ELISE DEE BERARU
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In her own words Elise Dee Berau can't recall a time since she learned to read that she hasn't been a writer. Her genre by choice is romance, because she believes love stories featuring smart, strong women who find true love with the men of their dreams without sacrificing their core selves are the ultimate empowerment.
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Below
is an interview I had with Elise Dee Beraru via E-mail quite some time ago.
In the following interview you will be able to read about Elise Dee Beraru
and get to know a little about the author.
At
the bottom of the page is a book cover of one of her books and a list of Kathleen's
books published and soon to be published. Click the title to find a review
of that book.
Unfortunately due to the expansion of our site amongst other reasons this
interview as well as other ones have been delayed for much longer than expected.
THE
INTERVIEW
What
genres do you write?
I write historical romance, mainly post-Civil War U.S.,
though I have a finished manuscript that is a medieval fantasy and another
that is a science fiction set in the recent past and present on two different
planets.
What
genres would you like to write?
I would like to stay with historical romance, but move
into the Twentieth Century. I have ideas for books set at the turn of the
century, immediately after WWI, the 1920's and WWII that I would love to explore
further. I would also like to further explore the mythic world I created for
my medieval fantasy.
Where
do you get your ideas?
I do a lot of "what if's?" I'll often look
at an existing book, film or play, sometimes one that isn't a romance, and
think, "what if you took the same skeleton and put THESE characters into
it. Or "what if the usual secondary characters were the hero and heroine
of the novel? Or I'll see a historical fact in a book or documentary and get
a premise based on that one small fact.
Do you pattern your characters after any real people?
Real people have inspired the looks, occupations and
personalities of my characters, but I haven't really based my characters on
real people.
What
authors do you admire?
I admire J.K. Rowling. She had the fortitude to keep
planning and writing the Harry Potter books when she had no money, no place
to write, children to take care of and no agent or publisher who wanted the
kind of book she wanted to write. If anyone deserved to be a success as a
writer, it was Ms. Rowling. And when success came, it didn't stop her from
continuing to write her books her way. If I'd never read a Harry Potter book
(and I've read them all and can't wait for Number 5), I'd still admire her.
What
authors do you read?
I read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Alexandre Dumas'
The Count of Monte Cristo every few years. Among my contemporaries, I read
most of the famous historical romance authors. Naming a few would slight many.
Among the many I read, let me give you some less ubiquitous names: Rosanne
Bittner, Rebecca Paisley, Shana Abe, Stella Cameron, Marion Marshall, Marilyn
Grall, Leigh Greenwood, J.C. Wilder, Nikita Black, Thea Divine. I love the
writing teams Terry Campbell and J.M. Jeffries. Outside of romance, I enjoy
the horror parodies of Jeff Strand. A lot of my favorite authors have moved
away from historical romance into romantic suspense, which makes me sad.
What
genres do you read?
Historical Romance, including traditional Regencies
(I read all historical periods). Paranormal Romance, I love time travel, shapeshifters,
magic, vampires, ghosts, meddling spirits. Fantasy and parallel worlds romance.
Futuristics when I can find them. Humorous screwball comedy. I do read some
romantic suspense, but don't care for woman as victim or baby as prop.
What other genres do you see yourself writing?
Besides historical romance I would like to be able to
write fantasy/time travel/paranormal. I would like to be able to write funny
books, but I don't seem to be able to sustain a continuous humorous tone from
beginning to end.
What
do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
Still practicing law full time and writing on the side,
but being with a publisher or publishers who believes in building and sustaining
the careers of its authors so that there is money to be made for all.
Do
you see yourself ever not writing?
I'll probably be working out love scenes on my death
bed. I've been writing since I was six years old. How could I ever stop?
What books do you have planned in the near future?
1. Set in the transition from silent to talking pictures, a leading film comedienne comes into conflict with the hot shot New York stage director brought in to "teach" film folk how to handle dialogue.
2. Based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, set in New York during WWII, a percussionist disguises herself as her missing brother and takes a job with a Big Band as a drummer, while trying to avoid falling in love with the band's egotistical leader.
3. The sequel to Remember My Love, about an operatic tenor who falls in love with a woman who grew up thinking she was Jewish.
4. Another
story set against an operatic background. A Welsh miner haunted by
four years in the WWI trenches recruited by an impressario because of his
stunningly beautiful voice meets a widowed mezzo-soprano blacklisted for
singing in Austria-Hungary during the war and reduced to teaching singers
their roles, while haunted by the memory (and presence) of her husband,
killed in a theatre fire.
5. A half-Native American woman in the 1890's, looking for love in all the wrong places while nearly missing the loyal but shy young man who has loved her forever.
6. A sequel to my medieval fantasy, about a former monk and a beautiful widowed physician.
7. The ghost of a Confederate soldier acts as protector and inadvertent matchmaker between his clockmaker wife and an escaped Union prisoner she is hiding.
How did you get started writing? You mean writing romance or simply writing? I've always written, usually poetry, song lyrics, short stories and truly awful short plays. I started writing romance when I got the idea "I could write one of these," about nine or ten years ago. I hit upon a twist to the amnesiac hero premise and the ideas just came out.
What age were you when you started to write?
My first poem was published when I was six. I was in
my late thirties when I started writing romance.
When is your next book due?
I have a manuscript sitting on an editor's desk at a
major print publisher right now. Otherwise I have nothing pending publication.
My most recent book, The Hero's Best Friend, came out in February 2001.
Was there any author or authors that helped you get your in start writing,
or helped you break into the field?
I suppose Yvonne McManus, who wrote "You Can Write
a Romance and Get It Published," got me thinking I could write a publishable
long work. Jeane Renick, when she was with Los Angeles Romance Authors, put
on a lot of very helpful workshops. (I wish Jeane hadn't stopped writing.)
I'm not someone who asks for help much, though recently I've had a lot of
help from Linda Campbell, who is one half of the writing team of Terry Campbell
on plotting and book organization and opening hook impact.
What
do you feel makes your books unique or stand out from others in your
genre?
I have a very distinct voice. I write characters who
are not your usual cover model types. My women are smart, and I try to make
sure they don't make stupid choices. My heroes are basically decent guys who've
been beaten about by their life experiences, but I don't think you'd call
them dangerous. I also write very hot love scenes that move the plots along.
What made you choose the genres you write?
I write in the genres I enjoy reading.
Do you
have a special subgenre?
I write mostly post-Civil War America and would write
up through the end of WWII if the historical market expands into the first
half of the Twentieth Century.
Do you have a favorite place you like to write?
I write where the computer is.
In what
order do you write?
For example starting beginning to end, combining parts,
in random order or in development cycle? Basically I write from beginning
to end, though if I hit a rough spot I might write a note in brackets, move
on and come back later.
Do you feel that the e-books afford authors a bit more freedom of expression
in their books?
Absolutely. Since the financial risk is lower to the publisher, the author has leave to explore different characters, settings, occupations and book lengths than the traditional publishers, who must anticipate sales in ordering print runs and are wary of the imaginative and different. Also, since epublishers have seen themselves as a boutique business, they encourage authors to send them unusual stuff. They want the niche markets and unusual stuff. They are also not bound by book lengths. They don't have to tell an author to cut 20,000 words to fit a certain length requirement. If the book needs to be 85,000 words or 120,000 words or 150,000 words, it can be.
What do you feel is, or isn't being done to promote authors?
Ebooks are not getting into physical bookstores and
even the online bookstores won't carry diskette/CD-ROM books. Book buying
is an impulse purchase. We have to be where the readers are going to pick
up our books on a whim.
Do you
feel that the marketing departments have their finger on the pulse of
readers?
The traditional print publishers haven't a clue. Not
only do they not know what their readers want, they keep pushing their best
authors to write contrary to their strength. I've heard from more than one
wonderful historical romance author that her publisher doesn't want any more
historicals from her, that she should write a contemporary romance or romantic
suspense. Marketing departments decide suddenly "Vampires are out,"
"Bridget Jones clones are in," "Science Fiction romance is
out," "Westerns are out," "Funny contemporaries are in."
What sells best among ebooks?
Historicals, vampires, science fiction, westerns. People are willing to read
on their computers what they can no longer find in print.
How do you feel about review rating systems?
If you mean star systems, I wish there was a less subjective
standard, but readers look for a 1-5 rating. If you mean sensuality indices,
I agree with these. There are people who prefer books where there is no pre-marital
sex, while others love really hot stuff. I don't see anything wrong with letting
readers know the degree of sexual conduct is in a book. I don't think book
reviewer should use the MPAA movie ratings though. "Sweet," "Sensuous,"
"Hot," and "Erotica" would be closer to reality.
Through
what venues do you feel most of your books are being sold?
The publisher's website, followed by myself handselling
from my stash.
What
do you feel is the best part of the publishing industry?
The independent electronic and small press publishers
who are trying to give readers the unique and unusual to read.
What
do you feel needs to be changed about the industry?
Authors needs to be treated fairly, get paid more, have
more control over their names and their work, be paid promptly and fairly,
have less onerous and more understandable contracts, only sell the rights
a publisher actually plans to use and get a royalty structure or advance for
each right sold.
Do you
think small press and e-books will be the wave of the future?
I worry that the big conglomerates will start releasing
ebooks with their greater resources, drive the indies out of business and
then dump all the unique voices in the wastebasket and produce electronic
versions of the same old same old. I do think that there will come a time
when books are routinely released in both print and electronic editions simultaneously.
Recent Or Upcoming Elise Dee Beraru titles:
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The Hero's Best Friend, Awe-Struck E-Books, www.awe-struck.net
Remember My Love, Hard Shell Word Factory, www.hardshell.com
Coming
in 2003 from Awe-Struck E-Books/Earthling Press Coming
in 2004 from Awe-Struck E-books/Earthling Press |
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