Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we interviewed author El Holly about her writing and her book, A Twist of Fae, the second installment in the Finding Fae trilogy.(Read the review here.)

El Holly enjoys writing about a lot of things, but her heart is taken by the fantasy genre. Her most recent book, A Twist of Fae, is the second book in the Finding Fae trilogy. When she isn’t writing, she reads, teaches, drinks coffee, and goes on adventures with her family. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, their two kids, and her favorite fluffball, Mack.

Website: http://elhollywrites.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elhollywrites
Instagram: http://instagram.com/elhollywrites 

How often do you base your characters on real people? 

Simultaneously all the time and never. I like to take bits and pieces of personalities I observe around me, but the characters become their own. The closest I’ve come to basing characters on real people are the twin brothers in my Finding Fae trilogy, Sean and Shannon. They are based on real people, and I asked the real Sean and Shannon for permission before putting them in my books. Even they aren’t fully based on real people, though. For example, the real Sean and Shannon don’t have bat wings. 😉

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I think a blend of both is good. Give the readers what they want, but take them on a ride with some twists and turns first!

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Oh, writing energizes me for sure. Just ask my husband. He is the recipient of many late-night enthusiastic descriptions of characters, plot, etc. 

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I used to be such a perfectionist. Okay, I still am. I’m also someone who likes to rush through things. (It’s not a good combo.) I rushed through publishing my first book, and afterward I noticed one error…and another. It was awful! I hyper-fixated on those errors. Now, I have many stages of the writing, editing, and revision process to help me (not to mention an editor). I’ve come to appreciate the process, not just the finished product, and worry less about the errors.

Does your family support your career as a writer?

My family and friends are very supportive of me and my writing. I currently do it as a side career (teaching is my main job), but they are my biggest supporters.

Which scene or chapter in the book is your favorite? Why?

I love a lot of the scenes in this book, but if I had to choose, it would be the scenes where Eevee is with the wild fae in the Sweetbriar Wood. Not to give too much away about book 3 (the final book in the trilogy), but she will be spending more time there. I think I liked those scenes so much because it’s where Eevee felt most at home in Elfaeme (the fae realm).

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