Do you enjoy meeting new authors?
Join me today as we sit down and have a chat with Ellen E. Withers!
Christina: Please tell me a little about yourself.
Ellen: Nearly twenty years prior to my retirement from my full-time job as an insurance fraud investigator, I started attending local writing conferences and entering short stories in contests. I also started a freelance magazine article career. This gave me a great foundation to write complete novels once I was fully retired.
If I’m not writing, I’m singing with an acapella women’s chorus called Top of the Rock chorus or spending time with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons who live nearby. I travel to see my California grandsons and their parents as often as possible, plus I enjoying cruising with friends.
You can imagine my days are full of either words, music, or grandson antics.
Christina: An acapella singing group! How fun! I can carry a tune in the shower—where no one can hear me!
Let’s talk books! What is your book called?
Ellen: Show Me Deceit
Christina: That’s a great cover! When was it released?
Ellen: May 14, 2024
Christina: It just came out! Is this a series?
Ellen: Yes. It’s the second book in the Show Me Mystery series published by Scrivenings Press.
The first book was well received. I think everyone who was ever associated with my home town ran out to buy a book. I’m so grateful for their support. Also, my writer friends and singer friends were very supportive. Because of all of them, I’m blessed to have a contract for book three and book four of the series.
Christina: That’s so awesome!
Can you share your book’s blurb with my readers?
Ellen:
Take a walk through in time with Show Me Deceit, book two of the Show Me Mystery Series. Mexico, Missouri is the setting of the mysteries where death encompasses two eras, Civil War and contemporary. Liesl, Nicole, and Detective Kurt Hunter have previously put a killer behind bars. Now they must combine their skills and work together again to stop the plunder of local charities and solve the mystery of a Union soldier’s death. Can Liesl and Kurt work together again as friends, putting aside their former romance to solve these mysteries?
Christina: That sounds great! I love a good mystery!
What was your inspiration for this story?
Ellen: The setting of the series is Mexico, Missouri, my hometown, known for its picturesque buildings and a fascinating historical background. I wanted to tell the history of the town and feature the beautiful homes and buildings where this history occurred. My books are dual-time stories, with a storyline in contemporary times that interweaves with a historical storyline.
The setting of Show Me Deceit is an antebellum home which currently houses the county’s historical society. During the Civil War, it was the home of a Union supporter.
Because I love history, I read Killer Angels many years ago, which is a Civil War novel. I was so enamored at how history came alive in the book. It featured great writing and caused readers to feel sympathy for both sides of the conflict. I can’t compare myself to Michael Shaara’s talent, but my goal is to bring history alive for my readers and to connect that history to our lives today.
Christina: I drove past Mexico, Missouri but I didn’t know there was such history. Next time I’ll need to make a stop there!
Tell me, what’s your favorite part of your writing process?
Ellen: Learning. I’m always learning a way to improve my craft and there’s so much more I need to learn. You could say I’m a perpetual student. Learning helps me find new ways to tell my stories, and it thrills me. I’ve never been a perfectionist about my work, but I am dedicated to learning from other writers and hearing what they can teach me about our craft.
The joy of teaching others is something I also like to do. I feel I’m paying it forward to new writers.
Christina: If you could give one piece of advice to budding creatives what would it be?
Ellen: I’m going to have to go with two things: 1) Believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who believe in you and your talent; 2) Always keep learning.
Christina: Those are good words of advice.
Can you name something quirky in your workspace and give a little backstory about said item?
Ellen: I have an older laptop, used solely as a word processor, for my writing. Multiple authors talk about being distracted by email and researching the internet when they should produce text. Because of this, I put my laptop on airplane mode and keep it like that.
If I need to research something quickly, I use my phone. If a subject is going to need further research, I jot down a note about it and do it later on my desktop computer.
When I finish my writing for the day on my laptop, I copy all the day’s work onto a thumb drive. Then I make a copy on my desktop computer. This way, I have a copy of my work in three places, and I do my initial writing without distraction.
All of my official editing happens on my desktop computer where I have loaded editing software. I know this is a strange set up, and this process won’t work for anyone but me, but it works for me.
Christina: Wow, that’s an interesting idea. I get distracted so easily while I write.
Do you have a favorite snack to get your creative juices flowing?
Ellen: I’m not much about snacking, but I do like having the dishwasher or washer running for white noise.
Christina: I need some noise when I write too. I like to have classical music or something going on in the background so I don’t focus on the quiet.
Writers are readers, so what book are you reading right now?
Ellen: The House Keepers by Alex Hay. It’s about a housekeeper being dismissed from her position at a wealthy Mayfair London family home and seeking revenge by planning a spectacular heist.
Christina: That sounds interesting!
Let’s talk travel. You just won free tickets to anywhere in the world! Where are you going? And who are you taking?
Ellen: I love to travel. I recently returned from New Zealand and Australia with a friend I’ve had for over 40 years. We were army wives together. I also cruise about 4 times a year, mostly with the women I sing with at Top of the Rock chorus. Bucket list items include seeing the Holy Land and going back to Europe. I’d also love to experience animals in their natural habitat in Africa and the Galapagos Islands.
Christina: All those places sound amazing! What will you be working on next?
Book three of the Show Me Mystery series, Show Me Skullduggery, is my next project. The historic portion will incorporate the rich history of training American Saddlebred horses in Mexico, Missouri from the late 1880s through the 1990s. The contemporary mystery will include the murder of a much-despised woman and some criminal deceptions against ordinary citizens by a modern-day nomadic group.
Christina: I love that title! What else are you looking forward to over the next few months?
Ellen: I’m presenting at two writers’ conferences, Ozark Creative Writers in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in October and ScrivCon 2024, in November in Hot Springs, Arkansas, sponsored by Scrivenings Press.
Christina: I’ll see you at ScrivCon! I’m looking forward to it!
So, because every writer gets this question, I need to ask, are you a Plotter or Pantser?
Ellen: I’m a little bit of both. Before I start any writing any of my dual time books, I put together a rough outline of a plot for the contemporary story and one for the historical story. Then, as more of a pantser, I weave the storylines together as I write the chapters. The pantser in me adds small things that will bring the stories together.
Christina: Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself today! Happy Book Birthday! I look forward to reading your new book Show Me Deceit!
To connect with Ellen and learn more about her books, please check out these sites!
Website: https://ellenewithers.com/
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071728886831
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BWZ1G7JS
Instagram profile: https://instagram.com/lnwithers?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33215146.Ellen_E_Withers
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-e-withers?list=about
This month my newsletter subscribers will have a chance to win an eBook copy of Ellen’s first book Show Me Betrayal. To see how you can enter, sign up for my newsletter before the end of May!