Thursday, March 23, 2023

The 40 But 10 Interview series: Elizabeth B. Splaine

 


had decided to retire the literary Would You Rather series, but didn't want to stop interviews on the site all together. Instead, I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!


Today we are joined by Elizabeth B. Splaine. Elizabeth wrote the Dr. Julian Stryker series of “Blind” thrillers (Blind Order and Blind Knowledge), as well as Devil’s Grace, the winner of the When Words Count writing competition, released through Greenwriters Press. Her most recent book, Swan Song, an historical fiction novel, was released in October 2021 through Woodhall Press. Prior to writing, Elizabeth earned an AB in Psychology from Duke University and an MHA from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She spent eleven years working in health care before switching careers to become a professional opera singer and voice teacher. When not writing, Elizabeth teaches classical voice in Rhode Island where she lives with her husband, sons, and dogs.

 




Do you have any hidden talents?

I’M A RETIRED OPERA SINGER.I GUESS THAT COUNTS.

 

What’s something that’s true about you but no one believes.

I TRIED OUT FOR THE 1988 OLYMPIC WOMEN’S LACROSSE TEAM & MADE THE FIRST CUT.

 

Describe your book in three words.

COMING OF (S)AGE

 

If you could cast your characters in a movie, which actors would play them and why?

ANTONIA GENTRY (from Ginny & Georgia) WOULD PLAY EBONY DOBBS BECAUSE SHE’S A KICK-ASS ACTOR. I’D LOVE TO SEE MERYL STREEP IN THE ROLE OF MADAME CELESTE DEWIT BECAUSE OF HER GRAVITAS.

 

What are you currently reading?

I JUST FINISHED READING AN AS-YET-UNPUBLISHED WORK CALLED PUDDIN BY CE O’FLAHERTY’. IT IS SPECTACULAR, AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR IT TO BE RELEASED. THE BOOK SUCKS YOU IN UNTIL YOU THINK YOU CAN’T BREATHE AND THEN DROPS YOU HARD ON THE PAVEMENT. TOLD IN A YOUNG VOICE, THERE IS HUMOR SPRINKLED THORUGHOUT SO THE READER FINDS HERSELF LAUGHING AND CRYING SIMULTANEOUSLY.

 

If you could go back and rewrite one of your books or stories, which would it be and why?

I AM CURRENTLY RE-WRITING MY VERY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A NOVEL, AND IT’S WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW MUCH I’VE GROWN AS A WRITER.

 

Are you a toilet paper over or under kind of person?

I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE ASKING THIS QUESTION BECAUSE I’VE TRULY BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS RECENTLY AND THOUGHT ABOUT ASKING THIS EXCAT QUESTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I AM DEFINITELY A TP OVER PERSON!

 

What is under your bed?

MANY BOXES AND EVEN MORE DUST.

 

What’s the one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

                        TIME IS IMMATERIAL TO ACHIEVING GOALS.

 

Are you a book hoarder or a book unhauler?

I’M AN UNHAULER IN GENERAL, SO THAT INCLUDES BOOKS. NOT A BIG FAN OF CLUTTER.

 

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Deadly secrets & destructive, unintended consequences are unearthed in this coming-of-(s)age story of an unlikely friendship between a teenage girl and a former WWII spy.

 Some truths are best left unspoken.

 Ebony Dobbs has problems: unruly hair, not fitting in with the popular kids, figuring out how to pay for college…and a secret she’s buried so deeply even she doesn’t know the truth. But she also has a kick-butt best friend in Connor Leibovitz, a computer genius expelled from an elite private school for hacking.

Ebony reluctantly accompanies her mother on a home health visit, meeting Madame Celeste DeWit, a 97-year-old with a closet full of skeletons from WWII. As Ebony learns the truth about Madame’s wartime exploits, she comes to terms with her own past, realizing she and Madame share more than they differ.

When Connor uncovers information that implicates Madame’s estate manager in a plot to steal the old woman’s fortune, the teenagers launch a campaign to protect her, even as Madame’s past barrels into the present, threatening to destroy everything in its path.

 Inspired by real people and places, Steel Butterflies will have you marveling at the beautiful simplicity of true friendship, as well as the courage of women who come face-to-face with determining their future.

 

Buy a copy here: 

https://elizabethsplaineauthor.com/

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