Ask the Author: Ellen Tanner Marsh
Answered Questions (5)
Ellen Tanner Marsh
I'm putting the finishing touches on book 3 of The Forbidden Gems Trilogy. It's called Diamond Deep and follows Diamond Dark (now available) and Diamond Fire (October 2018). There's a Scottish historical romance waiting in the wings and a steamy story about a duke and a firebrand lurking behind. Look for them soon!
Ellen Tanner Marsh
Writing is like trying to cram a squirming, hissing cat into a pet carrier. It's hard and frustrating, and no book writes itself. So even if you only write a paragraph a day, you've got to have the discipline to sit down and put that paragraph on paper, as it were.
Some days that squirming cat of a manuscript will make you cry tears of frustration. Other days your writing will sing and the words will practically write themselves. Those are the times that make it all worthwhile.
Some days that squirming cat of a manuscript will make you cry tears of frustration. Other days your writing will sing and the words will practically write themselves. Those are the times that make it all worthwhile.
Ellen Tanner Marsh
Creating characters that you come to care for and who sometimes "steal" the plot by heading off in a direction I never expected.
Ellen Tanner Marsh
Pull out my hair and bitch and moan, then let the manuscript sit while I go out and do something like pull weeds in the garden. When I get back to work, things look fresher.
Discussing the plot with my husband and describing where the hang-up has occurred also helps a lot. He'll usually point out some obvious thing I've overlooked that will trigger an "aha" moment that gets the story back on track.
Discussing the plot with my husband and describing where the hang-up has occurred also helps a lot. He'll usually point out some obvious thing I've overlooked that will trigger an "aha" moment that gets the story back on track.
Ellen Tanner Marsh
Being a nerd did the trick. I was reading the dictionary--yes, really reading it, like, how bored was I?--when a page fell open with "Kohinoor Diamond" on top. Intrigued, I read the definition (a gigantic, cursed diamond mined in India, or some such) and voila, Diamond Dark was born.
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