Elva Birch: A Woman of Many Hats

Elva Birch: writer of speculative fiction, including paranormal shifter novels, fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and spicy science fiction adventure. Also Elva Birch: part of the collective Zoe Chant pen name with the Shifting Sands Resort series, Green Valley Shifters series, and Fae Shifter Knights series. Oh, and did I mention that Elva Birch is popular artist and coloring book creator, Ellen Million?

She’s a woman who wears many hats, don’t forget wife and mother, but her unique talent shines through on every project that she creates. Whether it’s gorgeously drawn artwork, adorable shifter kids, or sexy fae shifters, any time you pick up one of her works under any name, you know you’re going to be in for a great story. Take a look at what she has to say about her storied career!

Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?

A: Probably my daughter, even though she is too young to actually read my books! She is so proud that I’m a writer and artist. My husband has also been an unfailing support, and from a very young age, my parents were always very clear that I could be whatever I wanted to be.

Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?

A: I get to write worlds that give people a place to escape to, a safe setting with a happy-ever-after that shows diverse people finding true love. That means everything to me.

Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes, etc.?

A: I start from a rough outline and gradually flesh it out with details and specific chapter notes, filling in actual chapters in random order as inspiration strikes. I usually write with sound-cancelling earphones in, playing from a variety of playlists (The Score, Imagine Dragons, One Republic, and Pink Martini are frequently in my rotation). I use a laptop and while I have a writing nook above the stairs in my house, I get my best writing done away from home where I don’t have chores nagging me out of the corners of my eyes.

Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?

A: I am actually very excited to write a middle grade fantasy series, which is waaaay outside of my comfort zone. I may tiptoe towards that by writing a fantasy romance first. I will probably never write dark romance; I prefer light-hearted and humorous escapes.

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?

A: Self-discipline. It’s not like a day job where I go to an office and have work assigned to me. I have to decide what to do with every bit of my time, whether that’s writing, marketing, designing covers, plotting a series, checking my stats, or browsing the internet pointlessly. It all has to be done, but sometimes writing goes to the bottom of the list, and that is the absolutely best way to stall out on a writing career.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?

A: My weakness is dialogue! All my author friends say that’s the easiest part, and I’m over here flailing with it. I don’t have too much trouble with distinct voices, but I have trouble writing out conversations. I’d rather just summarize them and move on with the plot and feelings.

My strength is writing real people. My characters have relatable problems and flaws, but good hearts and grand goals. They try hard and readers want them to succeed. I also feel like I nail my endings, for series specifically. If someone has invested in reading that many of my books, I want to reward them with a truly satisfying conclusion. It has some plot twists and surprises, right to the very end, but it’s grand and glorious, ties up all the loose ends, rewards our heroes for their suffering, and leaves the reader feeling all the things. I usually have the end of a series in mind when I start and build up to it in every book.

Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?

A: I would LOVE to someday have a cover done by Jody Lee.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?

A: Successful people are not special; they are only stubborn. I have a long and celebrated history of being told I can’t do something and then deciding to do it just to prove them wrong. I chose my degree in college in part because someone told me it was the hardest degree to obtain (mechanical engineering).

I won’t say that it’ always easy, though. I overheard some scathing criticism of a story I’d written, and I gave up writing for a year before I realized that I desperately missed doing it. The thing is, their analysis wasn’t wrong, and it’s incredibly important to be able to absorb actual critique and make your work better while discarding the empty naysaying. I have also gotten really off-the-mark edits that basically suggested giving up on the book, was bold enough to disregard them – and now that’s my most popular series! Keep your goal in mind, set aside your ego, and trust your instincts.

Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?

A: Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, for any reason. Only you know your limits…and how to break free of them.

My first introduction to Elva’s world was The Flamingo’s Fated Mate, book one of the Lawn Ornament Shifters series. It was a little slice of joy that I really needed, and I couldn’t help but smile the whole time I was reading it. It’s got all the he-fell-first, dorky, instalove sweetness that you could ever want, and it’s so much fun to read! Though I quickly learned that this series is like Fight Club; you don’t talk about it, and it’s definitely NOT being written (stay tuned for book 3 in August :D)!

Don’t forget to follow Elva on Instagram and join her private Facebook group to see all her updates! You can also visit her website, or the websites for Zoe Chant and Ellen Million for her complete catalogue!