The Midnight Dragonfly Series by Ellie James Blog Tour

Ellie James: This or That

Movie or book?           Books!

Sleep or awake?       Awake.

Cats or Dogs?               Cats

Reese pieces or Kit Kat ? Reese’s Anything J

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure!  I’m a dreamer. I believe anything is possible, that we’re all stronger and far more capable than we realize. I believe in trying new things, especially those that frighten you, that the only way to fly is to spread your wings. I believe attitudes are contagious and adversity makes you stronger. I believe in love and friendship, that promises are meant to be kept and forever is more than a word. I believe sunrises and sunsets are equally beautiful, that the best way to predict your future is to create it, and that imagination can take you anywhere. Aside from all that, I’m a mom and a wife, an animal lover, chocolate chip cookie fanatic and thunderstorm junkie J

Why did you become a writer? Who were your biggest influences?

I’ve been living with fictional characters as long as I can remember!  The first two I remember were best friends Sally and Susie. After that, it was a family of monsters, followed by star-crossed cats. Then came a girl named Jacquie and her terrifying flight through a sinister swamp, with a mysterious boy racing to help her. I had no choice but to write the stories down. It was the only way to get them to leave me alone J

As for influences, as a kid I loved Nancy Drew mysteries, but the first book I remember making me cry was Island of the Blue Dolphins. Then came my love affair with Judy Blue (and the forbidden Rosemary Rogers novels I found between my mother’s mattresses!) After that there’s a huge gap before Stephen King and Michael Creighton took over. I think that gap is called high school and college!! 

My senior year of high school I remember talking to my mom about choosing a major at LSU. She asked what I loved most, and I said writing J  I ended up graduating with a degree in Journalism, but several years passed (new city, new apartment, new job, new LOVE) before the characters in my mind started to again wreak havoc!

When and how did you get the idea for the Midnight Dragonfly series?

Back during the sleep-deprived days after my little boy was born prematurely, I woke up one night from one of the most incredibly detailed, vivid dreams I’d ever had. I’d more than just seen a group of teen sneak into an old abandoned mansion--I’d been with them.  I’d gazed into the darkness, and smelled the decay. I’d felt the fear, and the crazy blast of excitement at the prospect of a game of truth or dare.  My heart was still racing when I woke up. The images lingered. I kept thinking about what I’d seen, and from the questions came: What happened next? What if one of the teens was a psychic? What if she saw something…something bad? What if she had a premonition? What if what she saw actually happened?  What if no one believed her, or at least, no one but the last guy she should let herself begin to fall for?

As I answered those questions, the Midnight Dragonfly books were born!

What are five things your characters learn in Midnight Dragonfly series?

Only five?  Hmmmm.  1) Forever is more than just a word,  2) Seeing things that aren’t there doesn’t necessarily mean you’re crazy, 3)Not all dreams end when you wake up, 4) Nothing is random, and 5) A single kiss really can change everything.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of book research?

Jumped into a swimming pool with my hands tied together (to see if I could stay afloat)--and broken into a place long abandoned (can’t say where--yet!) to see what it would feel like, and what kind of trouble I could get Trinity into on the other side!

What's your favorite food?

Today it’s guacamole. Tomorrow it might be onion rings. I tend to change my mind a lot!

Favorite movie?

Raiders of the lost Ark!  OMG, I love that movie. (Close seconds: The Sixth Sense and Last of the Mohicans.)

Favorite season?

Spring!

About Ellie James

Most people who know Ellie think she’s your nice, average wife and mom of two little kids. They see someone who does all that normal stuff, like grocery shopping, going to soccer games, and somehow always forgetting to get the house cleaned and laundry done.

What they don't know is that more often than not, this LSU J-School alum is somewhere far, far away, deeply embroiled in solving a riddle or puzzle or crime, testing the limits of possibility, exploring the unexplained, and holding her breath while two people fall in love.

Regardless of which world Ellie’s in, she loves rain and wind and thunder and lightning; the first warm kiss of spring and the first cool whisper of fall; family, friends, and animals; dreams and happy endings; Lost and Fringe; Arcade Fire and Dave Matthews, and last but not least…warm gooey chocolate chip cookies.

 

 You can follow Ellie on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midnight-Dragonfly-Books-by-Ellie-James/154988421236309

Her next book, FRAGILE DARKNESS, is available from Griffin Teen November 27, 2012. 

 

About the Midnight Dragonfly Series

Glimpses. That’s all they are. Shadowy premonitions flickering through sixteen year old psychic Trinity Monsour’s dreams. Some terrify: a girl screaming, a knife lifting, a body in the grass. But others--the dark, tortured eyes and the shattering kiss, the promise of forever--whisper to her soul. They come without warning. They come without detail.

But they always mean the same thing: The clock is ticking, and only Trinity can stop it.

Find out how in Shattered Dreams, Broken Illusions, and Fragile Darkness, available from Griffin Teen!