- What are 5 fun facts about yourself ?
I have been writing fanfic for 20 years. I can sew, crochet, and knit, and I have all of the supplies, but I do none of those things regularly. I jokingly started bullet journaling in 2021, and now I’m still doing it happily. I’m 100% a cat person, but I have a dog.
2. What does your writing process look like?
Generally speaking, I have a lot of ideas. I have a giant agenda book that I take notes in when I have a new plot idea, and there they generally sit. If, a week later, the plot idea is still tumbling around, I throw it into a google doc and basically spit out as much of the idea as I can. And there it sits for another week. If after two weeks I’m still really filled with the idea, I take it out and put it into book form. I break it down chapter by chapter. I fill out character sheets and then ask myself, do I want to write this? No matter the answer, it will have to wait, but I have about 25 ideas right now that are constantly ruminating in my head.
As for the actual writing, I binge write an entire book in about 30 days, from start to finish. I then spend another 30 days editing, with what I absurdly call my fifteen step process. After all of that, it’s ready for other eyes.
3. What inspired you to write your debut novel, One Night in Garoureve?
Originally, I was planning to write 5 erotic shorts. I wanted to write the very basic of a plus size girl getting railed by a werewolf in a chance meeting. Once I started writing it, however, the idea became a novella, which I was fine with, but when I sent it to friends to read, they asked where the rest of it was.
So, I sat on it and I sat on it, and I let the idea process – what more was there to the story. What more could be said?
From there, I had a whole novel. I realized that my original novella idea was the first act. I knew there were a number of headcanons I had, and I put them onto paper. Next then I knew, it was 80k words and my erotic short was now a paranormal erotic romance.
4. How fun was it to write?
It was a blast, and yet also painful. In expanding the short, I included more and more of myself. I had already had in my head that Ariana would have my chronic illnesses, because those are my experiences, but putting it onto paper meant expanding on what it means to have endometriosis and what it means to struggle with the day to day life of how the world perceives you.
And then we got to the fun part. I never realized how many people would be bothered by the idea of a fat girl having kinky explicit sex. I absolutely loved writing it. I had some good laughs thinking about her worrying about her boobs smothering her while on her back, or writing that she would rather die than run in the woods. Every second of it was like a self discovery.
5. Do you have a character you identify the most with?
Obviously Ariana. I’ve been working on Book 2 and Book 3, and so I will say this. Ariana is the person that I was in the past, the person that I was for a long time and slowly grew out of, much as she does. The heroine in Needed in Garoureve is the person I want to be. The heroine for Trapped in Garoureve is the bad bitch that I occasionally become when necessary.
6. Did Covid impact your writing process?
Covid itself did not. I’m a mom with two kids, one of whom is a baby. I was already going to be trapped at home. What did impact my process was the fact that my husband was deployed for most of the year, so that meant I could stay up late every evening writing.
7. I love your debut book, what are you plans for the rest of the series? Will we get to explore the lore around Garoureve more?
A few weeks ago, I would have said that I had plans for five total novels in the series, plus a newsletter exclusive novella. Since then, however, that novella has become the sixth novel, while I’ve been adding on bonus epilogues for newsletter exclusives. I’ve also had a lot of interest in discrete covers, which I am planning to put out in hardcover form this summer.
8. What us the most enjoyable aspect of being an author?
Screaming about my thoughts about my characters into the void. I love having someone tell me that they can just imagine certain things about the characters, and screaming at them how accurate their headcanon is. I feel like I’m a kid playing with my toys putting on a show, and my friends came over and they love the show as much as I do.
9. What are you currently reading?
Oh gosh, my TBR stack is giant, and what I am reading is changing day to day. I’ve been reading a lot of Omegaverse lately, namely Lyx Robinson and Flora Quincy. I also have been doing a reread of Zoey Draven’s Horde Kings in prep for the 5th book coming out. There’s more, I’m sure of it, but my kindle is always full of erotic romance.
10. Who are your favorite authors at the moment?
I have a list I’ve been touting around, but it’s not even complete. Right now, I would say Lizzy Bequin, Zoey Draven, LV Lane, Flora Quincy, Lyx Robinson, Tiffany Roberts, Lillian Lark… I know I’m forgetting people, but there are so many amazing authors!
11. Where can we find your book swag?
Right now, all of my book swag is being sold with my signed paperbacks, available only via pre-order! You can find the link in my linktree bio. I have plans to open a shop in the future, however!
Elle M Drew
Elle M Drew is an avid writer and reader of spicy fantasy and paranormal romance. Her career began with fanfiction and took off from there. Elle infuses a touch of magic into all of her work.
When she isn’t busy writing, Elle lives with her husband, two children, and one overgrown nanny dog in Southern California. She always has iced coffee and a stack of bullet journals on hand for impromptu writing and plotting sessions, and she always has instrumental music playing.
After twenty steamy and extraordinary years of writing fanfiction, she’s finally publishing her own books where a magical blend of fantasy and the paranormal mix with dark romance… with an adult, sexy spin, of course.
Visit her at https://www.ellemdrew.com
Blessings Bookshelf 