THE ART STONE (Echoes of Elybion Book 1) received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Jesse A. Ellis .
Please answer all questions* below:
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
THE ART STONE – Published July 16th, 2020
What’s the book’s first line?
In the beginning, the goddess gave twelve stones to the four tribes of Elybion.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Five souls from various regions of Elybion collide an epic adventure filled with mystery centered around a powerful stone. Kai is given the stone from his dying mother with a single task to return the stone to its origin. However, the people he meets along the way are not always who they seem. The Lost Empress on the run, the twin-warriors from the frozen south, and the neglected son of a king will each play a vital role in the destiny of the stone and the future of all Elybion.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
After a GOT watch-party, my college roommates and I discussed the scientific reason for varying lengths of winters. We were all engineering students caught up in the numbers. Yet, there was something deeper, something that made us all care so intensely about a mystical feature of a story.
That night I stayed up modeling solar systems with multiples suns and researching technology to control the weather. I can be a very analytical person, but after spending the night trying to make scientific sense of the magic, I found something else. The mythical realm had inspired me so much that I lost all track of time.
When the sun came up, I didn’t have an answer for the long winters, but I did have a new aspiration: create something fantastically valuable enough to inspire someone else to spend a night contemplating how or why something works a certain way in a story.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The realm of Elybion is not our world. There are influences from many regions around ours. Still, none of the countries are meant to be solely representative of one on earth. The five main characters hail from distinctly different cultures, and they must use their differences as combined strengths to survive.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Kai’s origin is somewhat mystifying. The mystery is only amplified when his mother gives him the stone, which she had kept from him his entire life. Like Luke or Harry, Kai has something extraordinary hidden inside him just waiting to be unlocked.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
When I submitted the manuscript to the audiobook voice actors, I tried to think of a voice that would match Kai’s. The best I could come up with was Tom Holland in Spiderman. I think he would absolutely nail the role, but really, when it does happen 😉, I would prefer unknown actors to step into the unique characters.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I think I realized I was a writer in 5th grade when they asked us what we wanted to be. The only thing I cared about was fantastical worlds. I always wanted to write and tell stories, but somewhere along the way, I let the world convince me that was not an adequate path. Still, that flame never burnt out. It lingered and reignited when I was in college. Though I wasn’t formally studying writing, I realized I had been studying how stories are told my whole life through the books, movies, and even roleplaying games I’d played. I don’t know if there is a decision to be a writer. It’s who I am regardless, but I did decide to share my first book in 2016 and eventually become an author.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
The first book I’ve finished! I have many others waiting in the wings, starting with a sequel, The Twin Blades.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Transient Engineering. It’s almost as fun as writing!
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It’s hard for me to measure my writing in time. I spend more time thinking about what I’m going to write than actually writing. That’s why writing-sprints works so well for me. I can think about a chapter for a week, and I’ve gone over the conversation or action several times before I put fingers to keyboard. In a logistical sense, I try to write 1,000 words a day. I don’t write every day, but the days I miss, I try to make up for on the weekends.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the unique freedom to work for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with editors, designers, and everyone it takes to form the final product of the book. It’s like a small business, and I really enjoy that part.
The hardest part is definitely self-management. Setting and sticking to deadlines is something I’m still learning. When I work for other people, I’m never late, but working for myself is more forgiving because I know the product’s quality outweighs the amount of time it takes to deliver it.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
First, tell the story that is unique to you, and don’t be afraid to buck the trends, because trends don’t last. Your experiences will make your story a piece of art that can’t be replicated. Secondly, make friends with other writers. Too often, we are competing with a famine-like mentality. It doesn’t have to be that way; we can raise each other up without hurting ourselves.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes, but my main priority is self-publishing this first Trilogy.
I want the Trilogy to be, for better or for worse, raw me. I can see myself working with a publishing house on my 4th or 5th book, but I can also see myself finding success in self-publishing all of my future books. After I finish the first Trilogy and I am querying my 4th book, I want to have a trilogy and sample of my work ready for agents and readers to get a glimpse of what I’m capable of creating on my own.
Regardless of who publishes my books, I’m always working to produce the highest quality each time.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I would say creating things that inspire motivates me. I believe that we can create, destroy or leave things exactly the way they are. The control of creation is an underline theme in The Art Stone. Some characters believe destruction is required to build something better. Other characters are too afraid to face the consequence of change or just content enough to ride out the wave they set sail on. Not unlike Kai in the Art Stone, I want to make something meaningful, and writing is my vessel.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Brandon Sanderson comes to mind. His energy and enthusiasm for his own work inspires me to find enjoyment in the craft of writing. When what you love to do aligns with something you can make into a successful business, are you ever working? Brandon Sanderson seems to have mastered that.