I was going to interview Esri Rose, author of the urban-fantasy, romantic-suspense comedy, Bound to Love Her (May 6). Unfortunately, Esri Rose is unavailable, as she’s being treated for something called “promotion exhaustion.” So instead I met with the characters in her upcoming book and asked what their creator is really like. The following interview took place in Erin Chandler’s home. Erin is the human heroine of the book. Galan is her elven significant other.
Trish: Erin, authors are often accused of writing themselves. How similar would you say Esri is to you?
Erin: Too similar. For instance, why couldn’t she make me a natural redhead? Just because she colors her hair, I have to? At least she didn’t give me her temper.
Galan: You don’t think you have a temper? I seem to remember sleeping on the floor at least once.
Erin: It’s not temper if it’s justified. You deserved a lot worse after the whole “love her and leave her” thing.
Galan: I seem to recall warning you, but you didn’t want to worry about the future. What was it that made you so impetuous, do you remember?
Erin: That’s in the past, sweetie.
Galan: I hope not all of it.
Trish: Galan, how do you feel about your creator?
Galan: A little awkward, frankly. I mean, she’s essentially my second mother, but I’m pretty sure she has a crush on me. It’s kind of creepy.
Erin: She’s nothing like your mother, thank God.
Galan: You do remember that this is going to be on the Internet, right?
Erin: I love your mother. Oh, what am I worried about? Your mother wouldn’t go near a computer unless the keyboard had bark on it and she could actually skin and gut the mouse.
Galan: (waving) Hi, Mom!
Jed enters (human, Erin’s friend): Hi, guys! Sorry I’m late. (Gives Galan a low-five.) Dude, should you be talking to the press, what with being a secret agent and all? Wait…should I not have said that?
Trish: Jed, what do you think about your creator, author Esri Rose?
Jed: Who?
Erin: Hey, Jed, I think there’s some pizza in the kitchen. Also beer.
Jed: Cool!
Erin (waits until he leaves the room): We just told him Galan was a secret agent to explain…you know. Trish, I know you wanted to interview Kutara, but I really think it’s best you didn’t invite her. She can be difficult when it comes to dealing with humans.
Trish: I’m sorry, I…did you tell me not to invite her?
Erin: Didn’t you get my e-mail? Oh, God.
Trish Milburn’s note: For some reason, I’m a little foggy about what happened next. Apparently I cut the interview short, drove home and took a nap. I also don’t remember writing the following paragraph, but it was here when I opened the article again.
Trish Milburn would like to remind the readers of the Romance Bandits blog that the above characters are all fictional creations, and while Boulder, Colorado is a real town, elves do not exist. I’m sure we all wish Esri Rose a speedy recovery.
ElvesAmongUs.com
Two of our commenters will win a copy of Bound to Love Her. Esri Rose also has a contest going on, here.
71 comments:
Woohoo!!! Congrats on this release, Esri!! It sounds fantastic, and I can't wait to read it!
Trish and gang, thank you for a terrific interview--definitely enjoyed that!
Elves don't exist! NOOOOOO!
Okay, head spinning from that slightly schizophrenic interview. But still ROFL.
Congrats Esri.
My favorite elf has always been Legolas, but Galan could usurp that position.
I love the name Galan. I think it's really sexy. Does that mean I have a chance at winning the books? Bats eyelashes in a comely way...
Fedora, your rooster is back! Congratulations!
Trish, Erin, Galan (sigh), Esri, Jed, she who shall not be mentioned, great interview! What a pity most of you don't exist. Esri, congratulation on the release of your latest nonfiction project. What? Elves do NOT exist???!!! Oh, in that case, congratulations on the release of your fabulous new romance novel! ;-)
Congrats on your new release, Esri! It sounds like a hoot. Trish, Erin, Galan, et al, that was a fun interview.
It's not temper if it's justified Love it! I must remember to tell my husband that.
Congrats, Fedora! I'm surprised you could prise the GH away from Kim's place and his little birdie friend:)
LOVED this interview and the book sounds soooo good! I will have to look for it.
I kind of like elves...what do you mean they aren't real? Who makes the cookies if the Keebler elves don't exist? Okay, bad example...
Congrats on the GR flchen
What a great interview and this books sounds wonderful I really like elves and I am with you Anna love that name Galen.
Hope you feel better soon Esri
Have Fun
Helen
Hello Esri's "Fictional Family", you guys are funny . Elves are few in the paranormal genre, it'll be interesting reading your view of them.
Get well soon Esri :)
Hugs, Danette
Great interview! :)
Great interview! And congrats on the release Esri! I am sure you are really excited to see YOUR book on the shelves. Did you do anything special to celebrate?
And I agree with Anna, Galan is one sexy name. Can't wait to read it!
congrats, flchen!
Great interview! I love the timelessness of Elves and can't wait to read the book--the excerpt is wonderful.
Great interview, Trish! And thanks, Esri, for sharing your friends with us! Sounds like a fun read--congrats!
Susan
Hi ya'll and great interview! It's so nice to see a new comedy on the shelves (and so hard to write!). I can't wait to pick one up! :-)
I like elves. The interview was great.
Whew! I thought I'd never give that guard the slip, but here I am, safely ensconced in Dr. Weizenheimer's office. They don't let patients have Internet access while we're recovering. Says it stirs us up too much. Whatever. All I want to do is chat with some folks! (And check my blog stats, of course.) Hi, guys!
Buffie: I have a book signing at Borders. So far, almost all my promotion has been online. It's the only thing I feel like I have control over, and can see actual results on, so it just got most of my attention.
Buffie: Oh, wait...you were asking about celebrating, not promotion. I guess I could have a party. I could hand out bookmarks during it though, right?
Esri -- your signing wouldn't happen to be in Atlanta, would it? I'd love to see you!
I've had a thing for elves since I the first time I saw Legalos pull back his bow string! Must be the pointy ears!
Does Galen have pointy ears? Pointy anything???? :-)
Bound to Love Her sounds fantastic!
Buffie: Nah, it's in Boulder. I love Atlanta, though. That'd be a great tour spot, come to think of it. I'm sure Kutara glamoured Joe to have me put in here. I know he wouldn't have done it himself...not for a little thing like forgetting his name. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him to wear pointy ears and walk the Pearl Street Mall without a shirt on, but I know that would gotten some publicity.
Pointy anything? Joan, you are a hoot!
The GR keeps leaving you Fedora and you keep taking him back. Is that love or obsession?
This was a terrific interview, Esri! I agree with Christine. "It's not temper if it's justified." is a perfect line!
This book sounds like so much fun! And I will add to the consensus. Galan IS a sexy name.
Esri, what made you decide to write elves in a contemporary romance? I love it!
Joan: Galan is completely and utterly inspired by Legolas. He's taller, maybe a little more broad across the shoulders, and has violet eyes instead of blue, but the all-important hair is the same.
(Oh, the hair...)
Pointy ears. Yes. Sorry.
Doglady: You probably guessed the answer, but seeing Legolas in LOTR was what inspired me to write "Bound to Love Her." It was that long ago, btw. Only my second book (out of...6?). Anyway, I wondered what would happen if Tolkien type elves were still around. They lived secretly, spending a lot of their time merged with the land, but on this occasion, one is injured by one of his own kind gone by, and is found at the point of death by a young woman living in Boulder (who, yes, resembles me a bit).
"gone bad" that's supposed to be.
I think Dr. W. spilled a Coke in his keyboard at one point.
LMAO! What a terrific interview!
Esri, congrats on the release. Can't wait to pick up a copy and get to know your "friends" up close and personal.
Count me in for a tour stop in Atlanta too. We'd love to have you come here!
Wow I will have to check this out soon! What a fun interview!!!!
PJ: Once upon a time, on this very blog, I heard you were the word-of-mouth Queen. It took a while to get my author copies, but I sent your copy of Bound to Love Her out this week. That's why I'm giving away two copies today. To make up for that rank favoritism.
Congrats on the release, Esri! The book sounds terrific and I can't wait to read it.
I'd love to see more of the character interviews. That was great fun!
Great interview. Congratulations on your new release.
What a fun interview! I like elves (and faeries and unicorns and...) and I will look for this book!
Anyone here remember a television show called Special Unit 2? God, I loved that show.
Good morning Trish and Esri...er Esri's characters!
Okay I have a question...I know that in Tolkein's books the elves didn't have pointed ears, that Peter Jackson added them in the movie version...so does Galan have pointed ears and how do you explain them or does he wear a skull cap ala Mr. Spock in one episode of Star Trek?
This sounds like a new kind of paranormal Esri, can't wait to read it!
Esri, you know I love me some Orlando Bloom (aka Legolas), so I've been looking forward to reading this book for a long time. I might actually squeal when I see it in the store. Maybe I'll look for it this weekend if I can convince the hubby to go see Iron Man. :)
Suzanne: Ah! There has indeed been much discussion on whether Tolkien's elves had pointy ears. I believe in an earlier draft he says something suggesting points, but then it appears he changed his mind. (I read a whole big discussion.)
I applaud Mr. Jackson's decision, because if elves are just going to be extra noble, extra attractive people, what it the POINT? I'm just not feelin' the magic without a visual clue, you know? All my elves have pointed ears. I have a twisted fairytale thing where if they eat food, they'll become mortal, and I have decided that when/if that happens to one of them, the points will disappear (sniff).
I wanted to nibble the points on Legolas's ears.
It isn't even noon and there are 35 comments! Ugh! I'll never catch up.
This interview is uber-cool. I didn't even know anyone wrote elves in paras. Admittedly, I don't read any para really but I have to read this. I want to know what makes her so impetuous. And I need to meet Jed. Though he sounds like several men I already know. Hmmmm....
Hope Esri recovers soon! How else am I going to accost her in San Fran to sign my book?!
Oh, and hope that memory loss thing goes away Trish.
Suzanne: There is one elf who does wear a knit cap (and sort of skater-dude clothes) to hide his ears. Lenny (real name, Lenolornas). But most elves hide them with hair or just glamour people who notice them. It's not a big risk. I mean, if you saw someone TOday with pointed ears, you wouldn't exactly alert the media, right?
Hi Trish!
Yo, yo, TerriO!
Looking forward to meeting you in San Fransisco! If you run into me, you can hardly escape without getting your book signed. I'm thinking of taping pens to all my fingers, a la Edward Scissorhands.
"Francisco." Whoops. Hey, I hear the guards coming. I gotta slip out this window for a while, but I'll be back.
Is that glamour thing like what they did in Men in Black when people saw aliens? That would be such a cool little gadget.
Did I pinch your what? Why no, here, look into the little pen...
Terrio: Glamour is a very old elven/fairy concept from England. It's basically mind control. Elves had it before vampires. (See my comparison of Elves Versus Vampires on Colleen Gleason's blog:
http://tinyurl.com/4m7tnr
Trish and Esri, what a clever conversational interview! Your book sounds intriguing.
Okay, now that I have gotten over them saying that elves aren't real, I will add another comment.
Congrats Esri on the release! Is this the start of a series?
Thanks for the very entertaining interview! ;)
Legolas of LOTR is my all-time favorite elf, but I just may change my mind after I read your book!
Esri, will you be writing more elf books? What are you working on now, besides tons of promotion?
Jennifer/Trish: I'm finishing up the second in the series. It has a new romantic couple, with the old gang as pretty major secondary characters. Well, except for Jed. He's Erin's housemate in the first book, and I have the feeling he moved on. He just hasn't showed up yet.
I mean, if you saw someone TOday with pointed ears, you wouldn't exactly alert the media, right?
Um, I saw SEVERAL on Grafton Street in Dublin! They were real...on, really they were :-)
They probably didn't bother with glamour since Ireland is more like a home for them.
Jennifer/Trish: I'm finishing up the second in the series. It has a new romantic couple, with the old gang as pretty major secondary characters.
Very cool!!!
Congratulations, Esri, on your debut! I love elves and will be looking forward to this. I also have an archer hero inspired in part by Legolas (and in part by Errol Flynn)--BTW, a bookseller told me they sold more Legolas bookmarks than any other for LOTR--but my hero isn't an elf. And yes, I remember Special Unit 2 with the extremely cute former Jimmy Olsen, Mike Landes. The monsters were a bit icky for me, but he was always good.
Trish, this was a fun interview!
Fedora, looks like the rooster comes back to you again. Congratulations!
Enjoyed the interview with the characters and would love to win a copy of the book and learn more about them.
Congratulations on 'Bound to Love Her' as it sounds terrific.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe week-end.
Nancy: Yeah, I don't care for icky monsters either. That's why the only bad thing in the book comes in a nice package. I had a picture of Mike Landes as my screen background for a while.
Hi Esri!
Thanks for letting your characters talk with us. Or...well...maybe you couldn't stop them....hmmm.
This sounds wonderful and now I want to read about them. I've read the earlier stuff where the elves did have pointy ears and I agree with your decision 100 percent! Elves should have--actually DO have, in my view--pointy ears. Very astute observation, and I see Joanie has been to the land of elves and is in agreement as well.
Okay I'm definitely getting this book. Galen sounds wonderful and I love Erin already.
Congrats on your release!
Trish this is just excellent. Thanks for this wonderful interview and for having Esri visit us in the lair!
Flchen, congrats on the Rooster.
Congrats on the release. Your book sounds awesome! I love paranormal, especially with elves in it. Sounds like one for my TBB list.
Hi, Cassondra! Hi Cherie J! (You're everywhere!)
Joan, I want to hear about the elves in Dublin.
And just out of curiosity, how many people here are going to the RWA conference in SF? I have to warn you that I'm terrible with names, but I've hung out here enough that I'm starting to remember some, especially Fedora, who just sent me an INCREDIBLE contest entry.
Welcome to the lair, Esri! Awesome interview - your book sounds fantastic *g*
I'll be in San Fran. I hope to see you there! And since you'll be wielding all those pen/fingers, I can get a signed copy of Bound to Love Her ;-)
I have to confess that I haven't yet seen the LOTR movies (or managed to read any of the books...) Sounds like I'm missing something! :)
Great news that book two is in progress, Esri! And happy to provide some giggles :)
Doglady, the GR leaves because he can--we're not into the extreme bondage thing here ;) And I guess we aren't much into exclusivity either... Ah well... as long as he doesn't leave dirty socks lying around!
Beth: I will be signing at the Literacy Signing at RWA's National Conference. But buying it now will do more for my career. :D What you do is, you buy a copy for your Mom for Mother's Day (sensuality rating is mild, kids, despite the cover), borrow hers when she's done, then get your own signed copy at National. See how easy it is? Or just buy a second at National. Love that debut-author price of four bucks, huh?
Flchn1: I really didn't care for the LOTR movies except for Legolas. There's a lot of fighting and goo-covered monsters...it just wasn't my kind of thing. As for the books, the Hobbit is a grand fairytale, very lyrical, and the others are rather serious -- heavy on politics and fighting.
Hey, here's an ad hoc polling question. When I said the book's sensuality level was "Mild," how many of you were disappointed to hear that? You can email me privately, if you like: esri.rose @ gmail.com. I know it's getting toward the end of the day on a Friday. We'll see how many answers I get back on that.
flchen1, I can't believe you haven't seen the LOTR trilogy yet. Hie thee to the video store! :)
Gasp! Esri, you didn't really like them. I LOVE them. I OWN them. I mean, I'd own them for Faramir alone. Toss in Legolas, Boramir, Aragorn, Eomer...oh, yeah, and a cool story and great battle scenes. :)
Esri, you know I'll be at National, but I'm old hat. :)
Trish: What can I say? I'm sensitive.
I count on you being at National, babe. We'll par-tay. (snort)
Hi Esri - ROTFLOL at the interview with your characters! I've got your book on my Amazon list, ready to ship as soon as it's available. I read the excerpt and can't wait to read the rest.
Oh dear, don't tell Trish but I haven't seen the trilogy yet. I'll get around to it any day now, I swear. :-)
Congrats, Fedora! Hope you had a good day with the GR.
Too bad we don't have more time at National, or I might have to plan a marathon showing of the trilogy. :)
That was a fun interview - thanks!
Hey, here's an ad hoc polling question. When I said the book's sensuality level was "Mild," how many of you were disappointed to hear that?
I'll answer here if that is okay...it didn't really bother me at all. I read everything from inspirational to erotic so heat level is not an issue for me. I read for the story.
Esri I read for the story and the characters so I don't have a problem if the sensuality is mild as long as the story is good I enjoy the book.
Have Fun
Helen
Esri, I have no problem with a story with mild sensuality if it is a good story! Too many times sex scenes seem to be added to a story for no reason other than the fact that the author has been told "You need x number of sex scenes to sell."
LOL, That was great! I love reading character interviews. :) I'm really wanting to read this book now!
I think we're all done here, so I just wanted to thank everyone for having me. I had a great time!
Hi Esri!
I'm sorry that I missed your day here. I can see you all had a blast! Great interview Trish, Erin, Galan, Esri! :)
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