, performed. I'll admit, that is a real thrill--to watch people laughing and enjoying watching a thing I've written. That's what makes it all worthwhile--I've come to the realization that even if I never "make it big," I've had readers and I've entertained people.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Part of me wants to say, "make sure you acquire skills so that you can have a decent day job while you wait," but to be honest, I'm not sure if I did the right thing by hedging my bets. Perhaps if I had put all my eggs in the writer's basket, I'd be making a comfortable living at it and be fairly well-known by now--provided I hadn't starved. Another possible flippant piece of advice would be "find yourself a rich spouse who believes in your literary talent." I really CAN say, though, to read as much as possible. That way you have much better odds of having your own writing "sound like a book," for lack of a better phrase.

Tell us about your book/books:

The first novel I published was a YA titled Confessions of a Mixed-Up Weasel Hater in 2005. That was before Amazon and KDP; a friend had wanted to start a little self-publishing company, and I wanted to help her get started in that. I had this YA that I had revised and revised, and submitted to agents and publishers without success, but that I still believed it. It's basically the story of a girl in her last year of middle school trying to deal with her terror of what other people think, unrequited love, and the power of rumor.

Arden's Act is my steamy historical romance, set during the early days of the English Restoration, when Charles II reigned and the first actresses were allowed on the London stage. Arden runs away from her lecherous Puritan stepfather to become one of these actresses, and encounters love, political intrigue, and danger along the way. Arden's a strong heroine, and while love and sex are vital to the story, she's not only there for those things, but to have an acting career.

I published The Circle in book form, because I wanted it to be easily accessible for any theater, community or otherwise, that wanted to produce it. As an experiment, I make it available at a much lower production royalty, because I don't have a middle man like Samuel French taking the lion's share. The Circle is a class reunion story--the 20th reunion of the Class of 81, coming on the eve of September 11th. It's a love story for the heroine, Allie, but it's also a ghost story. I'd love to see this play take off, because I think it's got an amazing role for an actor--Sam, the ghost of Allie's senior prom date. He is constantly present on stage, but the other characters cannot see him, and he does not speak.

Probably the most successful book I've published to date, however, is technically non-fiction--literary analysis. It's called Apologia Diogenes, and I wrote it with the permission of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (who are just the most lovely gentlemen imaginable!) about their character Diogenes Pendergast, the most fascinating villain of their Agent Pendergast series. I love that series, have a warped crush on Diogenes, and the book was so much fun to write.

Most recently, I've put out a collection of short fiction called Crossings. It includes some stories that were previously published, such as "In a Name" and "More Than the Quest," and some that hadn't been. The theme is breaking boundaries.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

All the shared interests, and the ability to have intelligent conversations with people who "get it." People who understand what it's like to have fictional characters living rent-free in your head, and what it's like to care about those imaginary people. People who care about words and language.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Please, please, please review my books on Amazon! It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. It could be as simple as, "I liked this!" or "It didn't suck too badly." I really want to find out what happens when one hits that magical number of 50 reviews on Amazon. Also, consider giving my books as birthday, Valentine's, Christmas, or anytime presents!

Where can people connect with you?

I'm on Twitter as Elizabeth Thomas@ElizThomaswrite, on Facebook as Elizabeth Marie Thomas, and my email is emthomas63@gmail.com. My books are all available on Amazon, in paperback or for Kindle, and even through Kindle Unlimited.