Check out this author spotlight for Anat Eliraz!
You can find all her links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out her books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
Hi! My name is Anat Eliraz and I am from Israel. I work as a physiotherapist in a neonatal intensive care unit.Mother of four, jogging and practicing martial arts… oh, of course! And writing! Somewhere in between!English is my second spoken language but my first written one and so I do most of my writing in English. I am mostly interested in the fantasy genre, ever since I started playing D&D in the late 80’s (yup… I am THAT old…!)
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn?Spring, definitely. Great weather, best time for hiking, the feeling of renewal everywhere!
Cat or dog? Dog. Had both over the years, but always more of a dog person. They are just happy to see you come back home, great friends, great cuddle, fun on trips, loyal, guardians… and cats… just aren’t…
Plotter or pantser? Panster. Totally. I write scenes, as they come to me and only later glue them all together.
Pen and paper or computer/phone? Anything available! My first book was written on over 150 pages by hand before I transferred it all to the computer. I used to write in coffee shops or in the middle of the night, and pen and paper was the quiet solution for that.
Standalone or series? Hard to say… my first book was supposed to be a standalone, but then I had this idea of how to continue it. It can still be read on it’s own, but the next book is supposed to give the reader more information that was unknown in the first one. I am writing another story that is supposed to be a standalone (I know the ending and don’t think it would continue).
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
Books that don’t just ‘feed’ me the story but let me join in on the journey. That make me think, make assumptions, try to figure out where the plot is heading and who is behind it all.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I write fantasy. Right now I have two projects in progress- the sequel to my published book and another story altogether, that takes place on earth during WW2.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
My first book was published at the end of April (2021). “Jewels of Smoky Quartz”. The story is about a nurse who also practices martial arts and one day finds herself in another world. She needs to use her wit and skills to survive and find out more about this new world and about herself.
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
Wow! Well, I come from the medical field so some information I used was explained by fellow medical staff. I also practice martial arts and took the inspiration from there. Landscapes are based on my hiking to some degree. Personally I read many genres, but I love fantasy. One of the authors I truly enjoy reading is Charles De Lint (Someplace to be flying).I don’t watch movies much, but I like to listen to music and songs by indie artists such as ‘Aviators’, ‘Malukah’, ‘Miracle of Sound’ etc.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
Don’t have one. I write whenever and wherever I can. I have a notebook in my bag and if a treatment got cancelled, I grab a cup of coffee and sit to write. With my first book, many parts of it were written in the middle of the night. I would wake up with a scene or idea and just had to write it down.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Get to know the world wide community of readers and writers before publishing. I am really happy with certain things like the cover, but I would have taken a different editor. I didn’t come from a background of writing, and I never even guessed what a huge business it is. Still, I am not disappointed with my work, only learned I could have done it even better.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Link to my book on Amazon-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VNH7KDW/
Link to a song I wrote. It’s part of the book, and a friend took the words and brought them to life! It was done during lockdown, not in a professional studio, but at home, with minimal equipment and lots of love!
https://youtu.be/ZF9RWfUonRk
