Welcome to the GayRomLit 2017 Blog Tour! We’re so pleased to have Supporting Author Elle Keaton joining us today as our featured guest in the countdown to the big event. Whether you’re attending or not, I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Elle a bit better!
Thank you for having me!
I feel like I should stand up and introduce myself, so here goes:
*me standing*
My name is Elle Keaton, I am an indie author. This is my first GRL as a writer, although I have attended as a reader for the past two years. I am excited (and nervous) to be attending as a contributor, it feels like a lot of responsibility.
*the napkin in my hand is now shredded*
Who am I really? Yes, the question my mother still asks. Cannot answer.
Born and bred in the Pacific Northwest, I am one of those folks with a lot going on in their head but hasn’t ever written it down. Until now. Although, I do have a pre-1975 dystopian YA story floating around that I penned—semiautobiographical as I included my (then) dog and I was definitely running away from home.
*my home life was fine*
This past spring I published the first two installments in my series, Accidental Roots. A romantic suspense series based in, and around, the fictional town of Skagit, Washington (pronounced with a J sound if anyone is curious).
Why Skagit? Well, I am a pretty linear thinker. When I decided to write, I chose a setting I know well enough to make stuff up about. Also, I love it here. The PNW is one of the most beautiful places I have had the luxury to live and I wanted to share it with readers. Some of my favorite writing scenes are those when I share a place where maybe most visitors wouldn’t get a chance to go to.
Storm Season, the first in the series, was a labor of love (not just a romantic suspense). I probably wrote three-four versions of this book before it became what people have read. There were actual tears involved and a lot of deleting.
No Pressure, was (in my mind) amazing because it begged to be written. It went from concept to ‘The End’ in about sixty days. Nothing about it was difficult, as much as I love Adam and Micah, I really appreciated Joey and Buck taking it easy on me.
*wow look how far I got without making a snarky side comment*
Currently, I am finishing up the last few chapters in the first draft of ‘Spring Break’ which will be out June 30th. Writing wise, Spring Break falls somewhere between Storm Season and No Pressure, it hasn’t been a cake walk; these guys are both pretty emotionally constipated, but it has also been fun. I really enjoy writing humor, it is something I use in my own life to cope. There were a few times when I had to go back and rewrite because the humor….was probably only funny to me.
I’m hoping for lots of time to write this summer so that #4, which I started last night, will be out in the world by late fall.
I am really looking forward to participating in the GRL this year as a writer. My favorite part attending as a reader has been chatting with authors, old favorites and new to me writers, about books, ideas, the craft of writing. I hope I still get to do those things as well as meet readers and generally expand my horizon.
*that Sam Neill movie, Event Horizon, popped into my head now I am totally sidetracked*
Right…writing, reading. If you’ve made it this far kudos to you!
The GRL will be tons-o fun, please come and chat with me where ever you see me (especially if I am lonely at the author table J). I’m planning on having fun stuff to give out as well as paperback copies of all my books.
Connect with me through: Facebook @ellekeatonauthor, twitter @piratequeenrdz1, my own website www.ellekeaton.com and Instagram as elle.keaton_author (mostly this is cover art), if you’d like to see pictures of my dog follow zeddilicious_1714
Denver or bust!!
Cheers,
Elle
*sitting now, probably need a glass of…something*
About the Author
Author, photographer, rare Pacific Northwest Native, Elle grew up in Seattle, WA., with the Cascade Mountain range to the east and Olympics to the west. Less than two hours northwest lie the majestic San Juan Islands. To the northeast is the Methow Valley and the scrub deserts of Eastern Washington. Geography ripe with material.
A graduate of Western Washington University, Elle has a BS in biology which taught her to be tenacious. The closest she has come to biology since then is having two kids. Like an experiment or something. She’s lived in four states (none of which were gaseous), London England, and Hong Kong; always knows what time it is, and has no problem finding parking even in the most difficult places. Cannot balance a checking account.
Elle’s series Accidental Roots, mostly set in the Skagit Valley of Western Washington, will make its debut spring of 2017. Storm Season is tender, sometimes irreverent, full of nosy neighbors and help when the hero didn’t think he needed it. Writing has always been a passion but not something she was able to take seriously until recently. Now her head is full of ideas and not enough time in each day.
Connect with Elle: Website || Facebook || Twitter
About GayRomLit Retreat
GayRomLit is an annual retreat that brings together the people who create and celebrate LGBT romance for a one-of-a-kind, must-attend gathering of dynamic, informal, and diverse fun.
Each year, the retreat rotates to a new city and hosts tons of events from raucous parties to mellow tête á têtes while still maintaining a spirit of familiarity. GRL is the place to connect with old friends, find family you didn’t know you had, and meet with both newly published and established authors in the gay romance genre.
This year’s retreat will be held in Denver, Colorado on October 19-22, 2017 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.
For more information or to register, please visit Our Website.