When did you start writing?
I was always making up stories when I was little and took a creative writing class in high school that really had me falling in love with fiction. But it wasn’t until much later that I started to take writing and my stories seriously as something to share and publish.
What makes you want to write?
Probably that my stories won’t stop bothering me until they are put down on paper. I feel restless until they are out of my head.
Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?
It’s not so much writer’s block, but more not being particularly inspired to always want to write. I usually have a lot of my plots figured out or can continually concept until something makes sense, but to then actually sit down and get the words flowing…well that’s a different story ;). Something that helps though, and gets me excited to begin, is sketching or looking up images that relate to my world. I’m a pretty visual person, so often times a picture or artistic style can be a really great catalyst to my creativity and written world.
Do you have a special way of going about writing?
I’m definitely not a pantser. I have to plot outline and then chapter outline before I begin any real writing. I might jot down a scene or a description of a place that pops into my head randomly, but that goes into my inspiration folder to look at later. I like to gather as much visual, musical, and informational reference as I can before writing my story. Of course, my characters like to change things up a lot while I’m writing, but I always tend to forgive them for it.
Do you have any works in progress?
I’m currently finishing up a novella companion piece to The Dreamland Series called The Dreamcatcher, which is comprised of scenes from The Dreamer told from Dev’s (my male protagonists) POV. I’m looking to have this out early 2016. And I’m also starting on the third and final book in my series.
What are your hobbies?
I love to doodle characters and take photos. I also love to read and travel when I can.
How did you choose the character names for The Divide?
I specifically chose names whose meanings are representative of what kind of persons they are. Wise, hot tempered, beautiful, power hungry, warrior, etc. I touch on the importance of this a bit in The Dreamer, the first book in my series, but if you ever wonder about a certain character introduced, look up the meaning of the name, and it will give you a little hint of his or her role.
Who is your favourite character in The Divide?
Oof, tough one…I think Rae really came to life for me in The Divide as a character. His humor and loyalty to his friends is very endearing so he was really fun to write.
How did you get the idea for The Divide?
I think the best way to answer this is to explain how I came up with the series as a whole. The idea for, The Dreamland Series, actually started as a dream. I’ve always had very vivid ones and I had one that lasted a whole week. Yup, a week! With the same characters and plot continuing on each night. It felt like I was going to sleep and clicking on a TV show and…there was a guy…and yes, he was very good looking. I woke up one morning, a couple days into the dreams, and actually felt sad that I wasn’t still there. It was super odd. For those of you who have read “The Dreamer,” you can probably see the connections here. Eventually the dreams stopped, but I kept thinking about them and how strange it was to have recurring ones for so many nights. I had never experienced anything like it before or, so far, ever again. I told a friend about it, and through that conversation is how my story for this series came about. I was actually in the middle of writing a different book, but I put that aside to write this one—that’s how much it affected me.
What was your favourite part of writing The Divide?
Definitely getting to explore more of Terra. Since it’s the second book in the series the readers, as well as I, can come into the story already knowing a bit about the world. This leaves a lot of room to go head first into new territories and characters.
What are you currently reading?
Queen of Shadow by Sarah J. Maas. Obsessed with all her work.
What is your favourite book?
Super hard question! Can anyone really answer this? I think I have a favorite book for every day of the week and type of weather.
Who is your favourite author?
Another tough one! Hmm…I’ll have to list a few. Jane Austen, Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Sarah J. Maas, Marie Lu, Emma Raveling, Amy A. Bartol, R.S. Grey, Marissa Meyer, J.K. Rowling and I’m definitely leaving at least a hundred others off this list!
What is your favourite film?
Favorite classical film would have to be GiGi and My Fair Lady (I have a thing for musicals), Pride & Prejudice with Keira Knightly, My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin and definitely the first Harry Potter.
What is your favourite TV show?
This also changes a lot but my current tops would probably be Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Seinfeld and Jessica Jones.
Quick-fire questions:
Chocolate or ice cream? Chocolate.
Paperback or ebook? Paperback.
Dogs or cats? Cats.
Go out or stay in? Stay in.
Summer or winter? Yes.
Thank you so much for having me for this Q&A and being a part of my tour to celebrate the release of The Divide! I could do these quick fire questions all day :).
x
E.J.
E.J. Mellow is the Award Winning author behind the NA Contemporary Fantasy trilogy The Dreamland Series. With a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, E.J. Mellow splits her time between her two loves – visual design and writing. Residing in NYC, E.J. is a member of Romance Writers of America and their Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter. She has no animals but loves those who do.
