Jennifer Ellis's Blog

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It has been a very long time since I last blogged. Working full time and trying to eke out a tiny bit of fiction writing consistently, not to mention...

So I’m working on a new novel (finally), a thriller about a gold heist. I am considering trying to go the traditional publishing route with this one as I would like to see what that experience is like. I have a few friends/acquaintances who are just killing it in the trad pub world.

Part of getting your work considered in the traditional publishing world, either by an agent or a publisher, is having an amazing opening, because realistically, if they don’t like the first 100 or fewer words,...

Why is writing better than most other jobs, you ask? Read on and find out. Full disclosure: Since I haven’t ever worked as a rock star, neurosurgeon or fire fighter, I can’t say that writing is better than every other job out there. But I have worked as an evaluator, strategic planner, researcher, mediator, conference coordinator, lobbyist and analyst, so I’ve got a few careers covered.

But first, a short plug for an anthology I am honored to be part of: The Gamer Chronicles was released last...

Photo Credit: George Hodan

I recently read a novel with a bad ending. It had, up until the last few pages, been a great novel. I had consumed it almost in one sitting, breathlessly, and then when I was expecting a twist, a resolution, something to bring it to a satisfying conclusion, there was nothing. It presented the most banal solution to what had been an exciting puzzle that could have been imagined. I felt betrayed and angry, and I will not likely read anything by that author again.

I ha...

If you have read any of my work, you will know it generally includes animals in some form or another, often as pets, but sometimes also as point of view characters. Some of my favorite books feature animals that talk and interact in an almost human way, including Watership Down, Ozma of Oz, the Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte’s Web, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Silverwing.

To me, a book isn’t complete unless it includes an animal of some sort. In the fantasy gen...

I started a new novel last week… Book 5 in my Derivatives of Displacement series, tentatively titled, A Cat a List. It has been a bit of a revelation. I am loving it, and suddenly my creativity is back. After struggling for so long with my adult romantic thriller, I realized that I don’t want to spend my time immersed in the real world. I spend enough time in the real world when I’m in the real world. When I’m writing, I’d rather immerse myself in a world of magic, where anything is possible...

Photo Credit: Denise Krebs / flickr / Creative Commons

There is no doubt about it. I am in a creativity and productivity rut. Not at work of course. I still churn out scintillating evaluation reports and mind-blowing graphs on a daily basis… although now that I think about it the fact that I consider them so exciting might be part of the problem. But on the writing front, my supposed raison d’être, I have failed to finish a single thing in 2017, except for a short story in the forthcoming Ta...

Follow your dreams, live your passion, find your bliss. Those are the mantras of the new century. The blogosphere, book stores, and the internet in general are rife with people encouraging you to do what makes you happy. Life coaching has become a new profession. You won’t succeed at what doesn’t make you happy anyway, they tell us, or you will end up a hollow shell of person on your death bed at the end of a life filled with regret. Worse (or equally bad) you will make everyone around you m...

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Six months ago I just stopped writing. I stopped tweeting. I stopped updating my blog. I stopped managing my writing career in any way. I stopped even responding to most writing-related emails and comments on my blog. I stopped listening to all writing podcasts. I haven’t even collected checks for book sales that I know are waiting for me at some indie book stores.

When I first stopped, I told myself I was just taking a short break. Two weeks maybe. I had just finis...

Photo Credit: Craig Chew-Moulding / flickr / Creative Commons

I just finished the third draft of Pair Alleles, the fourth book in my Derivatives of Displacement series yesterday. This was probably my most challenging novel yet to write. I have a more demanding job than ever before, requiring me to fit writing around all sorts of critical things like meetings, data analysis, and generally trying to look like my job is super important to me (which it is, but I’m sure most writers can identify...