Check out this author spotlight for Eliza Eveland!
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!
Hello! Thanks for having me. I’m Eliza Eveland and I write romantic fantasy and queer romantic fantasy. When I’m not writing, I’m probably either reading. I live in Cryptid Country West Virginia, not too far from the Mothman and a few of his friends.
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? Autumn is the best season! The cool breezes, the crunchy leaves, bonfires and warm blankets on cold evenings with hot chocolate… I’m just in love with the aesthetic.
Tea or coffee? Coffee! I like tea, but I can’t live without coffee. Who would want to?
Plotter or pantser? I’m a plantser, which is a mix of the two. I know about 3-5 scenes when I start writing and make the rest up as I go. Sometimes I use an outline, though I almost always abandon it after the first few chapters for a better idea.
Standalone or series? Oh, a series. Definitely. I need as much time as possible with the characters in a book. They become like family. I know that when I finish a good series, I’m going to cry because I have to say goodbye to them.
Hero or anti-hero? Anti-heroes. I can’t help but fall for the bad boys, I guess! And a villain love story is just… *chef’s kiss*.
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I look for books with complex and conflicted characters. Dark and tortured angsty love interests are the fastest way to get me to click buy. If the two lovers are from opposite sides in a conflict of some kind, even better. I love stories where love defeats all odds and lets two people come together, where their love makes the world a better place. It’s idealistic, and beautiful escapism, and I need so much more of that, especially with queer protagonists.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I write queer-inclusive fantasy romance. I’d say I write queer fantasy romance, but some of the couples present as straight, even if there’s a queer romantic subplot or something. I’m currently writing book three of the Talons and Tethers series, A Thread of Gold. In this series, each book focuses on a new couple, though the series follows four mercenary commanders as they find their new home in the city of Brucia. A Thread of Gold follows Katyr Runecleaver, leader of the Crow mages. He and Isaac were fan favorites among early readers in the first book and I’m excited to give them their own story. Speaking of people from opposite sides of a conflict, Isaac is a member of the Brotherhood of the Divine, whose job it is to police mages and Katyr is… Well, he breaks a lot of rules.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
The first book in the Talons and Tethers series, A Court of Crows, is out February 10th here:
After her city falls under siege, Queen Eris hires a band of mercenaries, the Crows, to help defend Brucia. But their commander, Ruith, is interested in winning more than the war for her. He wants her, and Ruith is used to getting what he wants…
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!
For this series, it’s sort of a cross between Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. It’s big, epic fantasy with elves and battle sequences, but I’ve narrowed the scope to focus on one group of people in one city as opposed to the whole world. Additionally, large swaths of elvish culture are inspired by Norse and Japanese mythology. If there were a soundtrack for the Crows, it would be by a band called Skáld. They essentially sing portions of the poetic and prose Edda.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
I start by cleaning my office. Once my writing buddy arrives (my cat, Button, has his own special perch to sit beside me while I work), and I have my coffee, I sit down to read 1-2 chapters for fun, just to sort of get my brain working. Then, if I have editing to do, I do that first to get it out of the way. While I have lunch at my desk, I usually have some music on repeat. It’s a sort of meditation for me and helps me work out the mood of what I’m about to work on. After deciding on the soundtrack for the next scene, I just sit down and write it. Everything I write then goes to my husband who reads it and gives me feedback that I incorporate in my editing the next day. Then, just rinse and repeat.
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?
Write fearlessly. Write for yourself. Pursue your passion and it will show in the prose. It sounds sort of cliché, but I was always terrified of being judged for writing LGBT+ content. For a long time, I was afraid of how my audience would take it, how they would judge me for being a bisexual woman in a straight presenting relationship writing LGBT characters… I felt like I couldn’t write certain things because I wasn’t queer enough. It’s funny, but surviving Covid has really changed my perspective on a lot and now I just want to write and live authentically. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss: the people who matter won’t mind, and the people who mind don’t matter
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
I am most active on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elizaeveland
I’m also on Bookbub here: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eliza-eveland
And of course on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Eliza-Eveland/e/B07DK7B42G/
My website is: elizaeveland.com
And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Eliza-Eveland-Author-103738342072981
