CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS with the Naughty Ninjas: Cate Ellink

 

What is your background with regard to writing?
I wrote as a kid and teenager, compulsively. Poetry, stories, letters, scribbles. Then I went to uni and studied science, and somehow my writing channelled into assignments. I had a science career where I wrote quite a lot but it was dry, factual stuff (papers for journals, newspaper columns, handouts for farmers, research proposals, funding reports, etc). I started writing erotica as an escape, and a friend encouraged me to publish it. It took a long time to work up the courage! 

When did you first begin writing with a view of embarking on a career as a published author?
In 2005 I got quite ill and had to give up work. The following year, a friend was in a similar situation and she challenged me to write a Mills & Boon (as we mistaken thought they were short and therefore easy). In 2008 I joined RWA and that’s when my view to a career became more real – before that I was blundering in the dark with a dream.

What is your writing routine?
My life and routine do not go together. So I’ve abandoned all hope of routines. I write when I can, and when I can’t, I think about it-plotting, planning, trying out ideas, thinking of solutions to problems, etc.

Favourite snack whilst writing?
A cup of tea.

If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?
Reading!

What do you find easiest to write? And, the hardest?
The hardest for me is emotion. I struggle with that all the time. The easiest is probably descriptions of scenery or the environment. I like writing those bits.

Tell us about the first book you wrote
I wrote Ebi, The Wishing Dog when I was a kid of maybe 7. I’d read Enid Blyton’s The Adventures of the Wishing Chair, and my dog’s name was Ebi. My teacher was very encouraging.

One thing you’d like readers to know about the romance genre…
There’s a huge diversity of sub-genres in the romance genre. Something for everyone!

Ten quickies:

Milk or dark chocolate? Dark

Red, white, bubbly? I can no longer drink alcohol and I’ve missed it for almost 9 years now L I was a red girl.

Salty or sweet? Salty

Beach or mountains? Beach

Give or receive? Give

Facebook or Twitter? Twitter

Romance or erotica (for reading and/or writing)? Erotica

Dog or cat? Dog

Summer or winter? Summer

Star-gazing or storm-watching? That’s a tough choice! Can I have watching stars as the storm clouds roll in, dashed with flashes of lightning?

Find Cate online:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter