Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My first book “The New York Doll” is now available on Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M9YT3TE ) and I’m very excited about it! So far this is the only book I’ve written but I’m currently working on my second one, “The Brooklyn Boys’ Tales”.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I came to the United States right after graduating from the faculty of foreign languages in Moscow, Russia. My impressions from the first years in New York were put at the base of my book “The New York Doll”. Here’s a little blurb from it:
This is a story of a young girl of Russian-Jewish heritage Mila, who came to New York in search of true love and the American Dream. But after struggling to survive and keep a roof above her head, she turns to an option that she never even considered before: she becomes an exotic dancer. On her way she meets a lot of people, both good and bad, and she depicts every single one of them with incredible honesty. She falls in love with the owner of the club, the powerful Italian-American mobster R., and now they both have to fight for their bright future together.
This is the story of love and hatred, of friendship and betrayal, and everything else that takes place behind the closed doors of a gentleman’s club.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if it’s considered unusual, but I like to handwrite before I type, that’s why I always walk around with a notebook where I can put some sketches of the future chapters. My first book was completely handwritten before I started typing it on my computer, so I guess that’s the only weird thing about my writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I tried not to read anything on the related topic while working on my last project, just because I didn’t want to be influenced by anybody’s work. I wanted to create my own story, with my own structure that would be completely different from everything else in this category. I hope my readers will enjoy reading it!
Speaking of inspiration, not the influence, I would say that Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite authors who always comes up with something incredible to say. Every time I read his books, even if I read them many times before, I always find something new and inspiring for myself, and I think it’s very important, to always inspire your readers.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my second book under the working title “The Brooklyn Boys’ Tales”, which depicts the lives and personal stories of several members and people affiliated with one of New York mob families. It’s going to be very different from the rest of the stories already written in this genre, as it’s going to tell the stories nobody heard before. It’s something that you can’t find in Wikipedia and official police reports, so I think it’s going to be a very intriguing and interesting reading.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try basically everything when it comes to promotion: I use my Instagram, blog, Goodreads, BookDaily, twitter, whatever I have. I also love contacting bloggers and offering them a free copy of my book in exchange to a review or feature on their site, this is a really great promotion tool as well. I also love exchanging books with my fellow-writers, I think it gives both sides a great opportunity to promote each other’s work.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up on your dream. Whatever the ratings of your book are, whatever the sales rank is, it doesn’t matter. You already did such an awesome thing – you wrote a book! You are already outstanding! So just keep working on your promotion, inverts your time and money in your own marketing and the results won’t take long to show! Always keep moving forward!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Again, never give up. I keep telling myself that even if I fall seven times, I have to get up eight. And never listen to what the others say, this is your life and you know better what to do with it. Everybody has his own path in life, so just follow your and don’t compare yourself to the others. They have a different path.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently re-reading “Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. It’s one of my favorite books and I really enjoy coming back to it from time to time. It’s a great love story that’s written in a very unusual way, there’s a lot of supernatural elements in the story, but it only makes it more appealing. And you can’t help but to fall in love with the main characters, even though they are not one hundred percent positive, but they’re very realistic. If you like the stories where the good conquers the evil and all the negative characters get what they deserved, you should definitely read it.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I just want to keep doing what I love doing the most – writing, whether it’s a new book or a blog post, I’ll consider myself very happy if I “can make it” as a writer.
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?
Definitely “The Alchemist” and “Warrior of the Light” by Paulo Coelho for the never-ending inspiration, “Memoirs of a Geisha” for a great love story and “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov – if I ever get to be in a weird mood when I don’t know what I want.
Author Websites and Profiles
Ellie Midwood Website
Ellie Midwood Amazon Profile
Ellie Midwood Author Profile on Smashwords
Ellie Midwood’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile