Kim: Welcome! Please do sit down and feel at home ^_^ now tell me more about your book,any random fact for the both of you?
Carol: Tom and I are both teachers and we have spent most of the last twenty years teaching on Native American Reservations in the Southwest. We have taught the Hualapai and Apache in Arizona, Navajo, in New Mexico and Paiute, in Nevada. However, we have returned to the Mid-west where I am not currently teaching. I have taken time off to concentrate on writing. Tom and I have been writing together since 1996.
Kim: Wow that’s so great! So what inspired the both of you and how did you come up with this idea for your book?
Carol:The Elf Killers were actually created in another book, which is part of a series (not yet complete) Tom and I have co-written. However, in the series, the Elves and the Elf killer trolls are just a part of a wide cast of characters and they have a much more minor role to play. In the course of writing about them in the series, I became rather enchanted by them, and decided they merited having a story of their own. Thus, Elf Killers the book, was born.
Kim: Awesome! How long did it took to write,research and finish this?
Carol: Fortunately, all the language for the troll speech had already been researched and worked out in the course of working on the epic fantasy series I mentioned.
Tom: Carol and I were both teaching at the time we wrote Elf Killers and teachers have very little free time during the school year. We started writing it during the Christmas holiday break and finished it during Spring break. After that we did some editing and re-writing and by the end of the school year decided it was ready to go out into the world, as it were.
Kim: Indeed what a very hectic schedule I totally understand so what’s next for the both of you?do you have any plans venturing on other book genre/category?dream vacation perhaps?
Carol: I love to write. It’s what I have wanted to do since I was in eighth grade, so I definitely plan to continue. Since Tom began writing with me in’96 he, too, has caught the writing bug.
Tom: We are planning to begin the fifth book of the epic fantasy series we have been working on together. It is called Heart of the Staff and will probably be complete either with the fifth or the sixth book. The first book, Good Sister, Bad Sister has just recently been accepted for publication by Hellfire Publishing.
Carol:We don’t have any details yet as to when it will be released.
Kim: That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to read more of your works ^_^ What’s the most challenging part in writing this book?
Carol: Keeping it short. I love to go off on long epic tales and really get involved with each of the characters and events. But, alas, one of the reasons Tom and I wrote Elf Killers was to create a short book as a kind of introduction to our writing. Through our experience and research when we began this writing journey together we discovered that the long epic tales by new and unproven writers were most often shied away from by agents and publishers alike.
Kim: Ah yes of course! Do you find it difficult writing together?Any experience you’d like to share? How did the both of you manage to pull it off ?
Carol: When we first began writing together, Tom was a bit hesitant to really let go and ‘put himself into my story ‘, as that is how he viewed it. But, soon we began discussing, brainstorming and really getting caught up with all the ideas, details and nuances of the story and he relaxed and became an equal and active part. We are a team and both very involved in all that happens in the worlds we create.
Kim: So who contributed more?do you designate who should write this part and that part?or was it a team effort?like we’ll both write then we sum it all up edit,you write first then I’ll continue it second anything like that?
Tom: Carol and I both feel that we share the load equally as a team. Nothing is written in stone until we both agree that the story is exactly the way it should be.
Kim: Any major influences in writing (any favorite books and authors in mind?)
Tom: Carol and I both love Tolkein. Beyond that, there are a great number of authors and books which have undoubtedly influenced us in one way or another.
Kim: Do either of you have any quirk/routine before writing?
Carol: I hate outlines! I never use one.
Tom: I’m a much more orderly person and keeps a running chronology of the characters and major events as each book we write progresses.
Carol: I have to admit that when we have had long periods of time pass when we were unable to get back to our story, his orderly chronology has saved us much tedious review.
Kim: What’s your advice to aspiring writers out there ^_^
Carol: If you really want to be a writer, pursue your dream doggedly and write, write, write, until you succeed. And then write some more!
Kim: Message to your fans (Encourage,Promote,tell them where they could buy your book/s,reach you,list of social networks)
Carol: If anyone has any questions or comments Feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you! I can be contacted at:
http://www.heretherebefantasies.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/carol.phipps3/
@Car01am on Twitter
Tom: find out more about me and follow our publisher’s two blogs
http://www.hellfireherald.blogspot.com
http://www.thecampfire666.blogspot.com
Or: http://www.hellfirepublishing.com
Carol: I love to write. It’s what I have wanted to do since I was in eighth grade, so I definitely plan to continue. Since Tom began writing with me in’96 he, too, has caught the writing bug.
Tom: We are planning to begin the fifth book of the epic fantasy series we have been working on together. It is called Heart of the Staff and will probably be complete either with the fifth or the sixth book. The first book, Good Sister, Bad Sister has just recently been accepted for publication by Hellfire Publishing.
Carol:We don’t have any details yet as to when it will be released.
Kim: That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to read more of your works ^_^ What’s the most challenging part in writing this book?
Carol: Keeping it short. I love to go off on long epic tales and really get involved with each of the characters and events. But, alas, one of the reasons Tom and I wrote Elf Killers was to create a short book as a kind of introduction to our writing. Through our experience and research when we began this writing journey together we discovered that the long epic tales by new and unproven writers were most often shied away from by agents and publishers alike.
Kim: Ah yes of course! Do you find it difficult writing together?Any experience you’d like to share? How did the both of you manage to pull it off ?
Carol: When we first began writing together, Tom was a bit hesitant to really let go and ‘put himself into my story ‘, as that is how he viewed it. But, soon we began discussing, brainstorming and really getting caught up with all the ideas, details and nuances of the story and he relaxed and became an equal and active part. We are a team and both very involved in all that happens in the worlds we create.
Kim: So who contributed more?do you designate who should write this part and that part?or was it a team effort?like we’ll both write then we sum it all up edit,you write first then I’ll continue it second anything like that?
Tom: Carol and I both feel that we share the load equally as a team. Nothing is written in stone until we both agree that the story is exactly the way it should be.
Kim: Any major influences in writing (any favorite books and authors in mind?)
Tom: Carol and I both love Tolkein. Beyond that, there are a great number of authors and books which have undoubtedly influenced us in one way or another.
Kim: Do either of you have any quirk/routine before writing?
Carol: I hate outlines! I never use one.
Tom: I’m a much more orderly person and keeps a running chronology of the characters and major events as each book we write progresses.
Carol: I have to admit that when we have had long periods of time pass when we were unable to get back to our story, his orderly chronology has saved us much tedious review.
Kim: What’s your advice to aspiring writers out there ^_^
Carol: If you really want to be a writer, pursue your dream doggedly and write, write, write, until you succeed. And then write some more!
Kim: Message to your fans (Encourage,Promote,tell them where they could buy your book/s,reach you,list of social networks)
Carol: If anyone has any questions or comments Feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you! I can be contacted at:
http://www.heretherebefantasies.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/carol.phipps3/
@Car01am on Twitter
Tom: find out more about me and follow our publisher’s two blogs
http://www.hellfireherald.blogspot.com
http://www.thecampfire666.blogspot.com
Or: http://www.hellfirepublishing.com
Carol: If you would enjoy reading more about our upcoming series, Heart of the Staff, the first chapter of each of the first four books:
Good Sister, Bad Sister: Book I
The Collector Witch: Book II
Stone Heart: Book III
The Burgeoning: Book IV
are currently posted on my blog, Here There Be Fantasies.Thank you so much, Kim for the interview and review and good luck to all of you who enter to win a free ebook of Elf Killers! Elf Killers can be purchased at Amazon and Smashwords.
Kim: Thank you so much Carol and Tom I really enjoyed your company ^_^ Now my beloved readers click Read more/Read the instructions and fill up the Rafflecopter form below ^_~ DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so we could contact you in case you win.Thank you so much for tuning in…you might also be interested in reading my review.Take care and Good Luck!
The Collector Witch: Book II
Stone Heart: Book III
The Burgeoning: Book IV
are currently posted on my blog, Here There Be Fantasies.Thank you so much, Kim for the interview and review and good luck to all of you who enter to win a free ebook of Elf Killers! Elf Killers can be purchased at Amazon and Smashwords.
Kim: Thank you so much Carol and Tom I really enjoyed your company ^_^ Now my beloved readers click Read more/Read the instructions and fill up the Rafflecopter form below ^_~ DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so we could contact you in case you win.Thank you so much for tuning in…you might also be interested in reading my review.Take care and Good Luck!
Hey! This book looks interesting! Thank you for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like epub if it's poosible (and if I win XD)
ReplyDeleteKim, great interview. The team effort it took to do this book sounds very complex but interesting.
ReplyDeleteTerrific interview! Your book sounds SO good, and I would love to win a copy :) I have a Kindle so a mobi format would work best for me!
ReplyDeletejwitt33 at live dot com
Sounds like a great book. I can't imagine what its like to write together since I like to be in control of everything. lol. I prefer the mobi format if I do win a copy. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete