Featured Interview With L. L. Nelson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a former librarian who has always loved books and escaping into new worlds or back into the past. Libraries & museums were always magical places for me growing up (and they continue to be). I grew up in Virginia surrounded by history, but I’ve lived all over the United States. Every place I’ve lived, I always try and visit the libraries, museums, and other local cultural places. Visiting those places usually leaves me inspired for a new novel. Currently though, I live in California and while my family doesn’t have any pets yet, my children beg me for one every day!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books since before I could read. As far back as I can remember, I’d hid in my closet with stacks of picture books or art books and just imagine stories about the people and places I was looking at. The first story I ever wrote was a short little story (only a few lines long) about Simba and Nala from the Lion King playing together. But I first started writing stories of my own when I was about 11. I wrote a weird little historical romance fantasy, loosely based on places I’d visited in Virginia, Romeo and Juliet, and the power of love, lol. It wasn’t very long, but I loved it.
Those threads of historical fiction, romance, and fantasy are still with me today in almost all of my stories.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a wide variety of authors and genres that I enjoy reading. A shorter list would be what I don’t read (basically horror & dark (insert genre), but that’s it). Growing up and even more recently, I read a lot of books from authors like Madeleine L’Engle, Tamora Pierce, Rick Riordan, and even Diana Gabaldon.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My upcoming book is called Modern Day Muses and it is the second book in the Tempus Viatores time travel series. The main characters Alexandra and Titus have survived the events of the first book in the series (Priestess of Herculaneum) and traveled back to Washington D.C. circa 2009. There, they are adjusting to their new lives—Alex as a time traveler and Titus as a Roman man thrust almost 2000 years into the future and far from his native Italy. However, Fortuna Atrox, the immortal they escaped in the first book, is still hunting them, determined to have her revenge. While the series is mainly historical fiction, this book is more contemporary and has more magical realism in it, as Alex and Titus explore a world where many of the myths and lore of the past are very much real.
This book took a little bit longer to write than the first one, probably about 3-4 months, mainly because mental health issues and the fact that I don’t usually write books set in the 21st century.
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