Please Welcome Elizabeth Black

Thank you, Elizabeth, for joining me on my blog so we can learn about you and how you got into writing, and everything or anything else you would like your readers to know about you.  Before we get started, would you like to give us a quick list of all your books available for purchase and where we might find them?

The best places to find my books are on my web site or on my Amazon Author page. My web site includes my short stories, which are a bit harder to find on the Amazon Author page. Here are the links:

http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com/

https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethblack

When did you first start writing? Or how did you get into writing; was it something you have always wanted to do?

I have always written one thing or another. I didn't seriously consider writing as a profession until about fifteen years ago. I started out as a political writer. Fiction didn't come to me until recently; only about five years ago.

When did you publish your first work?

Non-fiction in 1996. Fiction in 2007.

Do you have your books in print as well as in ebook format?

Most of the anthologies in which my stories appear are in print. Those books are published by Xcite Books in the U. K. My only print novel is "An Unexpected Guest". That one is also available as an ebook. Whilst not all of my books are in print, all are in ebook format.

How do you feel about the formatting process with print and/or ebook?  Do you do your own and if not, how do you get help for this to be accomplished?

LOL that's an issue I'm tackling now since I'm experimenting with self-publishing. From what I'm gathering, there's a bit of a learning curve but it seems to be fairly easy to do. My husband is helping me with the formatting for self-publishing. I couldn't do it on my own, not yet anyway.

Do you have any advice for a person wanting to get their book(s) published?

Read as much classic literature as you can. Also read more modern literature that is written well.  Learn from what you read. I try to avoid poorly written books no matter how popular because you can learn many bad habits from them. That said, you may want to read those kinds of books to see what people are enjoying in addition to the well-written stuff. Look for submission calls such as those at the Erotic Readers And Writers Association so you stay in the loop regarding what kinds of stories publishers are seeking. Always have something out there, whether it's a short story or a novel. The best promotion is a new book.

How can your readers find you?

Here are pertinent links:

Elizabeth Black - Blog and Web Site - http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Black - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elizabethablack

Elizabeth Black - Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethblack

Elizabeth Black - Yahoo Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elizabeth_black/

Elizabeth Black - Twitter - http://twitter.com/ElizabethABlack

Lizzie's Sexy Newsletter - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LizziesSexyNewsletter

What do you do to get your books out to readers?  Do you spend a lot of time on promotion and social media?

I love Facebook so you'll find me there most weekday mornings and some afternoons. I'm also on Twitter although I don't follow that one as much. I sometimes do blog hops and blog tours so you may find me on various reader blogs. I do my best to answer any messages I receive although I may take a day or two to get back to you. I do spend a lot of time on Facebook but I spend more time working on fiction so it evens out.

What are you working on now?  Any book(s) you are working on now you’d like to tell us about and when we can expect to see it published?

I'm self-publishing two erotic retellings of fairy tales. "Trouble In Thigh High Boots" is an erotic retelling of Puss In Boots. "Climbing Her Tower" is an erotic retelling of Rapunzel. I expect to release both books at the end of September (or early October at the latest). My works in progress include "Sharon Craig Has A Threesome", a ménage/bondage novel and "Hell Time", a dark fantasy novel. I'm also collaborating with a science fiction writer on a short fantasy story we hope to see published in a major magazine in the winter.

What do you do to relax?

I watch horror movies! It's hard finding a good horror movie let alone a scary one. I don’t like slice and dice slasher films because they bore me, but sadly most horror movies these days are dreck. I like the classics like "The Woman In Black" (original and remake), "The Haunting", "The Legend Of Hell House", "Quatermass and the Pit", Hammer films starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, Asian horror films like "One Missed Call", "Dark Water", and "The Ring" series, as well as "The Changeling", "The Devil's Backbone", "Repulsion", "Pan's Labyrinth", and "The Orphanage". I also go for walks in the neighborhood or on the beaches near my home to relax and run plot lines through my head. Another favorite activity is gardening, although I can't do as much of that in an apartment as I'd like to do. I have an herb garden next to my living room and bedroom windows. I'm growing basil, three varieties of mint, two varieties of thyme and sage, rosemary, chamomile, lemon verbena, bay, and an avocado tree. I cook with most of them.

How do you handle stress or writers block?

I don't have much stress in my life so that's not an issue. I don't often get writer's block. When I do, there's usually a good reason for it, like I'm not in the mood to write or I haven't thought out the storyline well enough yet to sit down and write. I distract myself by going for walks on the beach to clear my head or I listen to music whilst reading a book. Reading a good book helps rid myself of any writer's block I may have. Procrastination is a bigger problem for me than writer's block.

Oh yes, procrastination is a huge one for me as well.

Do you have a Youtube video trailer for your books? Do you make them or do you have someone else?

I've never made Youtube video trailers for my books. I've thought about having them made but I haven't given them much consideration.

Do you have a favorite character from one of your books?

Yes, Tita from "Trouble In Thigh High Boots". She's quite a saucy little wench who knows how to get what she needs to get ahead in her life. She's a take-charge type of woman who won't accept failure as an answer. Another favorite of mine is Catherine Stone from "Don't Call Me Baby". She's another woman who strives for what she wants out of her life. In her case, she seeks sexual freedom and exploration, and she doesn't abide double-standards. "Don't Call Me Baby" is available at major ebook retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and AllRomanceeBooks. I expect to release "Trouble In Thigh High Boots" by the end of September. I'm self-publishing that book.

Favorite food?

Any kind of seafood, especially mollusks. And lobster. Here in Massachusetts we call them "bugs". It's fitting. LOL I grew up in Maryland so I ate steamed blue crabs all the time. I could live on seafood for the rest of my life if push came to shove.

Living in Alaska we had lots of seafood, except one of my favorites you have: Lobster.  Now living in Idaho, there isn't much and it is expensive.

Favorite color?

Caution Orange? Gangreen? Black vomit (It's an ebola thing. Look it up. LOL). Metalflake red and metalflake yellow - those are the colors I want on the VW Baja Bug I'm going to buy someday. My favorite color to wear is black, since I used to work as a stagehand. I wore stage blacks everywhere and the habit just stuck.

Actually, I am partial to black myself; almost everything I own is black or dark purple and black makes you look slimmer, doesn't it?

Do you have a favorite life saying you live by?

It's in my email signature: Take care of luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves, by Dorothy Parker. She was a real wit.

Thank you.

You're welcome, Elizabeth and thank you so much for chatting with me today and I wish you much success in your writing career.