BEYOND THE PAGES: 

With Elaine Hopper

By Su Kopil - January 2001

(For permission to reprint this interview, please contact me at sukopil@aol.com)

Elaine Hopper is on the cutting edge of e-publishing - an edge she is excited and deeply honored to be a part of. Her first novel, TIGERS PLAY TO ROUGH, available from New Concepts Publishing, has been called innovative and compelling by Deb Stover, author of ANOTHER DAWN.

Editor Kathryn Struck of Awe-Struck E-Books liked two of Elaine's short contemporary stories so much they created a new series called "Double Takes" which features two stories in one book. MY BABY TOO and OVER THE MOON will be the first in this series.

But this focused and determined writer hasn't stopped there. New Concepts Publishing will produce two more of Elaine's books in 2000, CARLESS WHISPERS and NEXT TO FOREVER.

How does this mother of five hold down a full time job and manage this work load?

"I really, really want to succeed. . . . I like to see results, in this case, finished products (books). But I'd write even if I didn't want to publish another word. It's what I do. It's who I am and how I best express myself."

SU: Elaine, Holly Fuhrmann said your debut romance, TIGERS PLAY TOO ROUGH, ". . . is a rip-roaring story of love and adventure." Please share with us how you developed the idea for the story.

ELAINE: Right after Hurricane Andrew devastated Miami (I live in Ft. Lauderdale and we had a lot of damage too, but not nearly what Miami had) I read a newspaper article that reported some of the animals from the Miami Metropolitan Zoo and Parrot Jungle had escaped. No dangerous animals luckily. But I wondered what would happen if dangerous animals had escaped. Tigers are majestic, so I focused on tigers.

SU: TIGERS PLAY TOO ROUGH, opens with the heroine battling a hurricane. Having survived through a number of these storms yourself, would you share with us what you learned from the experience?

ELAINE: TAKE COVER! LOL. Prepare your family and property well before the storm to survive the winds and rain. Then remember the danger isn't over just because the winds stop and the water recedes. We boarded up our windows in preparation for Hurricane Andrew as we were in the projected danger zone. I can't believe how many of our neighbors thought we were foolish and even angry that we were defacing property (we lived in townhomes at the time). Lucky for us we did board up. I couldn't sleep during the storm and I was watching the storm reports on television around 2 AM when I heard a loud crash. Of course I couldn't see what it was. It turned out that a large avocado tree in our back yard was uprooted and flung against our sliding glass doors. If we hadn't boarded up, that storm would've been whipping around in our house, probably ripping the house, and my family, apart.

SU: Disasters of these sorts tend to bring out the best, the heroic, in people. Is there any particular story that comes to your mind that illustrates this?

ELAINE: I didn't witness a particular "story". When Hurricane Elena ripped through Biloxi when we lived on Keesler Air Force Base, everybody formed clean up details afterward to clear not only the base of debris, but Biloxi and Gulfport. A lot of people from my church went down to Miami to help with similar task forces after Hurricane Andrew.

SU: NEXT TO FOREVER, a romantic comedy, has been contracted by New Concepts Publishing. Tell us a bit about this book. Is writing comedy difficult?

ELAINE: NEXT TO FOREVER is basically the Golden Girls versus Harper Valley PTA with some You've Got Mail thrown in. I wrote this two years before You've Got Mail was even advertised. It was in NCP's hands before the movie was advertised, too. Now that my disclaimer is in there (it's quite a bit different than the Tom Hanks movie), I'll continue. Suki Lawless hasn't had a date since her husband Sam left her, practically next to forever. She and her children share a house with her mother, grandmother and great-aunt. Suki's the quiet and sane one of the bunch. She never does anything to get in trouble. However, the small town she lives in, Goose Creek is up in arms about the parade of men in and out of her house and all the wild parties -- her matriarchs like to have a good time and they all have boyfriends except Suki. When Suki's teenage son Josh, breaks into his high school's computer and changes the vice principal's password to "Jack Ass", his stunt brings Kyle Damian, the vice principal who is the hero and the PTA down on them. Now Suki and her eccentric family must prove themselves morally upright to the self-righteous town people who aren't necessarily so morally upright themselves.

Comedy is difficult to write. It's very easy to cross the line from witty and humorous to silly and slapstick. Everybody has a different idea of comedy as well. Animals and children are naturally cute. Thus, I like to use them for comedic moments. I like to use eccentric family members as my comedic characters and make my hero and heroine the straight men. After I write the first draft, I have to tone down my "comedy" so that it's witty, not overdone. NCP tells me they're very excited about this project. I really enjoyed writing this one.

SU: What was it like to serve in the air force? Is there one particular lesson, you learned, that stands out in your mind?

ELAINE: It was probably the best time in my life. I fell in love. It was the first time I was out on my own. Does man candy store mean anything? It's a wonderful place for a young, unmarried woman.

I'm an only child, so I learned how to live and work with a group of very diverse people.

SU: What writing organizations do you belong to and how do you feel they have helped your career?

ELAINE: I belong to national RWA, Florida Romance Writers, From The Heart Online RWA, EPIC - electronically published writers, The Romance Club online, Word Museum online, WCRG AOL writer's group, a wonderful critique group and several writing listserves online.

I met my publisher, Madris from New Concepts Publishing, at the Florida Romance Writers conference not quite two years ago. I had Sunday morning breakfast with Madris and her cousin Margaret and several other writers interested in online publishing. Of course the conference workshops are wonderful. So are the online writing workshops. I learn something new from almost every class I attend.

SU: Please tell us how you came to be published by New Concepts Publishing? Why an e-publisher?

ELAINE: Well, I just answered the first half of the question above. LOL. I honestly believe that e-publishing is the wave of the future. It's on the cutting edge. We're brave pioneers on a new frontier.

SU: CARELESS WHISPERS will also be available soon from New Concepts Publishing. Please tell us about the book and how you came up with the title.

ELAINE: CARELESS WHIPSERS will be available in April 2000 by New Concepts Publishing. It's a contemporary romance set around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. CW is about a family reuniting when nine-year old Brittany falls off her horse in a riding competition and awakes with partial amnesia. She doesn't remember that her parents, Debbye and Quinn, are divorced. Her doctor feels it could be dangerous to her condition to tell her too soon. He suggests that Debbye and Quinn pretend to be married until Brittany remembers on her own or she is strong enough to be told the truth. Thus, Quinn moves back home. In the course of pretending to be married again, sparks rekindle the flame. But the conflict that led to their divorce has to be resolved before they can live happily ever after. Meanwhile, they must protect Brittany from careless whispers of extended family and the community.

SU: Would you mind sharing your own love story? How did you meet your husband?

ELAINE: We worked together at a large amusement park in Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton, called Kings Island. We were friends for more than a year before we started dating. When my steady boyfriend and I broke up shortly before my Senior Prom, I asked my good friend Dave to take me. We've been together ever since.

SU: How would you describe yourself? How would your husband describe you?

ELAINE: I'm complex. Someone asked me today why I'm so quiet. That person doesn't know me very well. I'm quiet before I know someone or when I don't particularly like someone. I'm very focused on my goals, driven in fact. I go all out to meet them. My first big goal was to do well in college, despite being married with children and working lots of overtime. That included finishing my master's degree magna cum laude. Now, my goal is to be a multi-published author and make this my career. I was determined to get here. Even if it took me 70 years, I decided I wasn't going to give up. And I won't give up. I'm just starting. I may be quiet, but I'm very determined.

I think my husband sees me as an over-achiever. For instance, I once fought for two points on a college history exam so I would have my rightful 99% or 100%. He couldn't believe it. He's ecstatic earning a C and sometimes happy to get a D. I wanted my straight A's in college and didn't want to chance missing it by even a point. I didn't earn straight A's (sigh), but close. He's watching me now with writing and publishing my books to see if this is a repeat performance.

SU: Please tell us of your involvement in a non-profit charity that serves the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America? What is the name of this charity?

ELAINE: I work for FOOD FOR THE POOR, a non-profit Christian ministry that serves the destitute poor of the Caribbean and Central America. I've worked with them over five years now. My position is hard to define: customer/donor relations is my job. I'm responsible for answering donor questions, complaints, requests, and sometimes resolving their problems. I also thank our major donors for their gifts. I'm also one of Mr. Mahfood's assistants. He's the founder and president. Perhaps you've seen our mailings? "Dear Ferdy"...

SU: You've said that when you have goals or deadlines to meet that you'll use every spare moment to write including lunch breaks and even while waiting for traffic lights to change. This means jumping into your work whether or not your muse is sitting on your shoulder. How do you avoid writer's block at moments like this?

ELAINE: With my schedule, I have to help the muse and find spare moments to write and write when the babies are in bed. I rarely have writer's block, but I have a few times. Then I either brainstorm alone, with my critique group, or read. Reading gives me wonderful ideas and makes my fingers itch to write. I usually don't write at traffic lights, but when the muse is really nagging me, I've done it. I keep a notepad and pen with me at all times. I never know when the muse will shout in my ear. Usually it's while I'm driving listening to the radio commentary. That always gives me ideas.

SU: What are your goals for the next year? The next five years?

ELAINE: This year my goal is basically self-promotion. I also want to finish and submit the five stories I'm working on. One is finished except for a final edit. A second is very nearly finished. The other 3 are only half finished. I want to find publishers for the two stories at publishers now (fingers crossed) and the two that are nearly finished. I'd like to find an agent, too. I think I'm finally ready.

My goal for the next five years is to writer increasingly better books. I want to improve my craft and build my career so that I can make writing novels my full time career.

SU: What is the one thing that your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

ELAINE: I'm half-deaf. Maybe that's why I'm quiet around people I don't know well. For one, I'm not sure what wrong thing will come out of my mouth because I heard a word(s) wrong. I don't catch all the words in a conversation and my mind tries to logically complete the sentence. Sometimes with comical (I hope not disastrous) results. My close friends understand this and laugh with me. Unfortunately, some people laugh at me. I'd rather be quiet around those people. I love to talk to people on line where I can see the words and know I'm not misunderstanding (and possibly mangling) half or more of the conversation.

SU: What type of music do you listen to when you write?

ELAINE: I like the oldies. Lately, I've been listening to the Mulan soundtrack. I also listen to both Grease soundtracks a lot, especially Grease 2.

SU: Please tell us about your future projects?

ELAINE: I'm working on another action/adventure contemporary romance that I call "Redemption". My critique group tells me it's borderline mainstream. After one scene, they said I must be Stephen King's daughter. That's high praise for me as I love SK, which they know. Paris is running from an abusive fiancé and her father who wants her to marry him. Then she falls in love with the man hired to take her back. Cody thinks he's saving a runaway young woman from herself. By the time he realizes his mistake, it may be too late to re-earn her trust.

Another book, "Dark Side" is a fantasy/paranormal romance that's pretty far-fetched but a lot of fun. Molly, the heroine, falls into a cartoon world and meets the man of her dreams.

SU: Is there anything else you would like to add?

ELAINE: I think epublishing has opened a lot of doors to writers and that we are indeed on the cutting edge of technology. I'm very excited and deeply honored to be part of this revolution.

FAQS

FAVORITE AUTHORS: Stephen King, Stephen White, Sherryl Woods

WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW: True Dreams by Karen Whiddon - from my Dreamweaver's Loop. It's available at Walmart under the Kensington Precious Gems imprint.

HOBBIES: Writing romance novels, playing on the internet, web page design, reading, bike riding

WHAT DO YOU FEAR: clowns, alligators, and snakes

WHAT INSPIRES YOU: music, love

BEST ADVICE: Never give up. Write everyday. Keep reading. Keep studying your craft. Keep submitting your work to publishers.

WEBSITE: http://www.gate1.net/ElaineHopper

WHERE CAN READERS WRITE YOU: Chinara@aol.com