617 ratings | 66 reviews | avg rating:3.99

Elizabeth C. Mock’s Followers (247)

Elizabeth’s Bookshelves

to-read (78)
currently-reading (2)
read (621)
adventure (209)
books-i-stopped-reading (2)
classics (80)
comedy (62)
contemporary-urban-fantasy (81)
cozy-mystery (5)
creative-nonfiction (11)
See all bookshelves »

Elizabeth’s Friends (94)

Aleigha

505 books | 26 friends

Rachel

619 books | 64 friends

Shaunna

1,153 books | 31 friends

Katlyn

4,997 books | 9 friends

Mell

3,352 books | 11 friends

Kathryn

1,503 books | 97 friends

Inna Risma

112 books | 90 friends

Amy K

2,638 books | 82 friends

More friends…

Elizabeth C. Mock

Goodreads Author

Born

in Pittsburgh, PA, The United States

Website

https://www.elizabethcmock.com

Twitter

LisMock

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Short Stories, Young Adult

Member Since

September 2008

edit data

Elizabeth C. Mock and her spouse live in Cincinnati, Ohio where they watch too many international shows and plot their next culinary adventure. She is currently a graduate student and continues writing The Children of Man series and other projects. Elizabeth is a speculative fiction author repped by Barry Goldblatt Literary. FORGE is out now! RESOLVE coming 2023!

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Elizabeth C. Mock questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Elizabeth C. Mock 1. Therapy and medication. I am not even kidding. Another writer friend once said, writer's block is really life block. She could not have been more a…more1. Therapy and medication. I am not even kidding. Another writer friend once said, writer's block is really life block. She could not have been more accurate. For me, writer's block is either a form of procrastination caused by emotional disregulation (I'm feeling negative emotions I'm not acknowledging which are blocking me from writing), or it's my ADH. Both of these can be dealt with through the combination of my medication and therapy. Therapy gives you the tools to get through what's blocking you.

2. Creating a habit of writing helps with writer's block. Keep showing up and you'll get it done. Even if it's like pulling water from stone, show up and get your words in. I also use implementation intensions. If I finish grading, then I write. I don't choose to write. It's just the next thing I do. What wires together in the brain fires together. Show up for thirty days to create the neural connections of a habit.

3. Sometimes you need to spend a day laying bricks to be able to write what's next. Talk to a critique partner or just a friend or family member about what's blocking you in the story. Those aren't lost days. The story needs to percolate in your brain sometimes, and talking out loud about it can really help.

4. If you're still stuck, sleep on it. This works because of what REM sleep does in your brain. It takes information from your day and makes connections, and you just might wake up with the solution. Don't try to force it. It'll take the time it takes to get through the plot/character problem. Be kind to yourself.

5. Take a day off and live your life. Go do something fun and recharging. Go a museum. Go to a concert. Go out to eat with friends. Read a good book. Just engage in art or connection with other. You can't pour out what you don't have in you.(less)

flag

1 like · like
Comment

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Elizabeth C. Mock Watching a story emerge like a sculpture. I can't see its form at first, and it feels like it'll never be what's in my head. Then slowly, oh so slowly…moreWatching a story emerge like a sculpture. I can't see its form at first, and it feels like it'll never be what's in my head. Then slowly, oh so slowly, it takes shape. Until, after so much work, I can suddenly see it. There it is. The story exists outside my head.

I love when I'm drafting or revising and something takes me by surprise, a sentence which suddenly casts a character or a beat in a light I'd never seen before.

I love that I'm able to use symbols and sounds, which you understand, to create something that didn't exist before. That's magic.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See all 6 answers from Elizabeth C. Mock…

Combine Editions
Elizabeth C. Mock’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 2,963 ratings · 280 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	Shatter (The Children of Man, #1) 3.88 avg rating — 1,875 ratings — published 2010 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Render (The Children of Man, #2) by Elizabeth C. Mock (Goodreads Author), Anne Hromalik (Illustrator) 4.34 avg rating — 750 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Luthier of Keman (The Children of Man 0.5) 4.29 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Forge (The Children of Men, #3) 4.51 avg rating — 117 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Before Dawn 4.33 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The River (The Noctunarum Vows, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2009	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Elizabeth C. Mock…

124 posts
Elizabeth C. Mock's Blog

Fifteen Years: Resolve Update

Hello, gentle readers. Since last we spoke, a lot has happened—a global pandemic, a Master’s degree, a career change, and more loss and grief than I care to recount. The pandemic, as it did for so many of us, put everything on pause, including Resolve. I thought the lockdowns would lead to me having more time and space to finish the book. It did not. But it did force me to reflect on what I re Read more of this blog post »

View more on Elizabeth C. Mock's website »

2 likes · Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on March 15, 2025 15:48

View all 124 posts »

Series by Elizabeth C. Mock

The Noctunarum Vows (1 book)
by

Elizabeth C. Mock (Goodreads Author)

3.79 avg rating — 14 ratings

Elizabeth is Currently Reading

Elizabeth Mock is currently reading

The Boy Next Story (Bookish Boyfriends, #2)

by Tiffany Schmidt (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Oct 11, 2019 01:14PM

Elizabeth Mock is currently reading

The Downstairs Girl

by Stacey Lee (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mar 01, 2022 02:19AM

rss
Elizabeth’s Recent Updates

Elizabeth C. Mock wrote a new blog post Fifteen Years: Resolve Update Hello, gentle readers. Since last we spoke, a lot has happened—a global pandemic, a Master’s degree, a career change, and more loss and grief than I Read more of this blog post »
Mar 16, 2025 12:12AM · 2 likes · like

More of Elizabeth's books…

Quotes by Elizabeth C. Mock (?)

“Rafaela, we all hurt people." Tobias’ voice was sharp. "That’s universal. We’re all broken and those shards will cut those around us.”
― Elizabeth C. Mock, Shatter

14 likes

“Information is not understanding,” Tobias replied, his light-hearted tone replaced with sobriety. “You can give information, but you can never give understanding.”
― Elizabeth C. Mock, Shatter

12 likes

“I learned long ago not to restrict the world into what I believe to be possible, because that is precisely when the world surprises me.”
― Elizabeth C. Mock, Shatter

6 likes

See all Elizabeth C. Mock's quotes »

Polls

October Goodreads Fantasy Author Vote Phase II (First Voting)

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

34 votes, 16.0%

All the Windwracked Starsby Elizabeth Bear

26 votes, 12.2%

Shadow's Sonby Jon Sprunk

23 votes, 10.8%

The Door Into Fire by Diane Duane

23 votes, 10.8%

Shatter byElizabeth C. Mock

20 votes, 9.4%

The Second Comingby David H. Burton

15 votes, 7.0%

Magic Lost, Trouble Foundby Lisa Shearin

14 votes, 6.6%

Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman

12 votes, 5.6%

Indaby Sherwood Smith

9 votes, 4.2%

Prophecy of the Flameby Lynn Hardy

9 votes, 4.2%

Zadayi Redby Caleb Fox

8 votes, 3.8%

Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador's Gate by Karey (K.S.R. Kingworth) Shane

5 votes, 2.3%

Persephane Pendrake and the Cimarutaby Lady Ellen

4 votes, 1.9%

Bastard's Graceby Wendy Palmer

4 votes, 1.9%

The King of the Treesby William D. Burt

3 votes, 1.4%

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

3 votes, 1.4%

The White Shadow Saga: The Stolen Moon of Londor by A.P. Stephens

1 vote, 0.5%

213 total votes

10 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: October GOODREADS Fantasy Nominations.	73	317	Sep 10, 2010 08:42AM
The Seasonal Read...: * READERBOARD	10	611	Oct 17, 2010 10:08AM
The History Book ...: JANE'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	20	56	May 21, 2011 11:54AM
Goodreads Librari...: GR Author merge	952	882	Sep 03, 2011 08:09PM
Goodreads Librari...: Add to Children of Man series, please	4	134	Dec 22, 2011 10:31AM
Pixel of Ink Readers: Captivating Reads	29	339	Aug 11, 2012 05:05PM
Nothing But Readi...: Level 1 of the Serious Readers Challenge for 2015	282	1216	Jan 01, 2016 04:39AM
Spinward Fringe -...: Welcome! Introduce yourself!	137	200	May 11, 2017 02:53PM
Goodreads Librari...: Please combine books and author	2	8	Aug 29, 2019 08:30AM
SciFi and Fantasy...: Reader's block- and how fantasy holds a special place for me.	39	78	Dec 26, 2020 05:45PM

More…

Elizabeth’s Quotes

“Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”
― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried

378 likes

“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

tags: love, poetry

16151 likes

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

tags: truth

8500 likes

“But in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world.”
― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried

206 likes

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
― Neil Gaiman, Coraline