Interview With Author Elric Shaw
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, scribbling Jurassic Park fan fiction in a notebook during long car rides. But it’s only within the past couple years that isolation due to the pandemic encouraged me to take a leap and follow my dreams.
Since then, I’ve written a total of eight books, and am hard at work on #9. I started off with GameLit/LitRPG fantasy under a different name before switching to my current focus on Gay Romance. My hope is to continue writing both fantasy and contemporary novels about guys finding their happy endings for many more years to come.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Necromancer’s Prisoner. It’s the first standalone novel in my M/M fantasy romance series Hearts of Allaria. The series was inspired by my years as a DM writing and running Dungeons & Dragons games, as well as my time spent playing RPGs such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. Each story tries to capture that same sense of magic and adventure…while also chronicling an emotional love story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My boyfriend would tell you that it’s weird just how many different drinks I like to have around me while I’m writing. At any given time, I’ll keep a mug of hot vanilla caramel tea, a glass of black currant iced tea, and a bottle of water close at hand, with random other cups occasionally mixed in. What can I say, I appreciate variety…and hydration is important!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Far too many to count, I’m sure. These days, I find myself studying everything I read, looking for certain phrases I like or stylistic choices that stand out to me (for good or ill).
But if I had to pick just a couple of my favorites, here they are, in no particular order:
– Brandon Sanderson: Easily my favorite all-time fantasy author. Stories such as his Mistborn series have inspired my own style and voice, as well as how I think about constructing intricate magic systems with clearly defined rules. Plus, his insane work ethic is something I think every author can aspire to match.
– Will Wight: His incredible Cradle series was one of the main reasons I started out attempting to write GameLit/LitRPG, and while I ultimately decided that genre wasn’t a good fit for me, I still draw heavy influence from his approach to compelling fantasy.
– Jay Bell: While I didn’t love all the books in his Something Like M/M romance series equally, there were definitely several such as Something Like Autumn that made me ugly cry. I really resonated with his characters and appreciated his pared-down writing style.
– TJ Klune: I love his evocative style of writing in books like Wolfsong or House on the Cerulean Sea.
– Tal Bauer: I love books like You & Me that really pack an emotional punch. While I wouldn’t describe my own stories as high angst, I do tend to prefer romances featuring some combination of action, suspense, and/or drama, which his books tend to deliver in spades.
– Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert: One of my favorite contemporary M/M romances and a fun ride from start to finish. It also really scratched by repressed Magic card addiction.
What are you working on now?
Now that I’ve finished The Necromancer’s Prisoner, my next project is See You in Your Dreams, the second book in my A Dash of Modern Magic series that follows a high schooler with the power to control other people’s dreams.
I’m also working on an outline for the second book in my Hearts of Allaria series The Prince’s Curse, about two mages whose idyllic life is brutally interrupted when the royal guard turns up claiming that one of them is a kidnapped prince…and the other the sorcerer who kidnapped him.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, I’ve had the most success signing up for promotions on BookFunnel, especially for my free reader magnet, The Immortal Covenant. I’ve also had pretty good success so far with the service Gay Romance Reviews. As a new romance author still trying to build up a fan base, they’ve helped a lot with securing some early attention.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
You see it all over the place when you look up advice on writing, but I’d say that perseverance and persistence really are crucial. When I was starting out, I wasted far too much time agonizing over my first novel’s relative lack of success and trying a plethora of strategies to re-release it or spruce it up…instead of doing what I’d do now and just moving on to write the next novel.
Unless you’re fortunate enough to have your first book blow up, most likely it will take time to build up a reader base and a body of work. And that means continuing to write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is to be kind to yourself and not obsess over your minor failures. It’s easy to be hard on yourself if you don’t hit your writing goal for the day or if something doesn’t turn out the way that you hoped. But dwelling on it won’t help (and will often just make you even less motivated to keep working). It’s good to have goals, but it’s also important to remember that you’re human and that it’s okay to let yourself off the hook. Because you can always do better next time…so long as you don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I find that I tend not to want to read books in the same genre I’m currently working on, so I’ve been avoiding fantasy while completing The Necromancer’s Prisoner. Now that I’m done, the next two books on my list are Heir to Throne and Flame by Ben Alderson, and Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark. I also have my eye on How to Say I Do by Tal Bauer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Currently, I intend to keep releasing more books in my contemporary M/M romance series A Dash of Modern Magic as well as my fantasy M/M romance series Hearts of Allaria. Once I’ve got a couple books out in each, I’ll reassess how they’re doing and decide where to go from there.
I also have my eyes set on a more involved project in the near future: a trilogy about bonding and battling with magical creatures that puts my own spin on something like Pokémon. I just need to find the time to squeeze it in alongside my other projects.
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?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I’ll stick with mostly the same answer I had as a kid, but with the first M/M romance I ever read tacked on for good measure:
– Sphere by Michael Crichton
– The Long Walk by Stephen King
– Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
– Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
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