What's the Author of the Newly-Released Forsaken Up To?
Five Fast Friday Questions to Find Out!
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| Ellen Fritz (left) With a New In the Night Series Fan |
The first thing I do is stop inside the door and look around. Partly, I want to see how things are organized, but I want to feel the ambiance, also. When bookstores are calming, relaxing, and fairly quiet, I know it’s a place anyone would want to spend time browsing.
I was in Paragraphs bookstore in Mount Vernon, Ohio a couple weeks ago. It’s a rare, independent bookstore and decidedly one of the best I’ve seen. Low shelves so I could see around, with several comfortable seating areas, made me want to stay.
The owner was there, so I talked to her about doing a book signing. She does New Author Signings a couple times a year and will include me in the next one this summer. She and the other employee were both smiling, friendly, and incredibly helpful.
After all that, I went to the Young Adult section, and then the New Releases. Those are my usual first stops whether in a little corner place like Paragraphs, or a two-story Barnes and Noble. Of course, just browsing the shelves is enjoyable to me.
I’m lucky enough to have a life-long friend who shares my voracious reading appetite. Over the years, she and I have spent many hours browsing bookstores. We sample, find each other to share what we found, and get to the counter to make our purchases. It can make for a great afternoon.
2. Picture your favorite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
I sit at the corner desk in my computer room. I call it that because “office” sounds too much like I’ll have to do work there. Writing isn’t work to me. It’s fun.
Besides my desktop computer, there’s always a cup. Coffee in the morning, gives way to tea after a couple hours. I sip as I think.
Next, are the shelves of “stuff” I might need. Pen, pencils, a box of little pieces of paper for notes, and my most important “life book”. It’s just a small spiral bound notebook where I write things I need to keep track of long term.
I see many of those little pieces of paper resting around the keyboard. I’ve written something that I need to deal with soon, so it rests there until I’m done with it. Then it can be thrown away.
Off to the side is a small TV. Yes, I’m one of those that listens to TV while I work. I always did homework that way, why not writing? I can’t see the screen unless I turn my head, but the background sound is always there. When I’m editing or proofreading, though, the TV is muted. That’s when I really need to concentrate.
Then there are two pairs of glasses. I wear contacts, but they just don’t line up correctly for the computer. One pair of glasses is for distance. I will admit I use those when I want to see something on the TV. The other pair is for close work which I wear for small print and some websites.
I don’t think I could write without any of this stuff.
3. Who is your favorite literary villain and why?
This took some thinking! There have been so many through the years, but I finally settled on one that kept coming back to mind. My favorite villain is Gollum (Smeagol) from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
To me, a really great villain is one that appears so evil, yet still has something that makes you feel for his situation. Gollum suffered for so long under the influence of the One Ring. He spent years in that cave with nothing but the fish he ate and the Ring to keep him company. He never leaves his cave until the Ring is taken by Bilbo and he becomes driven to follow.
When it seems that he might have turned over a new leaf to help Frodo, we know that inside the Ring is tormenting him. We know he will do whatever it takes to get the Ring back.
That desire for the Ring is what causes him to save Frodo and the rest of Middle Earth. He bites off Frodo’s finger to get it back, and falls to his death, happily. He finally has the Ring, his Precious.
I keep capitalizing the word Ring because it is such a powerful, integral part. On second thought, maybe my favorite villain is the Ring itself.
4. Top five favorite titles (these do not have to be favorite books).
These are the titles that immediately came to mind. Some are very old time favorites, others not, but I have read them all. Island of the Blue Dolphin caught my attention when I was in the sixth grade, and is the first book I absolutely fell in love with.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Name of the Rose
Midnight Crossing
Island of the Blue Dolphin
There’s something about certain titles that just grab you. Who knows what it is? One word? The turn of the phrase? For whatever reason, these titles all grabbed me.
5. Tell your fans what you’re working on now.
I’m working on two different books at once.
First is a fourth book of the In the Night Series that is yet untitled. When finished with Forsaken, I kept thinking about the characters and what might be happening to them. I guess I simply missed them. This book centers more around Luke and what he is struggling with on the streets of Indianapolis. Holly and Parker are happy together, but there are still issues and dangers surrounding them.
The second is a dystopian story that I’ve had in the back of my mind for quite a while. A future family of survivalists goes undercover when an asteroid is heading for earth. Only one of them survives. The life she finds, and problems she must face, are the heart of the story.
Wow, another In the Night novel, and a brand new dystopian series! You heard it here first, Ellen Fritz fans! Ellen's becoming quite a prolific writer and TT couldn't be happier! Be sure to enter the Memorial Weekend Summer Sizzler Giveaway for the Chance to win a boxed set of Ellen's books and other great prizes!
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