Chatting with Elaine Cantrell
I’m so pleased that Elaine Cantrell could join me today. Elaine is a fellow Clean Reads author. Let’s get started.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer? Oh, I figured that out when I was five years old. I dictated my first story to my father who wrote it down in pencil on notebook paper. It was a great story. It must have been; he laughed the entire time he was writing. After his death, my stepmother found that little story among all of his saved
papers. She gave it to me, and of course it’s one of treasures today.
Can you tell us about your journey towards publication? I decided to write a book after my son asked me to read one that he’d written. He said, “I always made up stories in my head to amuse myself, so I thought I might as well write them down.” Guess what? I’d always done that too so I sat down to write. I can’t remember how many times I used that delete key before I even got the first paragraph done, but I kept on writing until I had a finished produce. I became a published author a few years later when I entered a writing contest at the last minute. I won first prize, which was publication of your novel. That was about 15 books ago.
What is your favorite genre to read? Romance of course, and at the moment I’ve been reading stories about life after the apocalypse. Not my usual cup of tea, but I enjoy seeing how people rise to the challenge of creating a new world.
What was the best criticism or advice you ever received? Believe it or not, my husband gave me some advice that I think is very profound. I was griping that my ranking on Amazon wasn’t as good as I wanted, and he looked at me and said, “It doesn’t sound like you’re having fun with your writing now. Forget about that, and just enjoy doing what you love.” Sometimes the man does get a great idea.
Tell us about a unique quirk of yours? I like tapping straws! I know, you’ve never heard of tapping straws. When I’m thinking real hard, it helps my concentration to play with a pencil, pen, etc. One day I had a straw handy, and it worked fabulously! My family mocks me, but I’ve seen them playing with my straws.
If you could travel to anyplace for a month, where would you go? I’d go to Greece. I want to see all the ruins and the gorgeous scenery.
What are you reading right now? I just finished It Ain’t His Pocket Watch. I reviewed it on my blog, but let me say, it’s fabulous. You can read the review at http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com
Any encouragement for aspiring authors? The best encouragement I can offer is to write what you love, and do it for yourself, not for anyone else. If you love what you’re doing, other people will feel your passion for your work and respond to it.
About Elaine
Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in personnel services from Clemson University. She is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary society for women educators and is also a member of Romance Writers of America. Her first novel, A New Leaf, was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest. When she isn’t writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, traveling, and collecting vintage Christmas ornaments
Find Elaine at:
http://www.elainecantrell.com
http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/elainepcantrell
http://www.twitter.com/elainecantrell
http://www.linkedin.com/elainecantrell
http://www.pinterest.com/elainecantrell
I love this cover on Elaine’s book. If you are interested, the buy links are below.
Buy links Rest Thy Head
http://amzn.com/B00NTAXTOC
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rest-thy-head-elaine-cantrell/1120381438
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/rest-thy-head
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/479157
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rest-thy-head/id922212621
Thanks for stopping by Elaine!