Ten Things About ... A.D. Ellis - An Author Interview

I've been following A.D. Ellis for some time now, and have read a ton of their backlist... so I was excited when they agreed to be interviewed for the blog!  My favourite book series is probably the Remington Place Series, but I've loved so many of their books - leave a comment below if you have a favourite, a question or just like the interview!

Without further ado... let's learn 10 things about A.D. Ellis!


Indie or Traditionally published? - Tell us how this works for you… 
I’m mostly indie published. I had a few titles with other publishers, but those titles are now mine again. I have several foreign translations with publishers.

Plot or Pants?  Do you pre-plot your books, use an outline, fly by the seat of your pants or some combination of things?  How do you keep track of characters in a series?  Do you keep a journal of your characters statistics, such as hair and eye color, relatives, hometown, etc.
I usually get an idea about a character or a plot point and then I build the story. I have a lot of notebooks filled with notes and details. I’m kinda a plotting pantster. Meaning, I have big ideas and I’ll make notes for different things in different chapters, but I don’t follow a STRICT outline.

Tell us about your first… published gay fiction/romance 
My very first gay romance was book number six in a male/female series. I didn’t originally have plans for the spin-off series, but when I decided to write it, I knew Sawyer was gay (I’d known that since I wrote his character as a little kid at the end of the first series). Several people told me to just write him into a M/F romance, but I didn’t want to do that. I needed to be true to who Sawyer was. A reader introduced me to her son, he answered about a billion questions for me, became one of my very best friends (this was in 2016 I think and we still talk daily, travel to visit each other, and I’m truly blessed to call him a friend), and Sawyer’s story was born. From that moment on, I’ve been writing LGBTQIA romance, with the majority of my stories being M/M.

 and then your most recent one… 
I’m currently revising my very first series of six M/M books (Something About Him) and putting them on wide platforms for sale over the next several months. That’s been a lot of fun--I’ve found I’m still in love with those stories even though I wrote them in 2016. They are based on some very real people and circumstances so it’s been fun revisiting them.
I’m also working on a short story for an anthology with a group of writer friends, a winter/Christmas story/duet with a writer friend, a story that will be one of six with a group of writer friends, and I’ve got a lot of notes for other stories in the works.

Do you write full time or part-time?  
I write during my free time from my teaching job. I also have two teens, so “free time” isn’t always available. I get up at 3:30 a.m. to get writing done before I leave for school. After school is usually too busy and I’m usually too tired to write. I use breaks from school to get as much writing done as possible.

Where do you write?  Do you have a routine? 
I mostly write at my kitchen table. I used to close myself in my room, but then I realized I wasn’t seeing my family for hours and hours so I moved. I write in the morning before school. Every so often, I’ll have the energy to write after school.

What are your writing goals for the next year?  The future? 
I have two Christmas books this year, a group project, and in 2022 I plan to have a 2-book series plus a 4-book series. But I also have a handful of 3-4 standalone story ideas I might do in between.

What’s the hardest part about writing M/M romance or erotica? 
I want to get it right. No matter what I’m writing, I want to be real. So I do a lot of questioning. The hardest part is knowing I’ve asked very real people for their experiences, reactions, feelings, and to have someone say it’s wrong. Just because it’s not the way one person would react or feel doesn’t mean it’s wrong or not realistic.

Who’s your biggest supporter/cheerleader?
I have an amazing group of writer friends who are super supportive. In fact, I have a couple of these groups. I also have some AMAZING readers who cheer me on and remind me WHY I write. I have two best friends (both of whom I’ve met because of this author journey) who may not completely understand the author issues, but they’re always there to cheer me on, listen to me rant, help me through blocks, and be my supporters.

What made you decide gay romance was the genre you wanted to write? 
Mostly, I fell in love with the genre. I loved being able to give a different story to some friends’ real-life situations. And having readers who tell me how much they needed to read my stories.

Where do you find inspiration? 
Mostly just real-life situations and people.

How can we connect with you? 
I’d love to have you follow me/connect with me! Find all my links on my Linktree- https://linktr.ee/adellisauthor


Thanks so much for stopping by A.D.!   Once again if you have questions, you can leave a comment below or check out A.D. Ellis on their link tree above!    If you're an author who'd like to be interviewed or if you have a book for us to review, feel free to check out our contact page and get in touch with us! 

Comments

Post a Comment