Today's honored guest blogger is E. H. James, here to chat about the writing life, particularly how the early years shape an author's development. James is the author of novels, short stories, and poetry in the science fiction, horror, thriller and fantasy genres. James' latest release with Musa Publishing, "The Visitor's Room" has received some tremendous reviews and was voted April 2012's Book of The Month by Long And Short Review (LASR). More information about "The Visitor's Room" and E. H. James can be found after the author's words.
I’ve always been a writer, I just never thought of myself as one when I was younger. Sure as students we would be required to write stories as assignments, but I was writing on my own time as well. First it was poetry, which I still write, and some short stories, and then as I got older the short stories became more focused and I felt more serious about the story and the quality of the finished product. I considered getting them published and I sent a few off to magazines, but I never heard back.
Even though that was discouraging I didn’t give up on writing short stories, instead I decided to redirect my focus into writing books, and my novel writing journey began.
When I first considered writing novels my first thought was that I wanted to write horror novels, or stories of the paranormal or strange. Every short story I wrote always delved into the paranormal or horror genres. I fast discovered that ideas started to come to me from all genres, horror and paranormal included. All these ideas about ghosts and time travel and psychic phenomena filled my mind.
So with my pile of finished short stories before me I started on my first novel, which I actually wrote out longhand for some reason—which I will never do again. This first novel was a paranormal saga, and then I wrote a sci-fi, and I am now half way through a horror/thriller novel.
I still write short stories and will continue to do so, always dealing with the paranormal. In fact I have three paranormal short stories contracted for publication so far, with two already released, Laura and The Visitor’s Room. The Locked Door is yet to come. I am pleased to see that people seem to like them, which, as far as I am concerned, is the greatest gift.
If Amy thought this day on the psych ward would be just like any other she would be wrong.
For although everything seemed normal, well as normal as a place like that could be, there was something that was not quite right. That she couldn’t put her finger on it only made it all the more perplexing.
Don’t go asking questions you don’t want to know the answer to, especially when you're on a psych ward, and even you begin to question your sanity.
The Visitor’s Room – Buy Links:
Contact Links for E. H. James
Web Page: http://www.wix.com/ehjames1/ehjames#!
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/EHJames1
I'm a mom, wife, professor, and dancer--but when anyone asks, "What do you do?" I immediately say, "I'm a writer." I think it's in the blood.
ReplyDeleteThe Visitor's Room sounds like a great book. I'm putting it on my TBR list. Wishing you luck with all your writing ventures.
Well said, Ann. I like to label myself as writer first, even if not my #1 money maker. It's not a job, it's an identity. The Visitor's Room is quite good.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning Book of the Month for April! Authors don't get that kind of award without breaking a sweat in the process! Good work, E.H.! Tweeted and shared!
ReplyDeleteNice to see you out and about on George's blog! Glad you are sharing the intricacies of the writing life with your readers. The Coffee Shop is a great read, can't wait to dig into your horror story!
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