Ask the Author: Scott Ellis
Answered Questions (5)
Scott Ellis
It started with a simple question I couldn't shake. What does someone do when they're given the kind of power that could save everything or destroy it, and they're not sure they can trust themselves with it?A lot of that came out of my own experiences as a physician, where you're often making high-stakes decisions without perfect clarity. That tension between responsibility and uncertainty stayed with me and eventually found its way into the story.From there, the world and the characters grew around that core idea, but the question is still what drives everything underneath it.
Scott Ellis
It usually starts with a question or a moment I can't quite let go of.
As a physician, I see a lot of situations where people have to act without full clarity, and those moments tend to stick with me. But it isn't only that — it can be something one of my daughters says, a conversation that runs longer than it should, a line from a sermon, a song on a long drive. The seeds collect from a lot of different places, and most of them sit in the back of my mind for weeks before I understand what they're really about.
From there, it's less about waiting for inspiration and more about following the thread. If something keeps pulling at my attention, I try to stay with it long enough to understand why.
As a physician, I see a lot of situations where people have to act without full clarity, and those moments tend to stick with me. But it isn't only that — it can be something one of my daughters says, a conversation that runs longer than it should, a line from a sermon, a song on a long drive. The seeds collect from a lot of different places, and most of them sit in the back of my mind for weeks before I understand what they're really about.
From there, it's less about waiting for inspiration and more about following the thread. If something keeps pulling at my attention, I try to stay with it long enough to understand why.
Scott Ellis
Right now I'm working on a character-driven sci-fi novel called Shadows Over Earth.
At the center is a soldier from a small town in Ohio who ends up carrying a kind of power he never wanted, in the middle of an invasion that forces him to make decisions before he has all the answers. The external story is big, but most of my focus has been on the internal side of it — what it means to carry responsibility, to struggle with control, and to learn how to trust when the stakes are high. I'm a family physician, and a lot of those questions are ones I've watched people walk through in much quieter forms.
I'm also building out a series of short prequel stories in the same universe, which has been a really fun way to explore different characters and moments from different angles while the larger story comes together. Book 1 launches December 2026.
At the center is a soldier from a small town in Ohio who ends up carrying a kind of power he never wanted, in the middle of an invasion that forces him to make decisions before he has all the answers. The external story is big, but most of my focus has been on the internal side of it — what it means to carry responsibility, to struggle with control, and to learn how to trust when the stakes are high. I'm a family physician, and a lot of those questions are ones I've watched people walk through in much quieter forms.
I'm also building out a series of short prequel stories in the same universe, which has been a really fun way to explore different characters and moments from different angles while the larger story comes together. Book 1 launches December 2026.
Scott Ellis
Write the story that won't leave you alone, even if you're not sure how to do it yet.
Don't wait until you feel ready. You won't. Most of the growth happens in the middle of figuring it out, not before you start.
Pay attention to what you care about beneath the plot. The moments that land are usually the ones where something real is being worked through, not just something happening.
And read like a writer, not just a reader. When a scene moves you, stop and figure out how. That attention rewires your instincts more than any craft book.
And finish things. Even if it's messy, even if you outgrow it halfway through. You learn more from finishing than from anything else.
Don't wait until you feel ready. You won't. Most of the growth happens in the middle of figuring it out, not before you start.
Pay attention to what you care about beneath the plot. The moments that land are usually the ones where something real is being worked through, not just something happening.
And read like a writer, not just a reader. When a scene moves you, stop and figure out how. That attention rewires your instincts more than any craft book.
And finish things. Even if it's messy, even if you outgrow it halfway through. You learn more from finishing than from anything else.
Scott Ellis
The best part is getting to explore questions you don’t fully have answers to and letting the story wrestle with them for you.
As a physician, I’m used to situations where you have to act without perfect clarity. Writing lets me stay with those same kinds of questions a little longer and see where they lead.
You start with an idea or a feeling, and somewhere along the way, the characters begin to challenge it or reshape it. And when a reader connects with something you found along the way, that’s the part that really stays with you.
As a physician, I’m used to situations where you have to act without perfect clarity. Writing lets me stay with those same kinds of questions a little longer and see where they lead.
You start with an idea or a feeling, and somewhere along the way, the characters begin to challenge it or reshape it. And when a reader connects with something you found along the way, that’s the part that really stays with you.
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