Elle E. Kay Interview Published on: 18, Apr 2022
Which is your most cherished childhood memory?
Visiting with my great-grandparents and getting Pop to read us Sam and the Firefly.
Were you always interested in writing?Yes and no. I always enjoyed telling stories, but never considered being an author.
The thought didn’t enter my mind until I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and realized that finding books written by people with EDS was difficult. That made me decide to write the kind of book I’d been hoping to find. After publishing Zebras of Hope (the book about coping with EDS), I published my first children’s book at my husband’s urging, There’s a Goat on My Porch.
Writing Christian fiction came later.
What kind of cultural value do you think reading and writing have/brings?Books offer us a peak into different cultures that can be enlightening when done well.
What was your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the publishing journey?My least favorite part is the first draft. I’m a huge procrastinator when it comes to writing. I’m not sure what my favorite part is, but it’s probably designing the cover.
What was the first story you ever wrote and did you ever publish it?The first one I remember writing was a short story about a university in Glasgow, Scotland. I didn’t publish it and have no idea what became of it.
What inspired you to write the book, "Implicating Claudia"?By the time I finished writing the first book in the Endless Mountain Series, Shadowing Stella, I knew that Claudia needed her own story. Dawson was briefly introduced in the first book and was the perfect guy to help her through the trials that would soon befall her. Starting with those two characters, I crafted a plot that would keep her in danger and allow him to protect her without diminishing her image as a tough marine. It was a delicate balancing act, but I was satisfied with the results.
Does listening to an audiobook, while reading the same book, reinforce its content? Or make it more difficult to follow?I enjoy the immersive reading experience. I don’t often listen and read at the same time when reading for pleasure, but I’ve done so plenty of times in my editing my audio books.
What is the most crucial component when writing a romantic suspense novel?Getting the balance right. It’s been said that if you can remove the romance and you still have a story than it’s a suspense with a romance thread. If you remove the suspense and still have a story, you have a romance with a suspense thread. In order for a book to be a romantic suspense the two elements need to play on each other and be impossible to unravel.
How do you spend “quality time” with yourself?I enjoy reading, playing piano, and hanging out with my livestock and domestic animals. Whenever I am doing one of those things, I consider it to be quality time.
What mistakes do new writers often make in their writing?Many rush to publish before their manuscript is ready. Critiques, beta reads, editors, and well-designed book covers are all an integral part of the publishing process and shouldn’t be skipped.
What is one FAQ that you wish people would stop asking?Who is your publisher?
I’m independently published through my own publishing company, Faith Writes Publishing. I’ve achieved Qualified Independent Publishing status through American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) which is not an easy feat. And yet, every time someone asks the question, I feel like they’re implying my writing is worth less because I chose to control every aspect of my process.
I’m querying agents now since I’m considering going trad for the series I’m working on, but I never did query before. It wasn’t the path I chose for my first eighteen books.
Are you a "re-reader" or are you a "read-it-once-and-I'm done" person?Both. For most fiction, I’m a read-it-once-and-I’m-done person, but I re-read the King James Bible every year. From time to time there are a few other Christian classics (Hinds Feet in High Places and Pilgrims’ Progress) and non-fiction books that I will re-read multiple times.
Who are some of the lesser known authors you would recommend people to read?Hannah Alexander and Sara Davison both have less than one thousand reviews on GoodReads, but they’re books are phenomenal. I hope more people will give them a shot.
Are you working on a new book? Is it going to be a series or a standalone?I’m working on the second book in my Pennsylvania Parks series. It’s a series of standalone stories. Each book will have a different hero and heroine than the previous one so they can be read out of order, but they will be intertwined in some small ways.
How has your experience of being associated with AllAuthor been?It’s been great. I’m no longer on Twitter, so AllAuthor is the only presence I have there these days. I also enjoy using the mockup tools for 3D book covers.
