Ellen Mint: Leader of the SinaMints

Hi, my name is Jordan, and I am a very proud SinaMint.

I’m so proud and happy to introduce you all to this wonderful human being!

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

A: My husband, hands down. I used to bounce my ideas off him while I’d send him my manuscripts to have a third backup. Then he started reading my drafts, so now I have to keep all of my big twists to myself until he reads them.

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?

A: It’s only inspiration if it comes from the creative region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling brain goo.

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

A: Exhausted. Trapped in a never-ending loop of writing, editing, marketing, then writing more. Sisyphus and his boulder have nothing on authors.

Exciting. I get to make anything I want. Anything. I can go as dark as the deepest pit, or sweet as spun sugar. Whatever someone says you can’t do, ha! I can do it and flip them off as I go.

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

A: I write in the afternoon and night. Why? That’s when my brain says I must write. When my dog was alive, I’d plot while walking her, then write. I must have music or else my brain will get unnecessarily angry. For a long time, I’d use the scores from various movies or video games until I stumbled upon the perfect album that breaks through any writer’s block. But it just works for my brain.

I am not a plotter. If I were to write out my outline, I know me, I’d never write it because I’d be like look I already wrote it. But I don’t fly by the seat of my pants either. It’s more a melding of planning things in my head, then letting my characters screw it all up to see what happens.

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 really want to get back into more sci-fi romance as well as lean harder into monster romance. Put my animal science degree to work as I come up with weird monster peens based on real life.

I will never write a billionaire romance unless said billionaire is the villain who gets guillotined. Viva la Revolution! I’m also never gonna write a sports romance cause it’s just not my thing.

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

A: Getting people to actually read my books is probably a greater struggle than writing said books. It’s also hard for me to follow up with people to leave reviews or work on my ARC team. I don’t like bothering people in their busy lives.

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

A: I really love dialogue. It’s my chance to let my characters shine by doing whatever they want, though often to my detriment. Settings are where I struggle. I’m not a very descriptive person and will struggle to set a scene.

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

A: Anyone that’s willing to work with me. Writing is such a solitary profession, I’m just happy to have anyone who wants to work together.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all hears 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: Stab things. I stab video game things, but it can help to work through all that anger. It also helps to write for myself. No worrying what’s marketable or what anyone else would life. Just a silly story for me.

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: Write fanfic. Fanfic is the perfect way to start as you’ll be able to find your voice without having to trunk a bunch of books. You’ll find a community who are happy to give you instant feedback. It’s hard to get that elsewhere. And it’ll help you to learn the popular subgenres and tropes.

Working with a small press probably won’t pull in a lot of money, but it will help you to learn the ins and outs of the industry, what’s expected of editing, and find a community of fellow authors.

Ellen has a new book coming out April 16th called Why Cheese? and I couldn’t brie more excited! Four men are cursed to turn into cheese every day at dawn. They’ve been hiding in a cellar under a cheese shop when Violette discovers them and steamy, cheesy shenanigans ensue. If my previous experiences with Ellen’s steamy scenes are any indication, I’m going to be praying to cheese-us while I’m melting for four hot cheese men (boy, these are words I never thought I’d say)!

Ellen has so many good books and series, so make sure to check out her website, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and join her private Facebook group, Ellen Mint’s SinaMints to connect with her and stay informed on all her fun book news!

You won’t want to miss fun alien peens, believe me!