An interview with author Elizabeth Gracen.
Can you tell us about
your background as an author?
I’m primarily known as an actress and filmmaker. Over the
past twenty years, I have written feature film and short film scripts. However,
I’ve also written a couple of books, both fiction and non-fiction, written in
collaboration with other authors. The self-publishing world is a perfect fit
for me. It affords me control and a means to get my work out into the world/.
That is why started Flapper Press - a boutique, curated publishing company and
ecommerce source for books, poetry, blogs, art and unique offerings from a
stable of talented influencers, thought leaders, indie writers and artists.
As a filmmaker, my company, Flapper Films - http://flapperfilms.com - is always cooking
up something, usually in collaboration with a fantastic modern dance company
called The Lineage Dance Company.
As an actress, my most recognizable role is ‘Amanda’ in
HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES and its spin-off , HIGHLDER: THE RAVEN.
What got you into
writing?
Growing up in a small town in Arkansas, I had some really
great English teachers who inspired my love for writing and always encouraged
me to stretch my imagination. I’m a big fan of poetry as well and have written personal
poetry since I was a little girl.
Since I work in so many mediums, including painting and
mixed media, I view writing as the necessary spine for everything I create. The
narrative structure holds it all together and affords me the opportunity to
explore my ideas.
What was the first
idea you had for your book, and how did the story grow from there?
My
inspiration for the book started with an article in Scientific American about Mt. Parnassus in Delphi and the ethylene
gas that emits through the cracks in the mountain. The thrust of the article is
that this gas was probably the reason these young Pythia, or Oracles, were sent
into wild trances and uttered gibberish and barked like dogs back in the day
when a Delphic Oracle was considered the mouthpiece of the god Apollo.
The
idea started there – along with a lyric from a fabulous song by Rufus
Wainwright called, Go or Go Ahead.
There is line that says, “Oh, Medusa, kiss me and crucify this unholy notion of
the mythic power of Love.” It got me spinning on the idea of a world without
Love and compassion.
From
that point on – I don’t even know when I actually decided to send my young
heroine into a parallel dimension called the Paradigm - full of mythic creatures, talking animals and
the Pale Ones who rule them. It just manifested itself as it went along.
Among your
characters, who’s your favorite? Could you please describe him/her?
My heroine, Fippa, was great fun to write. She is a willful,
ambitious sixteen year-old with unusual mystical gifts. She desperately wants
to be an Oracle and believes that she is destined for great things.
Circumstances propel her on a much bigger journey to a parallel dimension. As
she crosses through the portal, she is unexpectedly transformed into a creature
of legend, long thought extinct – a butterfly girl called the Shalilly. Her
journey chips away at her ego and opens her awareness to the world around her.
She opens her heart, learns compassion and sacrifices herself to a bigger
cause.
What’s your favorite
scene from your novel? Could you please describe it?
I really like the auction scene that happens after Fippa
travels through the portal to the parallel dimension called the Paradigm. When
she is transformed into the Shalilly, she’s quickly captured, caged and taken
to auction in one of the enormous Glass Hives. It’s a big ‘filmic’ scene with
many of the main characters in play. From this sequence, you understand all the
forces and obstacles that Fippa will have to overcome to bring the warrior,
Ision, back to Earth before Love is annihilated from the Cosmos. It’s a fun
scene.
What’s your favorite
part of writing? Plotting? Describing scenes? Dialogue?
Since I’m a filmmaker, I really enjoy writing dialogue, but
I tend to think in pictures, so when I really let my imagination rip, it is
usually a pleasant challenge to try to bring those images in my head to life on
a page.
How long does it take
you to write a book? Do you have a writing process, or do you wing it?
I suppose the quick answer to that question is that everything takes longer than I plan!
Because I usually have several balls in the air at the same time (I’m in the
middle of shooting another film right now!), it takes me a long time to get to
the final draft of a book or script. However, because I cycle back around to
projects, it provides the necessary time it takes to see the writing with fresh
eyes.
More than anything else, that defines my process. I do my
best to let a work sit as long as possible before I dive back in. For Shalilly
and the non-fiction book I’ll be publishing by the end of the year – The Go to Gals Ultimate Emergency Organizer –
there was an enormous amount of research that had to be done before I finally
started to write. Like most writers I know, I love the research phase.
I usually create a rough outline and a thorough character
breakdown. The latter helps me flesh out the archetypes and how they would
speak. After that, the story gradually begins to reveal itself. I try to stay
loose and let the characters come to life.
What is it about the
genre you chose that appeals to you?
The fantasy genre is one that I have always enjoyed
reading. I’m a true believer in magical thinking! That comes from the best part
of my childhood spent with my wily Grandmother Murphy. I spent a lot of time
with her in a world of make believe. She used to tell me stories about the
fairies at war with the evil spiders in her attic! She was what I call a
Would-Be Witch who had palm reading books and crystal balls around her house.
She’d perform magic tricks and tell fortunes for me and all my friends. Fantasy
is in my bones!
I also worked as an actress, for many years, on the
fantasy television series, HIGHLANDER and its spin-off series, HIGHLADER: THE
RAVEN. As an actor, you spend most of your time in make believe, breathing life
into characters – the fantasy world is where you live to make a character work.
Are there any books
or writers than have had particular influence on you?
In high school, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy was mandatory
reading (I told you I had fantastic teachers). We even had a Middle Earth Day –
I sewed my own Galadreil costume out of sheets! I think the world building in
those books must have influenced my writing for Shalilly.
Jeanette Winterson’s The
Passion is a huge influence on me too. I read it over and over again. All
of her work, really, inspires me. It is poetic, grand, deep and a real
exploration of the blurred lines between fact, fiction, memory… Her
protagonists have the type of hero archetype I am attracted to and want to
write about.
Did you ever surprise
yourself when you were writing your book? Characters who took on lives of their
own? Plot elements that took unexpected turns?
After hearing Elizabeth Gilbert’s inspiring TED Talk about
the creative life -https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius?language=en
-
I’ve tried to apply her ideas about just ‘showing up and
doing the work’ and not putting so much pressure on yourself to be fantastic. I
honestly do rely on my muse or genius to inspire and bring me ideas. I
try to stay open and simply be a vessel for creativity. So, in the end, I am
constantly surprised at the end of a writing session! The characters do take on lives of their own, and
sometimes the plot shifts as new ideas come to the forefront.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In the heart of ancient Delphi,
Fippa, a sixteen-year old misfit mystic with unusual gifts, stands at the
Submerged in the pool, Fippa’s
heart stops beating and the portal opens. She finds herself unexpectedly
transformed into an exotic butterfly girl—a creature of legend—the Shalilly.
Resurrected into a parallel dimension—a land full of mythical creatures,
talking animals, and the Pale Ones who dominate them—Fippa the Shalilly is
captured and sold to the very man she came to find.
With Darkness looming ever closer,
Fippa must persuade Ision to return with her to Earth by telling him a
fantastic story—their story. The story of Love.
As a young girl, Elizabeth Gracen found herself often
escaping into the world of make believe. Her
Years later, after traveling the world as Miss America 1982,
Elizabeth discovered the craft of acting to channel her vivid imagination, most
notably as Amanda in the fantasy series, HIGHLANDER. After the birth of her
daughter, she became a filmmaker and launched FLAPPER FILMS—a production
company dedicated to creating inspiring content for multi-generational women.
Elizabeth spends her time between Europe and America and
happily juggles the role of mother, business owner, filmmaker, and author. She
lives with her husband, her ten-year old daughter, three dogs, and an attic
full of fairies. SHALILLY is her debut novel.
Find Elizabeth online:
Website: http://www.flapperpress.com
Instagram: @theshalilly
Twitter: @flapperpress
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flapperpress
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