Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have two latest books: The Witches of Villeneuve (sequel to A Provencal Mysery) and In Love in Ramapo River (sequel to Out of Stone).
The Witches of Villeneuve is a mystery set in a small town southern France. When the protagonist, Dory Ryan, moves to the small town of Villeneuve to concentrate on a research project during her sabbatical, she doesn’t find the peace and quiet she was counting on. Instead, next to the river, she finds signs of an ancient ritual. On the adjoining meadow, the townspeople hold rowdy carnivalesque festivals, which have a long history and not everyone appreciates. From her new American friend who has inherited the witch house, she learns of centuries-old spells. And then, a murder. The novel, as was A Provencal Mystery, was inspired by a year I spent in France doing research.
In Love in Ramapo River is set in a small town in New Jersey, eight years after the end of Out of Stone. Bobby, the foster son of Bruce and Marion Minton, is fifteen and in love, but his life goes terribly awry. Meanwhile Marion, her creative life as a sculptor stalled, goes west. Though she falls in love with New Mexico, she returns home. But New Mexico follows her.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to Paul Lewis playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #2 every time I write.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Ann Padgett, Jose Saramago, Doris Lessing, John Updike, Iris Murdoch, Barbara Kingsolver.
What are you working on now?
A novel called The Alley.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
It changes all the time.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day whether you feel like it or not.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, read, read, but don’t copy.
What are you reading now?
Dance of the Jakaranda
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep working.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bible, Moby Dick, Wind in the Willows, a very large book of poetry.
Author Websites and Profiles
Ann Elwood Amazon Profile