FAQ


What is your email address?
elizabethdonald @ yahoo.com without spaces. No spam!

How can I find out if you’re going to be doing any book signings or appearances?
Join my YahooGroup! Seriously, there's no better way, since I use that list constantly to update my readers about my exploits. I attend several conventions a year, always announced well in advance. You can also keep checking this web site for updates.

If I mail the book to you, will you sign it and send it back?
Sure! Send it to P.O. Box 741, Edwardsville, IL 62025. Fair warning: Include enough postage to get it here and send it back. I'm just a poor working author.

How do I join your fan club?
Yahoo. Group. Seriously. It's a good place, and fairly low-traffic.

When's your next book coming out?
Check out "All the News That Fits" for regular updates on short stories, novels and other exploits.

I just have this driving need for silly T-shirts and mugs with your slogans on them. Where might I find them?
Funny you should ask! NOCTURNAL URGES memorabilia are available on this site at Shameless Commercialism. T-shirts, mugs and more are available at the CafeShop. All profits go to support my writing work: trips to conventions, promotional materials, computer equipment and so on.  Each year in May, the profits go to the American Cancer Society as part of my Relay for Life team's fundraising efforts.
WRITING FAQ

Why did you become a writer?
Honestly, I think I've always been a writer. I struggled against it for a long time, pretending it was just a silly hobby. I decided to get serious about it in 2000, when the voices in my head just got too loud. Seriously, I was old enough to realize that you don't need Dumbo's magic feather to fly. You just have to flap your wings really hard.

Why do you write what you write?
They say to write what you know. They're full of it. Write what you love. Write what you want to read. If you don't read short stories, don't kill yourself trying to write them, no matter how many people tell you it's the only way to get started. I write horror, science fiction and smut because it's what I like to read. The stories that grow up in my head naturally fall into those categories.

C'mon, romantica? Isn't that just an updated version of crappy bodice-rippers?
Absolutely not. In many ways, it's a hell of a lot harder than my ghosties and beasties. For one thing, romance readers require a level of description (and not just the juicy stuff) that you rarely find in other books. The key is to integrate the readers' expectations with the stories you want to tell, to satisfy the readers and your art at the same time. It's a delicate balance, and one that I'm having fun exploring. Besides, who could ever say that vampires aren't sexy?

Where do you get your ideas?
My Muse is a short-tempered, foul-mouthed kickboxer who lives in the basement of my mind and kicks the door open when she wants to write something. She chain-smokes although I've never smoked, has a nasty scar on her left forearm and wears her black hair drawn back in a braid to keep it out of her way. Her only company in my basement is Isabel, a frilly blonde chick who sighs a lot and speaks up for sappiness and happy endings. Neither of us like her. Where do they get my ideas? God. Allah. The little birdie outside the window. The snake in the garden of Eden. You find an answer to this one, let me know, okay?

What's your favorite work so far?
I wish I could say NOCTURNAL URGES, because it's the first published novel and it's been so popular with my readers. But my heart always belongs to SANCTUARY, an unpublished science-fiction book that was my first finished fiction piece. It's got plenty of warts, but my love for the characters and universe it created has no bounds. Then again, this question is always like asking which of your children you love the most. All my stories have some part of me in them.

I loved the Sanctuary stories in SETTING SUNS! When are the books coming out?
Your lips to editors' ears. The first two of seven Sanctuary books are written. Join the YahooGroup, and I guarantee you'll be the second or third to know when they're sold. Seriously, the reaction to the Sanctuary stories in SETTING SUNS has been so strong and so positive that I've accelerated my timetable on getting that series the attention it deserves. There are plenty of projects ahead of it, but nothing would make me happier than to see Crawford and her fellow lunatics blasting their way onto bookstore shelves.

Do you write a certain number of words every day?
I've tried that, and it never works. When I started writing, I wrote as the spirit moved me. If that was three sentences or 37 pages, it didn't matter. (The 37-page day is still my record.) But deadlines ensue, and pretty soon you have to write X amount to make it. That means the work suffers a bit, but it sure gets done, doesn't it?

Do you get writer's block?
Absolutely. My Muse goes on vacation from time to time, particularly when she's mad at me for ignoring her or forcing her to do work she doesn't want to do. It doesn't mean I stop writing; it's just a lot harder, and not as fun. Discipline is what carries you through it; discipline and the willingness to just keep swimming and cut the bad stuff later.

Where do you do your best writing?
Sacred Grounds coffee shop, downtown. Setting up my laptop there for an afternoon ensures pages and pages, fueled by caffeine, people-watching and a total lack of wireless internet access. Drat you, foul internet! It beats sitting on my bed with a wired laptop, unable to ignore piles of laundry or my son's fourth request for a cup of water.

What is the best part of being an author?
Oh, how I want to say, "My wonderful fans!" or "The satisfaction of seeing my work in print," or "Finally being vindicated for all those years I spent NOT being published." All of that is true. But really, the royalty checks are the best part. Not because I'm a craven commercial wench - although, hey, if the pursestrings fit - but because the royalties pay for me to go to conventions and meet my wonderful fans, and for the supplies and equipment that let me keep writing. No, it's not letting me quit my day job, but that's okay, too.

What is the worst part about being an author?
I had no idea I would spend so much of my time on "business." Web site design, sample booklets, bookmarks, finances, newsletters, and did I mention web site design? Stephen King has hordes of trained monkeys to do this stuff for him; my staff consists of me, myself and an eight-year-old - plus the wonderful folks on the YahooGroup whose design skills created marvelous icons and slogans for the merchandise and web site. At least one full writing day a week is spent on promotions, proposals and planning (oh my!) and I didn't expect that. But it's a nice problem to have! It's like saying, "Yeah, the toughest part about being rich is counting all that money." Cry me a river, baby.

Will you read my manuscript and tell me what you think?
No. I'm sorry, I can't. Any unpublished manuscripts will be returned unread for legal reasons. If you want to know what I think, hire me as your editor. My rates are quite reasonable. With a contract between us, we're both protected from lawsuits and you will get my complete, honest and unfettered opinion. Now, if you have a published book you'd like me to review, contact me via my day-job email and we'll talk. I review all kinds of stuff for the CultureGeek blog, and I'm happy to do it. Just be warned: there's a heckuva queue ahead of you.

I need an agent/publisher, can you tell me the name of a good one?
Nope! I know of several publishers with good recommendations. But again, you're thinking of Dumbo's magic feather. My voice won't get you in the door - your work will. I don't have an agent, and my experience with slush-pile submissions has taught me only that it's a hard, cold world out there, folks. I STRONGLY recommend Preditors & Editors as your very first stop when considering agents or publishers, as well as Ralan.com for ideas on where to submit.

I have this great idea! Why don't I tell you about it, and you write it, and we'll split the money!
Thanks anyway. My list of "stuff to write" is long enough. Why don't YOU write it, and good luck to you?

Can you give me some writing tips?
There's a wonderful moment toward the end of "Amadeus," the brilliant Oscar-winning movie about Mozart. The opera director goes to see Mozart about "The Magic Flute," an opera Mozart is writing for him, and asks to see some pages. Mozart tells him he has no pages for him.

The opera director is understandably upset. "I asked you if we could start rehearsals next week and you said yes," he fumes.

Mozart - who is drunk or high at this moment - grins and babbles, declaring that the opera is entirely written in his head, and the rest is "bibbling and scribbling, scribbling and bibbling."

The opera director gets in his face and snarls, "Write it down. It's no use to anybody in your head."

We hate the opera director, of course, because he's just using Mozart, and we've come to care a great deal for the insane genius in his downward slide. But here's the kicker: the opera director is right. If Mozart hadn't written it down, none of us would ever have heard "The Magic Flute."

You get my point. Write it down. It's no use to anybody in your head. Shut up and finish it. When you've finished a story, you're a writer. When someone pays you to publish it, you're an author. All the rest is madness.

Do you teach any courses or seminars?
Not at the moment, though I'm open to suggestions. However, I do guest lectures about writing and journalism (that day job) on a regular basis. Email me and we'll talk.
PERSONAL

Who do you like to read?
Stephen King will always be my favorite, with his skill at scaring the bejesus out of you while challenging your expectations and immersing you into truly three-dimensional characters and worlds. For sheer poetry of language, Harlan Ellison comes to mind - and I have been lucky enough to survive an actual encounter of the Harlan kind, though the photos were unfortunately lost to a camera thief at Dragoncon 2004 that will Burn In Hell. I enjoy M.R. Sellars, Laurell K. Hamilton, Peter David, Frank Fradella, Ira Levin, Gregory Maguire and many others.

What is your religion and political affiliation?
I'm a Christian, Episcopalian by flavor, with a fascination for nature-based religions. I'm a moderate in politics, but I stay out of public debate due to my day job as a reporter. Privately, gimme a quick shot of Jack and I'll wax philosophic on you.

Your family?
I'm divorced, single mother to an eight-year-old boy with a huge amount of energy. If I seem tired at book signings, he's why - but he's also the reason I smile. My extended family members are among my most ardent supporters, for whom I am always grateful.


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