If you guys end up loving it it could be a whole universe of scifi/ fantasy with deep, deep layers of high concept thinking that will push the boundaries of any scifi that had gone before. (I know a lot of folks who read Molly are also thinkers, and love the serotonin hits that you can get when clever shit happens in your stories.)
We’re talking arcs upon arcs and themes and ideas within plots and world that continually unfold, changing the very neurology of those embarked on the adventure with us.
I don’t want to over sell it (she says!), but we’re both excited about it.
This could truly be epic – in every sense of the word.
And I wanted to loop you in on it because you’re such passionate supporters of Molly, I think this story will be interesting to you.
I’ll keep you posted as things progress, but would love to hear your thoughts. And if you’d like to be a beta reader for this, and check out the sample story we’re going to write to test the idea, then hit me up on fb: www.facebook.com/ellleighclarke, and I’ll get you hooked up.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
November 5, 2017
First, THANK YOU for not only reading this story, but making it through Ell’s author notes, to read these as well.
Further, thank you for getting past any subtle shenanigans she setup to author-note block me. If you think she didn’t try to do that, just consider that it was subtle.
[I expect her to argue this here…]
We (and by ‘we’, I mean Ellie and many others) just got finished attending the first 20Booksto50k Las Vegas author conference and I’m tired as %*#%#@.
(Sorry, too tired to make up a string of expletives.)
However, for some reason, I’m not too tired to try and regale you with an Author Shenanigan story or two.
So… picture this:
I’m sitting with MD (Michael) Cooper, his wife Jill, their daughter, Tee Ayer and a couple of others I can’t remember in my foggy brain when Jen McDonnell and Ell (who hadn’t told me she was coming but was an absolute delight at the event) show up.
We are at Sam’s Town on the East side of Las Vegas (truly Henderson.) This casino has an old west motif, and the middle area has a large forest / mountain area. There are paths through the area, trees, lots of water places (including a 3 story waterfall) and animatronic animals.
That is the important part of the story, the animatronic animals – specifically the bear.
So, the group is talking about survival and stuff, when Michael Cooper says something that causes Ell to conflate concepts.
Because that is what Ell does.
MD: Is speaking about a survivalist.
Ellie: (raising her hand) I need a bear drill!
MD: (looking up at Ell) … We were talking about Bear Grylls, you know, the TV adventure guy?
Ellie: Oh, I thought a bear drill, you know, like an earthquake?
--
During this same discussion, Michael (MD Cooper, who is a good friend of Ell’s) remarks to Ell that he has watched our Author Shenanigans videos (http://lawnfairies.com) and says a few really nice comments…
Then, he smiles to her and says, “You are so delightfully clueless.”
I think Ell wanted to flip him off with her two version of the correct one finger version hand gesture.
[Ell edit >> Actually it took a couple of times of someone translating for me to understand what he was saying. And, to my credit I think I just gave him what y’all call “stink eye”. (That’s the right expression isn’t it?]
If you have not watched our conversation video’s, you really need to do it.
We have received many encouraging comments on how fans have watched and laughed as the two of us try to figure out how we can be “two authors separated by a common language.”
She speaks English 1.0
I speak English 2.0
She speaks the King’s English…
Just saying.
--
During our conversations, the Mystic Falls Park Laserlight show goes off (See: https://www.samstownlv.com/experience/mystic-falls )
Ell’s eyes get big, does that “ooo oooh?” stuff with her voice as she looks around with a dazed and slightly shocked expression.
Ell: Oh my god, is that a bear?
MD: It isn’t real, Ell.
Jen: It’s animatronic
Me: Oh shush! We could have had at least a half-hour of entertainment. She is that gullible.
Ell stares daggers at me.
If you want to hear about Ell’s story, her author and previous stuff I imagine (I wasn’t there for the live recording) set a reminder to watch for her interview with the amazing Stephen Campbell and his Author Biz podcast. The interview will eventually come out here: http://theauthorbiz.com
[Ell Edit >> yeah I don’t think we talked about authoring and stuff. We mostly goofed around – but it was fun.]
As I close these author comments, I want to tell a slightly less humorous, but no less proud moment in our time(s) together.
Last week, Ell and I are chatting on a video call, and we are discussing what she plans to do in her near future (you should ask her, it’s cool stuff) and discussing where she is challenged, burnt out, and frankly fighting physical fatigue among other things.
She had just had a whole weekend of partying (which for her meant two parties on Friday Night and another on Monday Night… Probably a year of going out with people all crammed into four days.
You see, while she is charming and fun, Ell isn’t the biggest on actually leaving her apartment in California. It was a substantial amount of energy for her to start making the effort to work alongside human beings at the WeWork (co-working space) which is about a ten minute Uber trip away.
So, the two of us were supposed to do another set of video’s for Author Shenanigans (see: http://lawnfairies.com Yes, I’m pimping the videos because they are so fun) but I’m under the crunch to finish my next Bethany Anne book Ahead Full.
So, I ask to push the video recording from Friday to Saturday.
Saturday morning, I call Ell and explain I’m really sorry, but would it be ok if I push back further, as I need to do about 15,000 more words. She is fine with that, but mentions some stuff about her night.
She had gone to a local Halloween party at her apartment complex, and followed that up with a party out with those from WeWork (I think I have this right.) She wakes up, old and decrepit, tired beyond belief on Saturday, bones creaking and bruises on her feet and legs.
With no remembrance of how she got stomped on or what table she might have bumped up against during the dancing to acquire said bruises. She ends up sleeping all day because she partied till … like…
Maybe 1:00 in the morning? She is getting old, no 4:00 o’clock in the morning for her.
[Ell Edit >> What? I was hauled away from the party by get this… NEW FRIENDS… at 1.20am, and we went to eat Korean food in Korea Town! I was awake and alert and the life and soul, I’ll have you know Anderle! What’s more it *was* at least 4am before I got home!! Honestly.]
[Ell Edit 2 >> And my bones weren’t fucking *creeking*!]
(I can’t WAIT to see the stuff she plugs in response to that story ;-) )
Anyway, I go through the weekend typing my little fingers off and she recuperates. I have stuff during the day Monday and she has another party Monday night, so we speak on Tuesday.
During the conversation, we discuss that our publishing business (as we do it, with rapid releases, social interaction on Facebook and that each of us are actually small publishers) is very tiring. She explains her concerns and we chat about options she has to make her own publishing company while she is challenged with flagging physical energy.
This would not even remotely be a problem if she wasn’t tired a bunch of the time.
So, we end our call about her publishing company future and I go about my week with the conference and the early, early meetings. The conference hits and It is a constant barrage
of people, speaking, listening, taking notes, talking to more people and trying to work with friends and collaborators.
On Sunday morning, Martha Carr is smiling, a glint in her eye.
Why you ask?
Louie Carr (the offspring Martha calls him) had been helping Craig Martelle livestream the event and therefore taking in all of the main stage information as he worked to respond to notes and other items.
Now, sometime early Sunday morning Martha whispers to me that Louie has been talking story ideas.
About five hours later, after the event closes, I find Martha and Louie with their luggage in the Mystic Falls area of Sam’s Town about to head for the airport and I say goodbye.
Martha looks at me again, a larger smile on her face and leans in. “Louie has been talking about his stories with Ell Leigh Clarke who might publish him!”
My collaborator is not a fellow author at that moment, she is just Louie’s mom.
Ell Leigh Clarke has officially spoken from the role of a publisher, looking for talent and changing lives.
I’m so damned proud of my friend, I can’t express it well enough.
[Ell Edit >> Well damn. It’s not like you’re a wordsmith or anything… Mr. 20-billion-books-published!
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