Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m ex-IT and retail operations, now writing full time. I write Space Opera with a spiritual side, mixed in with cats.
I currently have 2 Space Opera series, the first with 15 books, the second on book 4 of 6. I also have a dozen spiritual books, and an AI short story.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Destiny Stone, book 4 of the A.I. Destiny series. Written with co-author Elspeth Anders, its the midpoint of a quest in a galaxy where humans have suddenly appeared, and unbeknownst to them, AI’s are among them and seeking their own destiny.
The disparity of tech levels is examined from all sides. The AI’s who have it, the humans who dont really know how to use it, and the aliens who want it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suffer from daily migraines, so I find it hard to keep a schedule. I find my best writing is done between 11pm and 3am. Consequently, I dont do mornings.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been reading, watching, and playing sci-fi all my life, and all of it has influenced me and what I now write. Recently though, Nathan Lowell’s books gave me the confidence to write day to day life in space, Glynn Stewart keeps upping the Space Opera bar to aim for, and LE Modesitt Jr. gives me somewhere different to go to recharge.
Reviews have compared me to EE Smith, but I never read any of his books, which shows influence flows through to you much more widely than we might think. I’ve also been compared to early Heinlein and Asimov, although I’ve haven’t read much of theirs either. But I have read widely, and been influenced by everyone, who in turn were influenced by the greats.
What are you working on now?
Books 5 and 6 in the A.I. Destiny series.
A stand alone book outside my main universe.
Planning a sequel trilogy for my first series.
Working with co-authors on new ideas in my universe.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I can’t yet say one stands out. Up until I pulled out of Kindle Unlimited recently, I’ve not needed to promote very often, and it’s only now my books are nearly everywhere I’ve begun to try all the reputed promo sites.
I use a Facebook group and page for keeping in touch with fans. My mailing list is still the fastest way to hear a new book is coming out if you are not on FB, with the FB launch events being second fastest.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Throw your expectations in the bin. And leave your ego outside. Neither are any help to you, and both tend to be new author’s worst enemies.
Write and keep writing. If you write in series, try and release all of them a month apart, as this generates the most momentum.
You need a polished book, so get an editor, and a proofreader. Then assume they are idiots and throw the book to your reader and read it like someone else’s books, looking for mistakes and correcting them. Keep doing this until you dont find anything, then get someone else to do it for you.
You need a cover which attracts attention, and looks the right genre. The blurb should entice the reader into the sample without giving away backstory or plot. The sample needs to begin by grabbing the reader by the throat and not letting go, and making them hit the buy button as soon as it ends. But to do this, it also has to be presented perfectly, with nothing which will bounce a reader out.
If you want to make a living at being an author, you have to treat it like a full time job. The chances of a first book hitting it big time are worse than a division 1 lottery win. The idea is to keep writing, keep improving, keep polishing, and one day a book will take off for no apparent reason because you simply hit the right spot at the right time. Everything you previously wrote becomes your back catalogue, and people will go looking for what else you’ve written. Nothing is ever a waste of time.
Write it, polish it, get it out there, and move on to the next.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best way to publicize your current book is to get the next one out there.
I’ve proved this is good advice.
What are you reading now?
Just finished Glynn Stewart’s Terra and Imperium.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish setting up the Gaia galaxy for future series.
Finish setting up the Earth galaxy for future series.
Write something different.
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 rather take my Ipad mini, and a solar charger. Knowing I’d be stranded, I’d download as much as I could before hand. Even if I didn’t have the time to download, the books I already have would keep me happy for a good long time.
3 or 4 books? How can someone live like that?
Author Websites and Profiles
Timothy Ellis Amazon Profile
Timothy Ellis’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile