I first got hooked on Eli James Summers when I discovered he once wanted to be a police CAR … that’s right, a CAR! Not a police officer.
Though his hopes of becoming a police car were quickly squashed, his imagination still runs wild.
He became a prolific writer at a very young age, but it only recently occurred to him that he might become an author. LOL … be sure to read his endearing story about this discovery.
Melanie Rockett: On your website you indicate that your current status is “gay indie author.” Tell us a bit about your background and how you came to focus on gay literature.
Eli Summers: I started writing gay literature since the day I started writing. As I am part of the GLBT community, it just made sense I would write about gay characters. What really made me focus and stick to it was the fact I loved it so much. Any movie I watch, any story I read I always think, “I wonder what this would be like with gay characters” and so I write it out. I think gay literature is just like any other literature, it just happens to centre around a certain group of people. In this case, gay men.
Melanie Rockett: You are currently working on the “Seasons Experience Collection,” Can you tell us the background behind this collection of stories and how they all fit together?
Eli Summers: The Seasons Experience Collection actually started off as just one single book. “The Winter Experience” was meant to be a stand alone book but by the fifth chapter, I realized something was going to happen and the main character needed more story. That’s how it was born. The first and second books centre around Mattie Hawkins (The Winter/Summer Experience) and the third and fourth centre around his nephew, Mathew Coufe (The Fall/Spring Experience). In the end, all four books are about love, loss, finding love and becoming someone.
Melanie Rockett: I’ve been browsing through your website and see that you have a huge collection of projects some of them with planned publication dates in 2016. Do you work on one project at a time, or do you move back and forth between several “front-burner” projects?
Eli Summers: Right now, my main focus is the collection but I do find myself doing chapters here and there for others. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, the ones you see on the website aren’t nearly what I have planned. I have a folder on my computer titled “First Chapters” and there is a total of 300+ files of first chapters to books. I need to write it all down or else they’ll never be told.
Melanie Rockett: Can you tell us a bit about your writing process. You work on books, poems short stories and your website. Do you have a schedule you adhere to? A daily or weekly word count you aim for? What is your writing process?
Eli Summers: I’m spontaneous. I have tried a schedule, but sometimes life just gets in the way. Right now, I work so much I usually write in between jobs or when I have a spare hour. Nothing is set in stone and sometimes, I’m just so tired after work I just want to sleep. The great thing about smartphones is my social media websites and my website itself can be updated on the go. I also have a small laptop I take everywhere and when I have a spare minute, I find myself writing or working on something.
Melanie Rockett: What will we see from you next?
Eli Summers: At this point, I am working on the third book of my Collection. I hope to have it done and self-published by July 2015 when I will start working on the fourth and final book.
Be sure to visit Eli Summers on his website to check up on his vast array of projects and to find out what is happening next!
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