Welcome, today we are talking with E. Arrows! I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions. First, let’s delve into who you are. Some of the questions may be untraditional but you’d be surprised at what readers connect to, and sometimes the simplest ‘I can relate to that’ grabs their interest where nothing else can.
Can you share a little something about E. Arrows that’s not mentioned in your bio on your website?
One thing, that my readers might find surprising is that I am an avid fan of horror stories. Not so much movies, but books. I love a good ghost story and find the thrill of supernatural horror fun and exciting to read.
My love of horror is one of the reasons why I use a pen name for my more romantic and erotic work. I try to keep my horror and romantic writer’s lives separate.
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always loved writing. My lifelong obsession started in the fifth grade when I won an award for a short story I wrote. Then, I had a fantastic teacher in the sixth grade who really encouraged my love of books and stories. He spent a lot of personal time reading scenes and short stories I wrote.
I hope everyone can have a friend who can help them foster the love of a hobby like he did for me.
How long have you been writing?
Like I said above, my passion started in the fifth grade, but it really blossomed in the years after that.
What have you found most challenging about it?
I find that interruptions are the most challenging aspect of writing. If you know how to go about organizing your time, writing a little bit every day is pretty easy. And if you write a little bit every day, you will find yourself getting into the zone, or the flow.
It’s when you’re interrupted and you never get into the zone that’s challenging. But when you do, it’s creative bliss and the reason for enjoying the art and the hobby.
What does writing do for you? Is it fun, cathartic, do you get emotional?
It’s all of the above, fun, cathartic, and I do get emotional at times. I spend time writing fiction, poetry, journaling, and I even practice writing sentences. However, no matter what I am doing, it’s the creative bliss, the pure joy of creation that keeps me coming back to it. Whether it’s a story or a conversation with myself about what I should be doing or how I should be living life, writing gives me a place to tuck my thoughts between the pages and explore new worlds.
Describe what your writing routine looks like. Are you disciplined with a strict schedule or do you have to be in the mood?
I am disciplined in that I spend the same amount of time writing every day. I don’t care what time of day it happens. I’ve trained myself to be able to sit down and write at any time of day (Yes, you can learn how to train yourself to write at any given moment.)
I am also disciplined in that I make sure not to think of new stories or poems as “practice.” I think that’s one way to keep yourself from growing at a nice pace. Practice is choosing a deliberate exercise in order to gain a skill. Writing a story or a poem is writing a story or a poem.
For example, you might want to be able to write some longer sentences with clarity. So, you might try to write a few cumulative sentences (You could call them right-branching or left-branching sentences).
Or you might get lost in run-on or lengthier sentences, so you could try to break up long sentences into shorter ones.
Or you could try describing the sunset as five different characters if you want to learn about voice or characterization. There’re tons of writing practice you can do.
Then you put it all into a new story or poem for fun.
Did you go into writing thinking that it would be a hobby or a job?
I think of writing as something I do for the pleasure of it. If it makes me money, that’s great. But I get greater joy from the act than I do for the potential for money.
But some more money wouldn’t hurt.
Tell readers a little bit about your release Letters of Temptation.
Steamy Romance isn’t my first love when it comes to writing. I spent years writing speculative fiction, horror, and whatever else came to mind. I even studied Creative Writing as an undergrad, so a lot of different types of stories appealed to me.
Having said that, I had never really written poetry. So, one day, on a whim, I wrote a poem and posted it to Twitter. It turned into the daily practice of writing a poem. Most of them were steamy or sensual romance in some way. Naturally, this led me to wonder about writing some steamy romance that wasn’t poetry. Because I’ve never been a huge avid reader of the genre (I’ve been reading wider the past few months), I wasn’t sure what the tropes and ideas people really like in their steamy romance.
So, I decided to write a series of fictional love letters. Love letters are great because they’ve been used as a form for prose poetry in the past, as well as just being an iconic expression of love. People inherently gravitate to the idea of their lover sending them their secret thoughts in writing. It’s why people smile at texts from their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, or wives.
Part of the reason I chose love letters is their length. In learning a new genre, I wanted to write short pieces, both romantic and hot. I feel like I did that with Letters of Temptation. Writing short pieces helped me to get a feel for the genre.
But it also helped me to decide if I wanted to continue writing steamy, romantic, erotic works. It turns out I like the genre as much as anything else I have written.
So now, I have Sealed Confession: Letters of Temptation vol: II on the way. It will probably arrive by the time this interview hits. Plus, I have a steamy book about a librarian in the works.
In short, Letters of Temptation helped me learn to enjoy a romantic edge that wasn’t part of my poetry series.
What inspires you?
This is a broad question. And I’m not sure if you mean what inspires me to write, or what inspires me in life, so I will answer this way—life inspires me. I happen to like life. I like taking walks around the neighborhood. I like good music. I like to dance. I like great food. Conversation.
In terms of writing, I can guarantee you that if I am ever at a loss for what to write, I will try to go and do something unique, or different. Maybe I will go for a hike or a drive. I might go to a concert or an art gallery or a museum. Without fail, the new experiences always become a muse, and I find a story, sometimes a number of stories to tell through the new experiences.
Let’s move on and give readers some insight into your personal life.
What is your favorite:
- Animal – Playing favorites is hard. Umm Manatee? Narwhal whale? Orcas? Raccoons? Playpus? Probably one of those.
- Food – This one is easy. Tacos or enchiladas. By far. It’s got to have meat and a corn tortilla. Don’t give me those bland flour tortillas.
- Movie – The Goonies. The Prestige. Mean Girls. Empire Strikes Back. One of those maybe.
- TV show – Chuck. Smallville. Recently I liked Only Murders in the Building.
- Singer – Ooh . . . Umm How long do we have?
- Author –Ray Bradbury. Shirley Jackson. Glenn Hirshberg. Poets, Mary Oliver, William Carlos Williams. Mary Karr. Billy Collins.
What are your pet peeves?
Thinking about pet peeves. I never think of them until after I’ve answered the question.
Who is your hero?
I am going to go with my Dad again.
He’s just a cool dude.
Give us one thing on your bucket list.
I want to do a taco tour in Mexico. Yep. Taco tour.
What would readers find surprising about you?
Other than the fact I love horror stories? I think, because I don’t engage as much as I’d like on social media, I think they’d find it surprising how much I like to joke around and laugh.
If you could go to heaven, who would you visit?
My Dad. I miss that guy.
Any bad habits?
In 2018 I would have said writing poetry. (Joking).
Sure, we all have bad habits. But why would I point them out so that everybody knows?
Any advice for aspiring authors?
Yes. A) Practice. B) Write. All the time. Start slow, and by slow, what I mean is train yourself to write for fifteen minutes a day. And then go to thirty and beyond. Break it up into chunks. Write fifteen minutes in the morning. Some at lunch. Some in the afternoon. Some at night. After a month or two, you can write at any time of day and for way longer than fifteen minutes.
Don’t show it to anyone for at least three months, because you need to learn how to not care if it is good or bad. Caring if it’s good or bad is the creativity killer and you won’t be able to write.
But you can write about anything and come out with some really good (and really bad) stuff if you don’t care.
Final words?
Thanks for having me. I truly appreciate it. It’s been fun writing steamy and romantic words, both in poetry and prose. If you like my work or have read it, thank you. There’s nothing better for a writer than for somebody to read their work and enjoy it.
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