Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
This topic is about
Adventures with Max and Louise
Ask An Author, Win A Book Corner
>
AC: Ellyn Oaksmith of Adventures with Max and Louise (May 15-16)
date
newest »
newest »
Welcome Ellyn, it's a pleasure having you with us!I hope you enjoy your time with our members; and good luck to you all!
Please stop by and ask her a question, you may win a copy!
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHOR AND PARTICIPANTS:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...
Members, if you can please write the questions in bold; it would be easier for Ellyn to know that you have asked a question and less chance that it will be missed. Thanks!
In order to bold-
Place < b > before the question you have for Ellyn and < /b > after the question. Make sure there are no spaces.
Welcome Ellyn!I love humor in my books and it looks like Adventures with Max and Louise has plenty of that :)
How did you come up with the idea of Molly's breast implants 'talking' and literally having a life of their own? I can't wait to read their inner dialogue!
Hey,I like the twist you have put on this tale of body image, it's a great way to refresh the theme!
Is there anywhere in particular you go to write or is it more spontaneous writing as you get ideas?
Hi Ellen! It sounds like a really fun book and I love books that make me laugh.What do you think makes a good story?
Hi Ellyn! Your book sound interesting! I'd love to read it soon! I'm curious about your writing habits (as I am with all authors, lol). Do you have a special drink that inspires you to write? Especially when you have writer's block?
Welcome, Ellyn! Thanks for taking the time to join us. It's always nice to hear about authors from my neck of the woods! It seems like the Pacific Northwest has a very healthy writing community (from the outside looking in, anyway). How much interaction do you have with other authors in the area? Also, are there any authors (in this area or elsewhere) that you feel have particularly influenced your writing and/or have acted as a mentor for you?
Fran wrote: "Welcome Ellyn!I love humor in my books and it looks like Adventures with Max and Louise has plenty of that :)
How did you come up with the idea of Molly's breast implants 'talking' and literally..."
When I came up with the idea for the talking implants, I thought that having such a provocative look would almost be like having "someone else" doing the talking for you. From there the idea of having a man and a woman came naturally. I feel like we all have feminine and more masculine sides of our personality. And characters that argue and see life differently always make it more fun. I almost envisioned it as a buddy "movie."
Catherine wrote: "Hey,I like the twist you have put on this tale of body image, it's a great way to refresh the theme!
Is there anywhere in particular you go to write or is it more spontaneous writing as you get ..."
Gosh, since I am in the middle of a slump, I have to say that I have to really flesh out an idea thoroughly before I can commit. It's like falling in love. I have to be in love with an idea enough to live with it, struggle through the bad times and make it work. I was starting to write a book recently and just didn't feel like it had enough "ooomph" to keep it going. Now I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. I don't start writing until I feel very excited. And I "pitch" it a lot to other people to see how they respond.
Kari wrote: "Hi Ellen! It sounds like a really fun book and I love books that make me laugh.What do you think makes a good story?"
A good story is one that grabs you head on and keeps you turning the pages. It has to have engaging characters. I have a hard time with books whose characters aren't people you'd enjoy having around. I also think fiction really needs to be about extreme situations that get people to change. What screenwriters call a character arc, doesn't usually happen in 6 weeks or whatever your story timeline is but if you put that character in a pressure cooker, then you get change.
Tiff wrote: "Hi Ellyn! Your book sound interesting! I'd love to read it soon! I'm curious about your writing habits (as I am with all authors, lol). Do you have a special drink that inspires you to write? Esp..."
Are you looking over my shoulder? I am, as mentioned above, in a slump right now. And the drink is called -- time. Walks in the woods, living my life and not trying to focus on the act of typing out words. I have to wait until a story is right or I'll be abandoning it and feeling like I've wasted time. And actually I don't drink and right. I have always, from graduate school on, treated it like a job. I work out, shower, sit down and write until my kids come home. And I'm happy to see them because I cannot write for more than 4 hours. Or write well anyway.
~KarenH~ wrote: "Welcome, Ellyn! Thanks for taking the time to join us. It's always nice to hear about authors from my neck of the woods! It seems like the Pacific Northwest has a very healthy writing community ..."I think writers thrive here because the weather is so awful most of the time. There are lots of writers who have inspired me. Garth Stein, who wrote The Art of Racing in the Rain (great book) for one. I know I'll think of others later. I haven't had many mentors personally. The man who wrote the movie Fifty First Dates was in my writing group a long time ago and his success with that movie made me realize that I needed to write a book. I couldn't spend the time selling myself as a screenwriter to Hollywood and raise young children so I turned to fiction, which has changed my life. So he unwittingly inspired me. And he's a great guy who always helps other writers. I would love to mentor a younger author some day. I think all I'd say is "Keep going."
Your book sounds absolutely fantastic! Here is my question.Is there any particular scene or or situation that you hate writing, but you feel you should put in your books?
Ariel wrote: "Your book sounds absolutely fantastic! Here is my question.Is there any particular scene or or situation that you hate writing, but you feel you should put in your books?"
Fun, different question. I edit out so many scenes by the time I am done writing a book that I can't say one scene or another is hard to write. The most taxing is emotional scenes. The book I just finished writing Divine Moves has some abuse scenes which the character is recounting from long ago and she's telling her mother about it. So that was draining. I definitely needed a glass of wine on those nights. The hardest to deal with but always belong in my books is the back story. Even the funniest of stories has a painful back story that has somehow shaped a characters who needs changing. And those back stories can be exhausting to write because by the time you write them, these characters are very real. So in the scene in my book I'm talking about, it's hard for the daughter to relive, as she's telling and it's hard for the mother to hear because she didn't protect her daughter. Those are the worst things to write. Sex scenes do make me a little uncomfortable. I know people like romances to go further a lot but that's just not me. I feel it's gratuitous to what I write.
I've never read any of her books but this sounds like it would be a fun read!
Winning a copy of this book sounds amazing i would love to read it anywho heres a question for you!!When you write a story where do you find your inspiration is it in a certain object?person?
I love the cover of the book. It has a carefree feeling. A little daring, with her bra flying in the wind, liberating.Do you have a say in your covers? Did you choose this one and if you didn't, do you love it?
Hi !l really liked the idea of the book its unusual and also new I Love To read it How Did you come up With the idea? And How Long it take you To Finish the Book ?and I love To Know If Any of the Character surprised You?
hi Ellyn, thanks for joining usdo you listen to music while you write, or do you need it to be quiet?
Liza wrote: "I've never read any of her books but this sounds like it would be a fun read!"Thanks. If this book lives up to any expectations, it is the fun factor.
Chanin wrote: "Winning a copy of this book sounds amazing i would love to read it anywho heres a question for you!!When you write a story where do you find your inspiration is it in a certain object?person?"
Good question. The story comes to me usually pretty whole, although they do change from start to finish as I write. Usually the inspiration is a person and their life, going from pretty bleak to more evolved. I'm a sucker for happy endings and that will never change. I write people who are usually from a background similar to mine -- grounded family, sometimes Catholic and oddly enough faith plays a larger role in my next book. Actually, in my next book, I realized after I wrote it that it had been inspired by a friend who died. But I didn't realize it until one night when I was sipping wine with friends and started to reflect.
Fran wrote: "I love the cover of the book. It has a carefree feeling. A little daring, with her bra flying in the wind, liberating.Do you have a say in your covers? Did you choose this one and if you didn't, ..."
I did not choose this one. Authors, to my knowledge never get final say. The cover of the self published books, Knockers was done by my friend. And I actually had a hard time with the new title, until I saw the new cover. I just loved it. When my editor sent it to me everything clicked and I loved the whole look, name everything. I also found after self publishing that there were some control issues going on too. But that was early on.
Dee wrote: "hi Ellyn, thanks for joining usdo you listen to music while you write, or do you need it to be quiet?"
Funny you should ask because Stephanie Meyers says she listens to music and Twilight was really written to a bunch of bands that I actually like. Quiet is my thing. I can't read with noise either. But with writing it's step further. No one in the house. My husband took a year off and it was challenging because I felt him here, even though we both have our own offices. I got used to it but now I have the house to myself and prefer it that way. There is something very freeing, almost like it's the middle of the night and I'm in this island of my own.
Hi, EllynAre you a morning writer or an evening writer? I am putting this book on my TBR list. It sounds wonderful! I would love to win a copy, of course!
First I have to say that I love the way your name is spelled. Anyway, I read a little of your bio and saw that you attended AFI in Los Angeles.
I was wondering if you plan to continue writing screenplays as well as novels? Do you love doing one more than the other? If yes, why? Also what was it like to actually get to spend time interviewing Oprah?
Marilyn wrote: "Hi, EllynAre you a morning writer or an evening writer? I am putting this book on my TBR list. It sounds wonderful! I would love to win a copy, of course!"
Morning. Hands down. As a matter of fact, my brain is mushy in the night. I do, however, edit in the later afternoon, if I have the chance.
Shan wrote: "First I have to say that I love the way your name is spelled. Anyway, I read a little of your bio and saw that you attended AFI in Los Angeles.
I was wondering if you plan to continue writing ..."
I haven't written a screenplay in a long time but would love to return to it. It's what I am trained in and how I first learned to write long format stories with. (yes, clunky sentence. See above about not being able to write at night) I don't prefer one over the other. Novels are harder to edit if you really have a structural problem but screenplays have to be so well plotted out that they leave very little room for padding. You have more time and wiggle room with a novel. Interviewing Oprah was great. She was everything you'd imagine except perhaps that her humor was little more biting but not in a mean way, just sharper. She's as down to earth and lovely as you would imagine. Let's see, inside scoop: she told Stedman when he came home from golfing and she'd made dinner that he'd missed "You know where the cereal is, the kitchen in closed." She said she might not feel like she could say that if they were married. My name is spelled Ellyn because my family is from King's Lynn, England. My mom is Gwendolyn.
Ellyn wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "Hi, EllynAre you a morning writer or an evening writer? I am putting this book on my TBR list. It sounds wonderful! I would love to win a copy, of course!"
Morning. Hands down...."
Me, too! If I can't write when I get up, I don't write. After 3 p.m. I become senile. lol
Ellyn wrote: "Shan wrote: "First I have to say that I love the way your name is spelled. Anyway, I read a little of your bio and saw that you attended AFI in Los Angeles.
I was wondering if you plan to cont..."
Ellyn, I can't imagine actually having a conversation with Oprah. I would absolutely love to meet her. What advice would you give a writer who has 1 more bucket list item to accomplish - having her book made into a movie?
Hi Ellyn: Thanks for sharing with us. I love the idea of your book and can't wait to read it. As an aspiring writer, I am always interested in the writing habit. What is your daily writing routine? When you get an idea for a book, how do you pursue it to the published conclusion? Did you use an outline for this book? What kind of research did you do for this book?
I have yet to read any of your work I was just wondering when you have gathered all the ideas for your book how do you start writing and from where do u get the organisation of what should comes first and how much you reveal at certain points to keep the book at an interesting pace for the readers thx
Couldn't participate in the conversation earlier due to some commitments, but I'm so glad I managed to stop by and say - welcome Ellyn and thank you so much for joining us and for the giveaway.I just added your book and it really looks great. My question would be Would you ever consider trying yourself out in some other genre, or you would stick to women's fiction?
I personally love chick lit and am looking forward to reading "Adventures with Max and Louise". Have a fab day!
Kate wrote: "Hi !l really liked the idea of the book its unusual and also new I Love To read it How Did you come up With the idea? And How Long it take you To Finish the Book ?and I love To Know If Any of the ..."
Kate: Sorry I missed you last time. I came up with the book idea after being fuller figured when I was nursing. I wondered if I could get implants and thought "no, that would be like someone else doing the talking for me." And the plot popped into my head. Doesn't usually happen like that although it usually comes very quickly. Fleshing it our is harder. It took me 2 years to write but I was raising small kids. I put it away, told people about it occasionally and 3 years later decided to publish it myself on Amazon.com after I met Oprah and was asked if I was "living my best life." The character that surprised me in this book was Liz because she was so obnoxious. Usually I find those characters just have minds of their own. And they arrive with their own attitude.
Marilyn wrote: "Ellyn wrote: "Shan wrote: "First I have to say that I love the way your name is spelled. Anyway, I read a little of your bio and saw that you attended AFI in Los Angeles.
I was wondering if yo..."
If you want to have your book made into a movie, find an agent in LA who can shop it around. If you wait for someone to find your book, you could be in for a long wait. Find a site that has agents willing to accept scripts and then start sending out your pitch. One line that tells your story. And sells it hard. Your pitch is your calling card and it's the currency that LA runs on.
Rochelle wrote: "Hi Ellyn: Thanks for sharing with us. I love the idea of your book and can't wait to read it. As an aspiring writer, I am always interested in the writing habit. What is your daily writing routin..."
My writing routine is 10-2 because I have kids at home that need driving around in the other hours. I work out at 8:30, shower and I'm at my desk no matter what is going on. I outline everything. Everything. I outline a lot of stuff that never gets written because it helps me figure out if it's a book or not. After I have written, re-written, rewritten some more, I have my top readers read it. Then I give it to my agent. If you don't have an agent, consider self publishing. It's how my agent found me. Read an interview with the writer of Wool, who is a self publishing genius (and millionaire) in the Wall Street Journal. It's all you need to know. Plus a good book.
Ananda wrote: "Couldn't participate in the conversation earlier due to some commitments, but I'm so glad I managed to stop by and say - welcome Ellyn and thank you so much for joining us and for the giveaway.I ..."
Hey thanks. I will have a fab day after I manage to squeeze in a shower. (TMI?) No, I wouldn't consider writing something besides Woman's Fiction and here is why: I am building an audience and they will follow because they know me. I know as a reader that when I read someone I really like, I don't want to see a swerve in their next book. People are generally good at writing one thing and if they have that one thing, they are lucky. I know what I am good at and I'm not stupid enough to mess with what will continue to hopefully be a good thing. As a matter of fact, I talked yesterday about being a slump. I think it ended today with me coming up with a premise that is in my genre. It's funny, has a wicked main character, who changes and is in my sweet spot. I know I can hit it home, which, with other genres, isn't a given. I have spent most of my career trying to figure out my genre so I'll stay here a while. It's fun. And every book is challenging and different.
Rochelle wrote: "Hi Ellyn: Thanks for sharing with us. I love the idea of your book and can't wait to read it. As an aspiring writer, I am always interested in the writing habit. What is your daily writing routin..."
Oh I forgot the research question. I just did some research on breast implants, surgery and some research on the WWII story (which my editor said was wrong and was later fixed) for the old pilot in the end of the book. Usually I pick my own brain. The house where the photo shoot for the cookbook is based on a house I went to for my cousin's engagement party. Most of the book is based on my high school years. I am super lazy when it comes to research.
Ellyn wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "Ellyn wrote: "Shan wrote: "First I have to say that I love the way your name is spelled. Anyway, I read a little of your bio and saw that you attended AFI in Los Angeles.
I was..."
Thanks, Ellyn, for giving a concrete response about book to movie. One line - will have to work on it.
Question one First when you decided to write the book was it for someone or did you just go open with the book 2 And then did you go to the a town or state and say wow this is going to be the book.
3 who was the critic on the book when you wrote it did he or she like the story right way
4. Are you going to do any book signing or gooing to the show for new authors
Desiree wrote: "Question one First when you decided to write the book was it for someone or did you just go open with the book 2 And then did you go to the a town or state and say wow this is going ..."
The book was for me, as are all my books, even if they are to fulfill a contract. I write for an audience but I am also mainly writing for myself. Did I go to a town or state? I am from Seattle so it was all pretty easy to write. The critic? I guess I'm not sure what this means but as far as reviewers go, they have been very kind, for the most part. A few have confused it with erotica, which is clearly isn't. They were disappointed that it wasn't "hotter." It's really gotten a lot of positive attention, which is awesome and so inspiring. Readers are so great to talk to. I haven't done any book signings yet. I have gone to some book clubs, which are fun and I will be at the RWA Conference in Atlanta in July. So I will be signing books there.
Thanks everyone for the questions. Such fun. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me at Ellynoaksmith@gmail.com. This is such a fun, supportive group and I hope to be able to complete more challenges this summer. Keep reading and wear your sunscreen!
Thank you so much for joining us Ellyn!Stay tuned for the winners of Ellyn's giveaway....
And the winners are -- Tiff, Kate and Rochelle! Thanks everyone for your interest and I hope to see you in the future on Goodreads. If the three winners could send me their e-mail addresses at EllynOaksmith@gmail.com, I will get a copy of the e-book sent. It should happen early next week. Happy reading!
Okay Tiff, Kate and Rochelle, was hoping to send out the e- books this weekend so ladies -- please get those e-mail addresses to me!Best wishes
Ellyn
ellynoaksmith@gmail.com
I sent Tiff, Kate and Rochelle messages in case they haven't checked the thread. Ladies, please get back to Ellyn today. As per the rules of Ask An Author, you only have 24 hours left to claim your giveaway.
Thanks again Ellyn!
Fran wrote: "I sent Tiff, Kate and Rochelle messages in case they haven't checked the thread. Ladies, please get back to Ellyn today. As per the rules of Ask An Author, you only have 24 hours left to claim yo..."
Thanks Fran!
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Adventures with Max and Louise (other topics)Adventures with Max and Louise (other topics)
Meet Ellyn:
Ellyn Oaksmith went to the American Film Institute and worked as a screenwriter another lifetime ago. She now lives in Kirkland, Washington with her family. Her favorite activities are hiding with a book, baking and hiking in the woods with her dog.
Website: http://www.EllynOaksmith.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EllynOaksmith
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EllynOaksmith
Blog: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Book:
Adventures with Max and Louise-
Molly Gallagher does not like to be the center of attention. As the mysterious Diner X, her pseudonym for a restaurant review column, she thrives on blending in. But before you can say "medical malpractice," she wakes up from a routine procedure to find that her chart got switched with someone else's, and now her A cup runneth over.
Suddenly, unassuming Molly is turning heads wherever she goes. The man she's been pining for since high school is sitting up and taking notice, a very handsome stranger has captured her attention, and her lifelong dream of publishing a cookbook is about to come true. But Molly feels like an imposter. Will some advice from a very strange place help her figure out how to navigate her new, full-figured world?
Molly realizes her revamped shape might change her life. She just doesn't anticipate quite how much . . .
Giveaway: Ellyn will be giving away 3 ebook copies of Adventures with Max and Louise. This giveaway is open to everyone.