Casual Conversation #4

Visiting with Julie Elizabeth Powell

Today I am chatting with Julie Elizabeth Powell.  Hi Julie and welcome.  Can you share a little about yourself?

 Hello, thanks for the chat!
My pen name is Julie Elizabeth Powell and I have written numerous stories in a variety of genres, although, I prefer fantasy because I can make it up - I just love the imagination and where it takes me.
I live in England, my favourite colour is purple, though, fushia pink is a close second.  I love to read, write and create 3D art and cards.  I love to draw, paint and design my own book covers.

Another talented author who creates their own covers.  I can dream up what I would like but that is where my cover creating abilities end.  How do you come up with your designs?  Do the stories come first and inspire them or visa-versa?   

Original

New

 Usually, the cover comes after I’ve written the story.  There are times when I see an image and it triggers my imagination to write a story so then I use that image.
Oh dear, it’s like choosing a favourite child.  My first book was Gone, a fantasy that was inspired by what happened to my daughter, Samantha, when she was two, her heart stopped and she died.  She was revived too late and thus severely brain damaged so that she didn’t know me or anything else – she had gone only leaving a shell.  I was haunted by a question: If Samantha wasn’t ‘here’ then were was she?  Her essence had flown, where was it?
So then, I wrote Gone and went in search of her.  This will always be my most important book, therefore, this cover has to be number one (although, it’s not the original as I did change it a couple of years back).

I read Gone, actually I just finished rereading it.  Such a poignant story. My daughter passed away 11 years ago and I am still plagued with the "if onlys" just like Charley. You share so much of yourself.  You remind all of us in this boat that we must live.  Personally I find it hard to do, but with the message from you, I am working on it.  How about you?  Did the writing of this work help you heal, or is it still an ongoing process?

Samantha's Story

I’m sorry for your loss and if my story helps then I’m glad – for others, too.  No, I will never heal, but writing Gone forced me to face those tangled feelings.  The pain is just as harsh now, many years later, as it was when it first happened.  Samantha ‘existed’ for seventeen years, her empty shell becoming more and more filled with pain and twisting.  She didn’t know me or anything else. 
Guilt is a terrible thing, but even though I still feel it, part of me knows that the decisions I had to make were really the only ones, despite some people cursing me for them.
I’d love to think that Avalon is real and that one day, I will see Samantha again.
I think that Gone is an inspiring read, not depressing.  It left me with a sense of hope – whether that is a good or bad thing, I’m not always sure.  Writing Gone was the best thing I could do.
FYI – on the day the first paperback versions of Gone were delivered, I piled them onto a table and left the room.  When I came back in, there was a small, pure, white feather sitting in the middle on top of the pile and I wondered if that was a sign that Samantha approved.  White feathers have unexpectedly fallen towards me since she died a second and final time at the age of nineteen.
Time can help with the coping mechanisms of such grief and helplessness, but  such things never cease – it is an ongoing process but I do try to focus on other things, such as writing and reading and creating (whatever I can).


White feathers, how beautiful!  I felt my daughter's presence when Voices first came out.  Recently I completed the set dedicated for her.  It was supposed to be 3 books but I felt her nudge and made it 4 and the first time I saw Erika's cover for the box set, I felt an all encompassing warmth surround me, like she was approving.  
I find death and dealing with survivor's guilt touches a lot of my poems. Your book gives me hope, a new vision of what could be in the future. 
I am currently reading your book Changing Angels.  I like how you seamlessly change points of view.  It blends well.  Do you believe in Guardian Angels? 

I think words in any form can be emotive, especially if they touch the reader deeply and resonate with personal experience.  I’ve written a little poetry but stories are my preference.  Those tangled emotions of grief can be all-encompassing and sometimes finding words can ease the pain, if not erase it.  Thank you for saying that Gone gives you hope.
Changing Angels was inspired by true events; however, my imagination allowed me dramatic licence to pepper it with tension and suspense.  It’s a romance, drama, crime thriller with a touch of fantasy (I not only like to write various genres, I also like to mix them in one story).
Thank you for your kind words about Changing Angels.  
It needed to have two points of view and I think it works.
I don’t know if Guardian Angels exist, but it’s a lovely thought.  I can’t deny that I see the white feathers and sometimes feel a tap on my shoulder or a nudge in my side from what appears to be an invisible source.
My husband has always said that he must have a Guardian Angel because his life has been a tough one and he feels he wouldn’t have survived without some seemingly ‘otherworldly’ intervention.  I’ve always believed that if I had one, it wasn’t doing a very good job – my husband, therefore, said that his would look after me.  Who knows?

I, like you, believe they exist! Like your husband says, it explains how I have survived as much as I have.
I haven't read your Avalon Trilogy yet.  According to the blurb it is a fantasy but it does not have angels.  How did you come up with this new world?  Did the journey of your characters take unexpected twists while you were writing?
 

After I’d written Gone, I loved the world I’d created and couldn’t let it go to waste, so I began writing The Star Realm – one of the worlds inside the Orb of Caprice, where Charley had her adventure.  I included The Time Keeper and some others, such as Chamber (grumpy of Puzzle Woods) and it grew and grew and grew until I had to divide the story into three.
Invasion (#2 #Avalon Trilogy) takes place in one of the Below Words, the Dark Reaches, while Secrets Of The Ice (#3 Avalon Trilogy) is set in the Dominion Of Ice, yet another world within the Orb of Caprice – that heptagonal orb that is built from numerous (and ever-adding) worlds created throughout Time and the imagination.
Charley Woods is in The Star Realm in the beginning so as to make some sense to the five children as to what is going on.
So then, the trilogy takes place in three worlds within the Orb of Caprice, its host being Avalon (where resides The Time Keeper, The Star Council and Waiting Room Only, and let’s not forget the Freeway and Fun and Games etc.)  Nevertheless, there is potential for further stories, if and when I ever have time.
It’s an epic quest with five friends who encounter all manner of strangeness, creatures and characters, including talking flowers, fairies and yes, even angels, but maybe not in the way you would think.  I made up many of the creatures involved.  It’s a mystery adventure with secrets that are not revealed until the very end.
As with all my stories, the characters take over and drive me into unexpected corners and then I have to figure out how to move forward.
I like all my stories to have meaning, and The Avalon Trilogy does include important lessons – without the lectures!   It does have humour and, I hope, insight into younger minds, who maybe forget that we were all young once.
The Star Realm, Invasion and Secrets Of The Ice are also now audiobooks.

It sounds fantastic!  I did not realize it would return me to the wonderful world from Gone. Everytime I see the name Avalon, I think of my high school yearbook.  Memory Lane sometimes creates havoc with the observation process. I am glad it is on my TBR list!  I like books that teach without preaching.  I want to read things with substance. 

I remember when I was a child and I loved stories to be read to me.  I’d also listen to the wireless (as it was called then) to Listen With Mother, where short stories were told – wonderful.
Thank you for reading my books!  Reviews are always welcome (have to try) LOL.  Having said that, Amazon is being rather mean about who can post them.  I’m a reviewer, too, so I post where I can – Amazon UK, USA, Goodreads, BookBub and my review page on Facebook.  At least BookBub and Goodreads allow any review from anyone...at the moment.  The reviews for my books can vanish and I have no idea why...never mind, that’s life.


I know how important reviews are and I will leave them on Goodreads soon and then share them on FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  I am not allowed to leave any on Amazon. 
You said this series is now available in audio.  What is your personal opinion of this new format?

I think the format is great for those who prefer to listen or don’t have time to read or are in the car /travelling.  Perhaps the cost is rather high but it depends on what you like most.  I always have promo codes if anyone is interested.
It takes a long time to produce an audiobook – especially when it’s an epic like the three books in The Avalon Trilogy.  I was lucky enough to find a brilliant narrator who was more interested in a good story than whether I was famous or not.  Over twenty of my stories are audiobooks now.  It’s also a great way of finding those embarrassing errors (if not all).  Dratted gremlins are everywhere!
I like all formats for books; it depends on where I am.  I prefer a ‘real’ book in my hands, but I don’t have time to read that way often, so find myself reading my Kindle late at night, with the light off so as not to disturb hubby and am grateful for the backlight that comes with the Paperwhite.  Audiobooks can help relaxation, too, of course, it depends on the subject.

I am in the process of having one of my poetry books put into audio.  I am still not sure how I feel about it.  A novel or story flows but poems are like separate books, in my opinion.  I would rather it be like a music CD where people could jump around to whatever poem they wished to hear at that moment, not be forced to listen to them in the order my hat decided they should be put into.  We will see.   
I love real books but I do use a Kindle also.  I can carry a lot more books with me in the truck using that!
What do you feel is the hardest part of being an author?

Trying to attract buyers to my work is not easy, especially when I have no money for marketing.  I promote where and when I can.  I give away promo codes for audiobooks, two of my books are free, including The Star Realm (Kindle edition) and the first ‘episode’ of my Weird series.  As for the rest, they are 99p, except for the omnibus editions, which are also at a bargain price.  Paperbacks are available on Lulu – this was the first place I found where I could publish, although it is easier to publish ebooks on Kindle.
There is argument about prices but I find my only way is to make my books as inexpensive as I can and hope folks love them and maybe then I’ll be able to charge a little more for my years of work.  There is no choice with audiobooks, Audible /Amazon set the price.

I agree. Marketing is the hardest.  All of us have our own views on pricing and what works.  Personally, I have not found anything that works. If I ever do, I will gladly shout it from the rooftops.

You mention your "Weird" series, what is that about?  How many episodes are available?

No, I haven’t found anything that works : Yes, please, let me know if there is a secret not yet found.  I sell very few books and even less reviews are posted.  That said, I believe in my work and think it is brilliant – so there!!! LOL  I have tried writing poetry and I’m pleased with what I’ve done.  The most interesting one I did was a Ballad Poem where it is a story in poetry form.  It was fun.

I think Kindle is a wonderful tool.

Henry Ian Darling (the star of Weird) came to me in a dream and told me that I must write about him in a series of missives.  So then, Weird: A Henry Ian Darling Oddity: Missive One was created.  It’s a paranormal series, some are longer than others; there are five available so far.  I’m in the process of writing number six but keep being waylaid with life and other ideas for stories.  Summer is almost here so the garden is insisting it has too many weeds – I’ve been out there today, actually (ouch). 
I love fantasy and all its derivatives, including paranormal, horror, science-fiction etc. – these genres all have a mystical sense about them and are such fun to write.  Ian Henry Darling is six feet (he lost half an inch when he came back from the dead), in his late fifties and thinks he’s ugly with a paunch.  His wife, Clara, is a witch – his first wife died.  He has a resident ghost and continually finds /given oddities which he must investigate... I really don’t know where it’s going because Henry leads the way.  Weird #1 is free.  The first three missives are audiobooks.


I have written a poem or two, lol.  I am glad you have such a beautiful attitude toward your talent!  Although I love my work, I am still amazed when anyone else says it is good.  
Weird sounds so interesting, the first book is on its way to my kindle!
Last summer I had retired and was able to have a garden.  It is the one thing I missed out on while driving over-the-road.  I enjoy canning and having garden vegetables all winter long!  Do you have a large garden?  vegetable or flower or both?

Yes, I am always amazed when others like my work, despite my belief in it.  I used to wonder if it was good enough then thought, yes, it is...especially as I read a vast amount and can see what is good and what is not.  Sometimes, it is difficult to keep on believing due to the fact that I can’t sell my work but it’s important to me.

The garden at the front of the house has three small lawns and some flowerbeds.  There’s also a small vegetable plot where I mainly grow tomatoes then turn them into pasta sauce and freeze; great taste of summer for those winter months.

The back garden has an Oriental theme, created with Samantha in mind.  I had made another one but had to leave it when I moved (my life changed for the better – divorce then remarry amongst other things).  So, I had to begin all over again with the garden.  It’s very peaceful.  Keeping it all in check is fabulous exercise.
My favourite flowers are roses, so there is a spread of those, and I love acers and other Oriental plants; plenty of those.  The front garden has a hedge of lavender; gorgeous aroma.

Oh, I hope you enjoy Henry Ian Darling!

Your gardens sound like paradise. My favorite flower is jasmine, but since I left Florida I find it hard to keep alive.  I tried having a rose garden, I actually had 15 different varieties, but the fog every morning kept giving them fungi so I had to pull them up.

I just finished Changing Angels, it was awesome, and ending I did not expect.  I am sure I will enjoy more of your works.

If you had a chance to do it over again, would you have become an author?

 I’ve always enjoyed stories.  As a child I loved anything to do with magic – though Hansel and Gretel terrified me.
 
Over the years, I’ve dabbled with words but when that question over Samantha haunted me, I knew that I’d have to write the story – Gone.  It’s filled with all manner of my experiences and loves and hates, tension, loss, grief, inspiration and hope, and I think that sprinkle of humour shows my weirdness in what I think is funny.  People look at me sometimes and wonder if I’m sane – how can I answer that?

Yes, I would have become an author and it took that tragic event to push me into something serious.  Over the last twenty-odd years I’ve battled numerous things and depression is an enemy that’s difficult to conquer, however, writing, my husband, my two surviving children, stepchildren and other family members keep me sort of sane.  I will never overcome the catastrophe of Samantha’s life, and I know I’m broken, but I continue to look into the mystery of the world that surrounds us and wonder at the majesty of it.  I do not believe in God, although, I am convinced of something ‘other’ than us and our brains have only to one day discover it.  I have no idea what that might be.  Through writing I may find it.

I love your logo, it is beautiful.  I know a lot of authors are getting them lately.  Did you design it?  Also what one thing in it screams "This is ME" at you the loudest?

Thank you!  Yes, I designed it.  One of my favourite things to do is design my book covers.  The one thing that screams at me from my logo is STORYTELLER.


Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.  I have had a great time.

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me, Cindy, it’s been a pleasure.  I hope you continue to enjoy my work.  I like to challenge my writing, fill it with meaning and create twists, turns and surprises.


If folks want to contact me or are interested in my work, here are some links:

Website - http://julizpow.wix.com/julieelizabethpowell
Amazon USA page - http://goo.gl/cT0DCK
Amazon UK page - http://goo.gl/XK8TOj
LULU - http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/julizpow
GOODREADS - https://goo.gl/DcTSOO
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julie-elizabeth-powell
FB page 1 - https://www.facebook.com/julieelizabethpowellsbooks
FB page 2 - https://www.facebook.com/GoneByJulieElizabethPowell
Twitter - https://twitter.com/starjewelz