Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in rural Utah with my family. Very rural–a town of about 1,000 people. I grew up in rural Southern Nevada and spent my summers and weekends hiking in the desert or swimming in the little muddy stream that flowed through my town. I graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in Spanish Literature and a minor in English Literature. I went on to get my Master of Political Science at Utah State University.
I worked as a reporter for a newspaper for several years. In 2017 I was published in A Medley of Fairy Tales Volume 1. Later in 2017 my first book, Dead On The Corridor, was published. I’ll have an entry in A Medley of Fairy Tales Volume 2 later this year, and I’m currently working on a novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Dead On The Corridor was inspired by my culture and by people I have known as I have lived and worked along the Interstate 15 corridor that runs from Las Vegas, through Utah, and into Idaho. This region is sometimes known as the Mormon Corridor by sociologists, because most of the towns along this stretch of road were settled by Mormons and remain predominantly Mormon today.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I hate everything I write. Then I re-write and re-write again. I read it aloud—and usually I still hate it. But after all the re-writes and stress and reading and so on, I eventually come to like it, and that’s when I get the editor to do her job.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Steinbeck’s use of simple words and descriptions have probably inspired me the most. I loved Melville’s Moby Dick, and I love Dickens, and Twain, and George Eliot and so many more that I can’t possibly do them justice. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was one of my earliest inspirations.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a book that may be called The Shadows of Neverland. This is a fantasy novel and it is going quite well right now. I believe I’m half-way finished, but it’s hard to tell.
I’ve got another Utah-based novel, which I will finish after the Neverland story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am just discovering book promotion. This is literally the first promotional site I’ve visited.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice for new authors is this: If you don’t read, you won’t be able to write well. You’ll think your first, second or third draft is amazing, when it’s probably a heap of garbage. Reading will give you a healthy sense of self-doubt when it comes to your writing abilities. This will lead you to be better, and to constantly improve.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
I learned that from my opera teacher during my freshman year in college. I honestly don’t know if it’s good advice, because I think I’ve contracted an anxiety disorder over it. But it sounds good, and I’ve tried to apply it to everything I do.
What are you reading now?
I am just finishing Midnight In The Garden of Good And Evil, by John Berendt. After this, I’ll be reading Sanctuary by William Faulkner.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to have my third book published by the end of 2019, and I want to quit my day job before I’ve reached retirement age.
I also want to eat a large pizza every night for dinner. I won’t do it, but I want to.
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?
I’d probably take a bible with me. Then I would take Grapes of Wrath and To Kill A Mockingbird.
But there are so many books that I would remember fondly and miss very much.
Author Websites and Profiles
James Elliott Website
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