So far I've written three YA novels. The first one was a dystopian sci-fi adventure, and I actually ended up self-publishing it on Amazon. My second one was a mystery about a girl who could see ghosts. The third one was a mythological fantasy novel about a girl who was half-Djinni and half-Finfolk. Eventually, I want to try to sell my latest two while I write my fourth.
Besides writing, I love to take pictures, read, and learn languages.
Ever since I was little, my mother has always been taking pictures. We have boxes and boxes of printed photos at home that are waiting to be scanned. She even took the cover picture for my first book. I love reusing her old pictures and telling her about all of the different things I've used them for, like this blog. However, I do like taking pictures of my own. My sister loves cloud pictures, so I always take some to send to her.
For books, I read mostly young adult fiction with a few trashy romance novels thrown in for good measure. I have a lot of favorite YA books, but I don't have a favorite YA author. For romance novels though, I love reading Jennifer Crusie.
As for languages, I studied French for all three years of high school (I took some summer school to graduate early). During my final year in Illinois, my family hosted a Swiss exchange student who spoke French. Since then, I moved into the international floor of the dorms and made two wonderful friends that I share an apartment with. Here at OU, I have taken French, Russian, and I am currently taking Japanese classes. I would love to learn even more languages some day and reach a fluency level in a language besides English.
Despite being a vegetarian for seven years now, I'm pretty terrible at it. Turns out I hate most of the foods that are supposed to be good for me, and I'm also terrible at cooking. So my greatest goal in life is to one day have enough money to hire a personal chef. That way maybe my diet won't consist of french fries and cosmic brownies.
Unfortunately, due to my mom's severe allergies, my family doesn't have any furry friends. However, we do have a gecko, two turtles, and several fish. I live vicariously through my neighbors' dog Kimber, whom they let me borrow sometimes.
If you're looking for recommendations for which of my stories to read (or avoid), Week Two is my favorite, and Week Nine is the one I hate the most.
Image Information: All of the images are personal photos.
The first photo was taken at Garden of the Gods.
The second and third were both taken in small cities near where I live.
The final picture is of my neighbor's dog, Kimber. She's a black lab and golden retriever mix.
It is always so exciting to have professional writing majors in this class, Ellie: fantastic! Do you know Jenna? She did this class last semester, and she is taking Indian Epics this semester; her intro is here: Introduction to a Story Hoarder. I hope this class will be fun for you, providing a very low-pressure practice space to connect with different story traditions and see how you can play with them.
ReplyDeleteAnd how great that you have studied Russian! I was a Slavic-Classics major in school (Polish was my main language, but I can read Russian)... I would love to study Japanese someday! I've studied Indo-European and Semitic languages... but never a language from Asia. That would be so fascinating!
And perhaps you could even turn this class into a quest for vegetarian foods that you do like: food a great theme to follow in literature, so maybe you could experiment in this class with a combination of cooking and storytelling. They are not completely unrelated skills after all! :-)
Hi groupie! It's so great to learn a little about you. That's incredible that you already have a book published. I love writing as well, although I am not very good at it I'll admit. I cannot wait to read the stories you come up with! I love taking pictures of the sky too. Oklahoma has the most beautiful sky in my opinion. It's also really cool that you know four languages, as I could barely learn Spanish and have not retained much of it. I look forward to reading your stories and learning more about you!
ReplyDeleteLove the blog! The tree background is awesome, and it fits the title and mood perfectly. Also, just look at that description of FF: you’re going to have a ton of fun with this class. I like it because it’s kind of like a practice run of the idea behind the Spiral Initiative, you know? Anyways, looking forward to reading some of your stories this semester!
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ReplyDeleteHi Ellie!
First off, I love the domain name of your blog! I’m assuming it’s a play on “Of Monsters and Men?” I think it is so cool that you have written your own novels! The mystery about the girl who can see ghosts sounds really interesting! I also have a terrible diet, I’m not a vegetarian by any means, but I eat more pizza than I probably should and could definitely use a lot more vegetables in my life.
Hi Ellie! It is so nice to learn a little bit about you. This class seems like a great fit for you since you have so much writing experience. I am a PR major, so I am also in the Gaylord college. I think it is awesome that you love to take pictures, you seem like a very talented photographer and writer. I have to say that dog is adorable, I'm such a dog lover! I have a yorkie named Nike and I miss her every single day and wish she could live in Norman with me!
ReplyDeleteI really want to learn more languages too! I've spent some time overseas and I'm at about the "wont' immediately die if dropped into random country" level with a couple Romance languages. It'd be amazing to actually be able to speak those languages though. I also can't imagine what it would have been like to go from French to Russian to Japanese. With Romance languages, there are a lot of words and rules that carry over between languages, but your three are so completely different almost nothing would carry over.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful you live near state parks, since you get really good views! Have you ever heard of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland? I've been there twice, and the view is spectacular. Just make sure you wait until the sky is clear. I say that from experience. ^_^'
ReplyDeleteLearning Japanese sounds great. I wanted to do so, myself, but they didn't serve that course at Norman High, so I took Chinese instead. I still had fun, though!
These novels you wrote sound intriguing, and I'd like to see them sometime. Concerning your fascination with young adult fiction and romance, have you heard of the Scott Pilgrim series by Brian Lee O'Malley? The graphic novel format might be outside of your comfort zone, but I consider it a phenomenal series, capturing a unique story of love and the transitional period of young adult life.
Hi Ellie!! It's so nice to meet you! I actually have family in Illinois also! Not quite Chicago either, just the burbs but fairly close. I was just recently there for a short visit & will be back two more times this Summer, I just love it there!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you're published YA author! I almost published a book of my own, but I never fully got to finish it. It was more so non-fiction than YA lol. Please tell me what those books are so I can find them on Amazon and read em!
We seem to have a tad in common, I love taking pictures too and hope to save $$ to buy a better camera than the one I have. Mine is either broken or I just need to replace the battery, which I haven't gotten a chance to do.
I also love learning new languages, I took Spanish the first few semesters here at OU, I wish I kept up with it though because now I'm not as fluent as I wish to be. I plan to learn Japanese one day as well as Korean and relearn my own language. So far I only know the basics. I'd also love to learn German, French & Italian..but we'll see if I can find the time to get to them lol.
You're brave to go vegetarian, I'd be a horrible one too because I can't cook either. I'd love to hire a personal chef too, but I actually like cooking and learning/challenging myself to cook. If only I had time...
Hey Ellie!
ReplyDeleteNow I understand why your writing has been so amazing! The fact that you've already written three novels is astonishing. That would be crazy to one day say that I was in class with a famous author.
I love cooking, but I'm not anywhere close to being able to cook for other people (I think I've become tolerant of my own food over the years). Those pictures you included were great. It seems like you have an eye for good scenery! Good luck this semester.
Hey Ellie! Nice to meet you! Your introduction post is so interesting! I can’t believe you are learning that many different languages! I know that isn’t easy! Also, congrats on your books! That is super impressive! I hope the sales for your second and third book go well! I am sorry you didn’t have any dogs of your own but your neighbor’s dog is super precious! I have a dog named Ellie and she is the best!
ReplyDeleteEllie, that is awesome that you have written novels already. I am more of a math and science guy so I am always amazed how some people have such a creative mind. Also, that is cool that you are trying to learn so many languages. I speak some Spanish because my family always goes to Costa Rica but I am not where near being fluent. That is impressive that you are a vegetarian. I could never survive lol. Anyways, it was nice to meet you and good luck on your career!
ReplyDeleteHey Ellie, Its awesome that you have already published one book, and that you have several more just waiting in the wings. I cannot imagine how much work that must have taken. Just out of curiosity, what is the name of the book you have published? Your pictures are beautiful, and I am somewhat jealous because my pictures are always grainy. I cannot wait to read your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Ellie,
ReplyDeleteI love your name! It’s truly amazing that you have written THREE novels! You should definitely link your book onto here, so we can check them out. The diversity in your novel topics are fascinating. I also love taking pictures and reading trashy romance novels haha. The face that you’re taking numerous language classes here is quite impressive; I could barely get through Chinese. Your neighbors’ pup is so adorable.
Ellie, it is really cool that you’re a professional writer. I’m an anthropology / forensic science major but I honestly see myself writing professionally in the future as well. I’ve began writing a book but I’m very self-critical and I’m never confident in my writing. However, this class has truly helped me with my confidence, so I’m pretty grateful that I took it at this point!! How did you go about self-publishing on Amazon?! That is a really awesome idea I hadn’t thought of. I don’t share the love of languages as you (well, I should say that I don’t seem to have the language skills to “collect” language skills such as you have.), however I do aspire to speak Spanish fluently in the future.
ReplyDeleteHi, Ellie! That is so amazing that you have written several novels! That is something I have always wanted to do but never followed through with. How did you go about self-publishing? That sounds scary but really rewarding! It's also so impressive that you take French, Russian, and Japanese! Those are each so diverse and difficult to learn (I am terrible at French) so I am amazed that you are able to do that. I am also a terrible cook and hoping to hire a personal chef someday, so I'm glad we have that in common. I also have severe allergies so I can relate to living vicariously through friends' dogs.
ReplyDeleteHello Ellie! It makes me sad to hear you can't have any furry friends! I am amazed that you have written so many Young Adult Novels! You seem so talented! It is so awesome that you're a vegetarian! I have been a pescatarian, vegetarian with the exception of fish, for almost 9 years now! I'm sad to hear you don't love cooking! It's actually one of my favorite past times! Unfortunately, I live in the resident halls so I haven't gotten the opportunity to cook much in the last few years, but I'd be more than happy to share some of my vegetarian recipes with you!
ReplyDeleteHi Ellie! It is pretty amazing you are published (I am so jealous)! I’ve heard a lot of backlash about self-publishing, but I think it’s a great way to get your name out there. AND TO HAVE THREE! I myself love trashy romance novels, but with college work and graduation coming up its rather difficult to actually sit down and read for pleasure without stressing about school work. I personally like paranormal romances (just the right amount of angst and comedy) and my favorite paranormal romance author is Cindy Miles (and I only like five of her books).
ReplyDeleteHi Ellie! That is awesome that you are a Professional Writing major! I can’t wait to read your stories! Your books sound extremely interesting. It is great that you have studied so many languages! Super impressive! I think having a personal chef would be amazing. I am also terrible at cooking and eat pizza rolls and mac and cheese way too often. Good luck with your writing career! I hope to be able to buy your books some day!
ReplyDeleteHey Ellie, It's great to meet someone who is a professional at writing! Taking pictures is amazing, I'm sure you will always have something too look back at and reminisce. Good job on learning so many languages, I can speak Arabic English and French and I've taken 3 semesters of spanish and german in highs cool. It's always fun to learn languages! Hope to buy your book some day, goodluck!
ReplyDeleteHey Ellie, it's nice to meet you! I bet this class is a fun break from your every day novel writing. That's exciting to be able to write something like that. I have always loved to write, but I don't think I have enough creativity to write a novel. Short stories are where I do my best writing. I would love to learn more languages. I took Spanish for my foreign language and it was the hardest thing ever. I struggled so much with that one. Good luck with selling your other two books and writing your fourth!
ReplyDeleteHi, Ellie! It is really nice to meet you. I am thoroughly impressed by your writing skills. I have now read one of your stories and I can see that you definitely have a lot of writing experience. I am very impressed that you have already written three books and published one. I would love to know where I can purchase your book so I can read it. I also love taking pictures in my spare time as well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on self-publishing!!! That is so cool! I've always wanted to write a novel, but I never felt I had the time so kudos for writing three! Would you put the titles somewhere because I would totally check out the one on Amazon. Also, I love your blog title! Of Monsters and Men is one of my most favorite bands. I am also so impressed that you know so many languages! I took Spanish and can speak a little Chinese but otherwise I'm hopeless haha. Good luck on your future novels!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! You sound like you have a very interesting life and I am super excited to read some of your stories since you are a writer! This class can be challenging for those of us who have never written creatively before, but it is always interesting when someone has a blog and they are used to creative writing! Your pictures are great and I love the layout of your blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Ellie!
ReplyDeleteWell it has taken until week 12 but I have finally made my way to your blog and it is certainly nice to meet you. This class seems to be the perfect fit for someone like yourself who wishes to one day become a professional author. I noticed you have already published a novel on Amazon, has the novel received positive reviews and sold any to date?
Hi Ellie,
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that your professional writing degree is coming in handy with this course!! I think that’s so cool that you were able to self-publish one of your stories in Amazon. I bet that was a really cool feeling! I love to take photographs too, but I am not that great at it. I would love to be able to speak multiple languages! I took Spanish for four years and none of it has stuck unfortunately!
Ellie! What a cool name. ;) You sound like a super interesting person! I think it's crazy that you write books. I can't even imagine taking on a task that big, that's seriously so impressive! I love that you love learning languages. So far, German is the only other language I know but I love it-I think you should consider learning it! Kimber is a beautiful dog and I would also steal her if I were you haha! I have a pit bull pup myself and he's definitely my best friend. I was a vegetarian for 3 years and absolutely sucked at cooking any vegetarian foods too and actually ended up getting so unhealthy that I got shingles and mono at the same time. I'd love to be vegetarian again in the future, but when I have more time to learn how to cook and be more knowledgeable about what I should eat instead. My boyfriend is vegetarian and he constantly makes me wish I still was.
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