Monday, January 17, 2011

Elaina Lee ~ Cover artist and author extraordinaire!!


Hey, guys!! I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine and her extraordinary talents!! And one lucky person that posts a comment will win a copy of her book, Written in Blood!!

Welcome, Elaina!!!

First of all, I have to tell you I absolutely love your book cover art! I was already a fan of your book, Written in Blood, but you are a very talented graphic artist. And since you designed my header for the cupcake business…I know from experience that you are also a REALLY patient person and easy to work with.
Well thank you, Chelle! But I have to admit I didn't design the cover for Written in Blood, though it is gorgeous and I couldn't be happier!

Tell us a bit about yourself first… I'm a mother of a toddler and a teenager and the wife of a soldier. We live in the deep south, brought here by fate, so we haven't argued! Just found our place here and have been counting our awesome blessings ever since!

WOW! I want to thank you and your husband for your sacrifice in serving our country. The family needs to be remembered because you have to survive without him while he's stationed away from home!
So….which came first ~ art or writing? Writing! The art was just by accident. I didn't want a bad cover (isn't that awful?) so I decided, if I wanted to make sure I didn't get one, I'd better learn how to make them. I had no idea I'd do well at it.

What was your first step in getting started? In which area? Writing or the art? Well, for writing I just wrote. My first step in getting published was joining a crit group, then entering contests (to get over my fear of submissions), then gathering the guts to sub! For art, it was finding a good program.)

What genre do you enjoy reading the most? What genre do you enjoy writing? I found I really enjoy reading action novels that have just enough romance to make you go 'awww'. And I love writing all genre's, but romantic suspense, while the most grueling, is definitely the funnest to write.

Where do you find your inspiration? I find a lot of inspiration on learning channels. The plots really get going when they talk about mysterious happenings in history or recent times. I wonder 'hmmm, how would that work in a book?'.

Do you have a favorite writing tip to share? Don't second guess yourself. Just keep writing and don't worry about how the words are appearing on paper, just that they're there. That's what editing's for, but first you have to have a story to edit!

How did you find out you’d sold your first book? An email. She said "Wow, what an awesome story! I'm going to send this to Jill with a request to send you a contract." I was screaming I was so excited. I'd worked so hard on Written in Blood and I couldn't believe the rest of the world was going to be able to read them too!

Who was the first person you told and how did you celebrate? I called my mom first, but she didn't answer! So my crit partner, Cate Chase, ended up being the first person I told.

Where can we find your book? You can find it on Amazon, Bookstrand, All Romance and of course my publishers site, Noble Romance.

Where can we find you hanging out? Oh gosh, Facebook and my blog.

What is your favorite show on television? I have to pick just one? Well I guess the one I'm currently watching then, Leverage. That is a fun show!

More importantly… Boxers or briefs? *Very Big Grin* Boxers *wink*

Website info - Elaina Lee and Blog

14 comments:

Diane said...

Fun interview! Beautiful cover art, I agree!!! :O)

Sarah Westill said...

Thank you so much, Chelle, for having me here today!

Thank you, Diane! I was so excited when I received the email with my cover, I couldn't believe it was mine!

Stephanie Taylor said...

Congrats on your book and all your wonderful cover art! You're amazing!

Erin Kern said...

Good interview, Chelle.

Stephanie said...

Great interview! The cover looks fab!! Wishing you lots of luck ad success!

Sarah Westill said...

Thank you so much, ladies!!!

DawnB said...

Great interview. Congrats on your release!

Sarah Westill said...

Thank you everyone, for stopping by! And thanks again, Chelle, for hosting me. :-) Diane was the randomly selected name, woohoo! Congrat's Diane!

Chelle Sandell said...

YAY!! Congrats, Diane! And thank you so much everyone for dropping in to chat with us!

Jacqueline Howett said...

Nice one, I enjoyed that. Great cover too. Yes, some covers just turn out great sometimes. Goodluck!

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Jeff Rivera said...

This book cover is one of the most attractive and appealing that I've seen. I suppose congratulations is in order here. Great job!

Laurence Brown said...

Loved your interview Elaina! The cover is really nice, I am sorry but i don't agree with you that 'the art was just by an accident' its sheer genius!

Laurence Brown said...

Beautiful cover. You are an artistic and gifted person. Stay the way it is. Keep up the good work.