Muse: Elaine, first of all, Whispers of the Muse welcomes you to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?
Elaine: I live in a little town called Pickens which is located in South Carolina.  SC is found in the southeastern part of the US for any of you international readers.  Even though I lived in other parts of the US after my marriage we eventually came home to SC.  Right now I’m teaching social studies at the high school that I graduated from many years ago.  I’m married to my college sweetheart, and we have two sons and three grandchildren.  We also have three cats and a dog who has to put up with a lot from those cats.

Muse: Who are your favorite authors?
Elaine: This one’s hard to answer because I have so many authors whose work I like.  Heather Graham is one of my favorite romance authors as is Karen Robards.  I’m very fond of Elizabeth Peters who also writes as Barbara Michaels.  I never turn down Larry McMurtry either.

Muse: Why do you write contemporary romance?
Elaine: I think I write contemporary because it’s what I know.  If you write historical novels you have to make sure you get your facts straight.  Otherwise, the work doesn’t feel authentic, and your readers notice.  That being said, I’ve written a fantasy that’s just waiting for a publisher, and I’m considering doing a historical novel.  I think that branching out into other genres will keep my writing fresh and more original.

Muse: What is your writing regimen? How often do you work on a novel? Do you set daily time or word goals? What keeps you meeting your deadlines?
Elaine: During the school year my teaching job sets my schedule.  I try to get a lot done on the weekends during the school year.  But during the summer I get up and have a quick breakfast after which I start writing.  I spend most of the morning in front of the computer.  Around lunch time I’m ready for a break, but after lunch I’ll usually write for a few more hours.  What keeps me meeting deadlines?  Loving to write.

Muse: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?
Elaine: Of course.  I think that’s true for all writers.  One of the challenges I’ve faced when writing is to make my characters behave differently from what I would do if I were in their place.

Muse: What are the creative jumping off points for you? Are you inspired by dreams? Music? Nature? The occasional black nightmare? What triggers your imagination?
Elaine: Almost anything.  One of my favorite novels, Blue 52, is a sequel to Return Engagement which will be published in July of 2010 by Whiskey Creek Press.  I got the idea for this book after I read a novel about secret codes in World War II.  While I was taking a shower I started to think about codes and how they’d work, and Blue52 was the result.

Muse: Tell us about A New Leaf. What was your inspiration?
Elaine: Sociology is one of the classes I teach at the high school.  Our text told us that when people get married they tend to marry those who are similar in background.  I started thinking about what might happen if two people from vastly different backgrounds fell in love, and so I wrote A New Leaf.

Muse: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?
Elaine: My favorite scene is the first Christmas Kyle and Betsy are together.  To Betsy who comes from an upper class background, this Christmas isn’t much, but to Kyle who came from an abusive home, it’s wonderful.  I like the scene because Betsy starts to understand Kyle a little better and begins to invest emotionally in their marriage.

Muse: Have you written other books?
Elaine: Yes, I have.  I also have several that haven’t been published that are just waiting their turn to be edited.

Muse: Tell us about your other books?
Elaine: All of my other books are also contemporary romances.  My second novel is titled Grandfather’s Legacy.  It’s one of my favorites, but as I did in A New Leaf, I broke a lot of writing rules.  Purple Heart was published by The Wild Rose Press.  I liked it because the heroine had such challenges in her life and rose to meet them with grace and dignity.  The Welcome Inn is romantic suspense.  My hero, Buck, is an alpha male even though I usually write beta.  And The Best Selling Toy of the Season is more humorous than my other books.  Buy links and excerpts are available on my web site at http://www.elainecantrell.com.

Muse: How do you feel about the current publishing marketplace?
Elaine: I think ebooks are the wave of the future.  As better ebook readers become available and a new computer literate generation graduates from school, more and more publishers will choose to make their books available in both electronic and print formats.