I'm very pleased today to introduce the very talented Elysa Hendricks and find out a bit more about her latest contemporary fantasy romance Cupid's Apprentice. Before we get onto that, however, I gave her a bit of a grilling about her writing in general and am sharing her responses to my questions below:
Q: What inspired you
to write your first novel and did you always know your genre would be romance?
A: I've been writing for so long now I can't quite remember
what "inspired" me to try writing a novel. I do remember my hubby
teasing me about the number of romances I read, telling me I should write one
myself. So one night I just sat down and started writing what I thought would
be a short contemporary romance. When the heroine turned out to be a winged,
telepathic alien who stows away on a passing Earth ship, I realized that while
I loved romance, I also enjoyed stories with something "extra." That
first book is hidden away under my bed guarded by killer dust bunnies.
Q: Like me you seem
to cross genres a little - does this reflect what you like to read yourself?
A: I'm a voracious reader. I'll read anything from historical
non-fiction to bizarre futuristic fiction. Westerns to mysteries. Inspirational
to fantasy. I tend to gravitate to stories that deal with people and their
relationships, and I'm a sucker for a happily ever after ending, so it's not
surprising that my books tend to be various sub-genres of romance. I have
written straight sci-fi stories and have a children's series I've been mulling
around in my head.
Q: When it comes to
romance, do you have specific views on what should and shouldn't be included in
romance novels?
A: As long as the story centers around people (m/f, m/m, f/f,
etc.) falling in love, and includes a HEA or happy for now ending, I'm open to
pretty much any flavor of romance.
Q: Has any part of
yourself crept into the heroines of any of your romances?
A: I think most writers include parts of themselves in all of
their characters, either the parts we have, the parts we wish we had, as well
as the ones we wish didn't have.
Q: What is the most
desirable characteristic you've bestowed on the hero of your latest romance?
A: I give all my heroes a sense of humor. That's what made me
fall in love with my husband and has kept me in love with him for over forty
years. Strength, honor, courage are all important in a hero, but without a
sense of humor they don't appeal to me.
Q: Do you think
you'll always write in the same genre and style or do you have desires to
experiment and if so, in what way?
A: I think I'll always write romance of some kind, but I also
want to try other genres of fiction. Some of the fantasy and sci-fi ideas I
have don't lend themselves to romance, and there's the children's series I want
to do. I love trying new things, stretching and challenging myself - at least
with my writing. In "real" life, not so much. :-) My motto is: Boring
is good. Excitement is vastly overrated.
Thanks, Elysa. Some thought-provoking answers there.
Now here's the blurb from Cupid's Apprentice:
To earn her wings, Cupid's apprentice Medarda
"Dar" has until Valentine's Day to match two-time Loser Laura Quinn
with Boring Brian Hoffman. When Dar's love arrow goes astray and hits the sexy
PE teacher Flynn Sullivan instead things get interesting.
Laura loves teaching high school in the small town of
Council Falls, but knows it's only a matter of time until her famous mother
shows up and the quiet life she's created comes crashing down around her ears.
PE teacher Flynn Sullivan's been interested in the shy
history teacher for a long time, but it isn't until they're forced to chaperone
the Valentine's Day dance together that he gets the opportunity to make his
dreams come true.
With time running out can one bumbling Cupid's Apprentice
bring together a Jock and a Brain?
Excerpt:
In the excitement of Rachelle's near fall and her
reminiscing about her failed love life Laura missed the rest of Sarah's
announcement. Laura sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was chaperone a
couple hundred hormone driven teenagers, but once Sarah spoke there was no
appeal. Even the district superintendent didn't try to override the woman.
"Guess we're stuck on love and booze patrol duty
together," Flynn said.
"What?" Laura's head snapped up.
"I'm the other facility chaperone." His dark eyes
sparkled with repressed humor, probably at the horrified expression she knew
was on her face.
"That's nice."
"You know we'll have to coordinate with Sarah and the
student committee about the refreshments and decorations?"
"Of course." Oh no! That meant hours spent in the
man's disconcerting company. How would she keep from making a complete fool of
herself?
"How about we get together tomorrow night to discuss things?"
Without thinking, Laura nodded. Tomorrow was Friday. They
could meet in her classroom.
"It's a date then. Dinner at Max's." He mentioned
the diner in town. "I'll pick you up at six"
A date? With Fabulous Flynn? In town? Where everyone would see
them? The thought sent another wave of heat up her neck. Her lunch forgotten
she ducked her head to avoid the laughter she knew lurked in the man's eyes and
scrambled to her feet. "Yes. Right. Okay," she managed to mumble.
"That wasn't nice, Flynn." She heard Jared chide
his friend.
"What did I say?"
Damn if the man didn't sound clueless. She bolted out of the
room.
Well that certainly makes me want to read on, how about you? Cupid's Apprentice is available from:
And here's a little bit more about the author:
Elysa Hendricks is 5'6" tall. She has brown eyes and
curly hair. She's an author, a wife, a mother and a daughter. Everything else
is subject to change without notice. If you want to know more about her books
visit her at her web site: http://www.elysahendricks.com or on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elysa-Hendricks-Author/137316289643103
