Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Aloha to Elise Faber, Phoenix Rising, and Dark Phoenix

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Over on my travel blog, I am featuring parties and workshops scheduled for the RT Booklovers' Convention - here, here, here, here, and here.   I am also looking forward to meeting authors new to me, including Elise Faber.   She joins me for a cozy chat ...

Despite moonlighting as a zookeeper and then a dog trainer, Elise decided that the only mammals she wanted to work with were her dark and sexy heroes and heroines. She inherited her love of reading from her mother and grandmother who dutifully kept stacks of romances where her teenaged fingers could easily pilfer them. She lives in Northern California with her three dogs, two energetic (read crazy) boys, and her awesome (see prior comment) husband. Visit elisefaber.com or facebook.com/elisefaberauthor for more information.


Kim:  We love travel here at SOS Aloha ... what is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of Northern California?

Elise:  I love this question! My favorite spot is a small bluff overlooking Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco. The redwoods grow almost all the way to the cliff's edge and the scent of the salt of the ocean mixes with the moist smell of earth and trees. In one breath, you can hear the crash of waves, the squawks of seagulls, and the rustling of redwood needles. It's so easy to get lost in the utter baseness of the place, to appreciate how powerful nature is.... and that little bluff holds an extra special meaning to me because it's where my husband proposed almost ten years ago. :)

Kim:  Can you share a funny story about moonlighting as zookeeper?

Elise:  The zoo I worked at had a pair of very amorous camels (to the tune of getting frisky at the same time every day, so loudly that they could be heard on the other side of the zoo). Some of my favorite memories are walking by the exhibit at that time and listening to children ask their parents what was happening. One day — in moment's lull in the noise — I heard a little boy, quite proudly, tell his mother: "That's what you and daddy were doing last night!"

Kim:  I can't help but think of the Geico commercial ... who or what helped you along the path to publishing?

Elise:  I wouldn't have been published if not for my super encouraging husband and if I hadn't been willing to risk putting my heart — my work — out there on a platter. But a lot people helped me along the path. Patricia Netzley (my husband's aunt, a many times over published nonfiction author) edited my really, really bad initial drafts and encouraged me to keep writing. Then last year I met Anne Elizabeth purely by chance on a plane en route to a writing convention and she helped me fine-tune my pitch for Phoenix Rising (my first published novel). Finally, Rachel van Dyken is with my publisher and she has been all things marketing guru, blurb editor, encourager and everything in between!

Kim:  Yes, that Anne Elizabeth is a kind soul to us all!  Tell us about your books - what inspires them?

Elise:  Mostly they come from things that just pop into my mind — an image or a snippet of dialogue and the scene develop from there. But sometimes there are things so funny in real life that I have to incorporate — a silly scenario with the hubs and my kids or something klutzy I did — and I think, "Wouldn't it be awesome if so and so did that?" Then in they go!

Kim:  What's next for Elise Faber?

Elise:  I have a few things in the pipeline! A novella set in the world of my Phoenix novels will be released in May and the third Phoenix books is planned for mid-July. I also have another series — CSI meets Warehouse 13 — called Sands of Time, and hopefully the first book in that line will be released toward the end of the year. In the meantime, I continue to work, write, play ice hockey and drink copious amounts of Diet Coke in order to keep up with my two busy boys!

Mahalo, Elise, for sharing your adventures with us!  I am giving away a digital copy of PHOENIX RISING to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about your favorite animal at the zoo.  I'm partial to the big cats.

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, March 21, 10 pm in Baltimore.  

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 22.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City



11 comments:

  1. The big cats, wolves, and bears!

    mlawson17@hotmail.com

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  2. I do love elephants. Not sure they belong in the zoo though.

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  3. Luckily where I live is *the* top ranked zoo in the US, so they have awesome displays and animals. I also really love the big cats! One of our lions just had triplets so I'm definitely going to go to see them :) thanks for sharing!

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  4. Oh I truly love them all but if I had to pick one I'm going to go with the Tigers. Pgh. has a pretty nice zoo (nothing like San Diego) and the Tigers have a nice, out in the open area.

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  5. I love in San Diego and the San Diego Zoo is really great. It is hard for me to pick a favorite so for today I will say the hippos!

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  6. Elise is an immensely talented soul! I'm thrilled to know her and am overjoyed with her success! HOOYAH!!!!

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  7. I love the monkey house at Brookfield Zoo.

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  8. The chimps are always entertaining!

    Dorothy

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