E A’s Multiple Award-Winning Novel…Where It All Began…

E A Carter grew up in the Canadian countryside, the daughter of a reverend of modest means, with only her bicycle, her cat, and her imagination to occupy her.

Ever since she could talk she has been crafting stories. She writes of the complexities of love and mortality against evocative backdrops and seeks to test the perceived limits of love, death, and time.

In her debut series Transcendence, passion, war, treachery, and a love even more powerful than death awaits. It begins with the multiple award-winning historical epic The Lost Valor of Love, continues with The Call of Eternity whose passages between worlds are based on collaboration with a physicist at CERN and finishes with cosmic stakes in The Rise of the Goddess.

The premise for the series came to her during a stay in Luxor, Egypt when she dreamed of an empire-crossing, forbidden love affair which transpired during the New Kingdom period. As she woke to the sun rising over the Nile and three thousand years slammed back into her senses, she heard these words: Tell the story. Do not let it die.

It took five years of research across four countries to put together all the missing pieces of the puzzle. When she discovered the man she had dreamed of was a real historical person, including his position in Ramesses II's court, she sensed she had embarked on the story of a lifetime.

After sixteen years of research and writing, the transcendent love affair she dreamed of at last, lives again.

Escape with a high fantasy love story that’s won 5 awards…

E A’s 2023 Recommended Summer Reads…

A supporter is worth a thousand followers…

Q & A with E A Carter by Silver Dagger Book Tours

What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?

Carl Sagan, whose inspiring, compassionate philosophy toward life is a constant influence on my thinking; Donna Tartt for her genius story crafting, perfect pace and brilliant closing sentences in every scene; Anthony Doerr, for the sheer beauty of his prose; David Brin, for his gripping, visionary narratives of humanity's near future, and Madeline Miller for the most elegant, haunting love stories my soul has ever dined upon.

My favorite books are harder to choose, but if I had to pare them down to a list of five, they would be: Circe, The Little Mermaid (full, original version), The Goldfinch, Billions & Billions (Carl Sagan's final and most beautiful book), and Gateway (Frederik Pohl's Hugo award-winning, deeply human scifi).

What book do you think everyone should read?

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. In our current post-truth world, his book published in 1995 could not be more prophetic.

How long have you been writing?

I have kept everything I have ever written from childhood until university. My first attempt at a novel was when I was 12. That was back in the early 1980s (Stranger Things is very relatable to me, I was the same age as the characters were in the series). I wrote it with pen and paper once I was sent to bed. I kept it hidden under my bed, under the area rug. I was very secretive about my writing. It was a story about a medieval princess told she would have to marry a man against her will. She escapes via a secret tunnel from the castle and ends up in the woods where she meets a hunter who particularly dislikes the nobility, but ends up helping her out of mercy. A thorny relationship develops between them as they race to escape her kingdom and the soldiers hunting for her...I think it came to about 30 written pages double sided before I hit a wall and stopped...also the pile was getting a little too large to hide under the rug so I had to break it into smaller piles and spread it out. Occasionally, I still look at it. It is a wonder to look at my childish handwriting and the naive descriptions, to see the developing heart of a writer. The prose might be immature but the core of the story was quite solid. I am glad I kept it. It's a nice keepsake from the dawn of my storytelling years.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

It depends on the book. For The Lost Valor of Love, I spent over five years researching the history of the Egyptian New Kingdom, the empire of Hatti, and the battle of Kadesh. I traveled to Egypt numerous times, and worked with an Egyptian archaeologist friend who took me to sites not usually seen by the public. I visited (more than once) museums in Egypt, Copenhagen, Paris, and London where I was able to get up close to statues of the characters in my book. (Many of them are based on real-life historical persons).

I tend to be a purist when it comes to historical accuracy. If I am going to take a reader into my world, I want it to be as real as if they are truly there, lost in that time, immersed in its culture, mentality, politics, and beliefs. I even research things like what plants they grew in their gardens, the food they ate, the materials they used for clothing and decor, the medicine they used (and how they made it), and the wood from which they made their furniture. No stone is left unturned. Many readers have commented on how real and immersive my books are and this is a wonderful compliment. It means my hard work has paid off.

Do you see writing as a career?

It is my goal to one day work full time as an author. While I was married I was able to do this full time, but sadly my husband left me last summer for greener pastures and I must now find a way to earn a living on my own. I have taken up some freelance copywriting work which is totally different to what I am used to but I enjoy the challenge. My hope is with aggressive marketing of my series (which I failed to do while writing full time) my books might gather momentum and sell enough for me to be able to go back to writing full time.

What do you think about the current publishing market?

I think traditional publishing is very much trend-driven with its marketing's shift away from literary to commercial fiction. I find this a shame because there are so many beautiful books out there which barely get any air time while 'trendy' books consume the lion's share of the publicity. I long for the days when beautiful books on the merit of their talent once more dominate the publishing industry's publicity, but it could take some time for the pendulum to swing back. I do think it will, but when is the question.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

I love to read, the trouble is when I am deep in my work I have almost no time to read which is a dangerous thing since reading is exactly what feeds the writer's imagination. When I do read, I am voracious. I can read a book in one sitting. My favorite genre is probably a crossover of historical fiction, sci-fi and fantasy such as Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - which isn't terribly surprising since I write in this genre as well.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

I write listening to Spotify either with wireless headphones or a sound system. I have a variety of playlists I work to depending on the mood of the scene. I love to explore new music and discover new artists.

I find I fall deep into my flow while working to music and can lose hours of time in one sitting. It's a little like stepping away from reality and living in the world I create. The music cushions me from the here and now and takes me away to other worlds, other times, other loves.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I am a one-book-at-a-time author. I really admire those authors who can write more than one book at once. I get so invested into each book there just isn't room for another. After releasing The Lost Valor of Love, I released the sequel one year later and the final book, a year and a half after that, each book was released one year after the other from 2017 - 2019. It was an intense, full-on three years of writing and publishing.

If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

The Little Mermaid. It is probably the most perfect love story ever written.

Tell us about a favorite character from a book.

Is it wrong to choose one of my own characters? I have had feedback from readers of the series who have absolutely fallen in love with the complex villain Marduk, who is a near-immortal seeking immortality at any cost. I have found him absolutely fascinating to write and readers have asked for a series - or at least a book - about him.

I have to admit I have a small crush on him. He is rather delicious in a tormented, dark way. He lost the one he loved during a war he instigated and his bitterness and delayed vengeance is breathtaking. When he falls for one of the characters in the sequel his love is all-encompassing, a foil to the darkness that resides within him.

A day in the life of the author?

In this author's life, it is very quiet on the outside but ferociously busy on the inside with my mind constantly running through the plot, pace, character arcs, etc. From the moment I wake up I am thinking about the story I am writing or outlining, or if I am deep in editing, thinking about the edits I need to do.

I get up and feed the cats, get ready for the day, make tea (essential to this writer's survival), and settle down in front of either my laptop or desktop depending on the weather, the work I need to do, and my mood. I purposely do not look at my phone, any social media, or my email until I have written my daily word count. Usually between 1400-2000 a day depending on the planned length of the book.

I am a slow writer. I tend to edit and refer to my spreadsheet as I go to make sure details are consistent so I don't have to correct them later. It usually takes me between 6-8 hours to write my word count, although for some content, it can go much faster, as quick as 3 hours. Because I write so carefully, my first drafts tend to come out as polished as third drafts, which saves a lot of time editing later.

Once I have finished writing, I update my outline with the word count and synopsis of the scene I have written, then I dive into my social media, website, and emails.

Usually by the time I have finished all this evening has set in and I have just enough time to take a bike ride along the canal, watch a show on Netflix and get a little reading done before I fall asleep and inevitably dream of my characters and the story. For me story crafting is an all consuming passion, but I wouldn't exchange it for anything else in the world. I love it.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I wrote a quote once. "I would rather die than be derivative." I think that pretty much sums it up. The stories I tell tend to be unique, but the love, the passion, the characters' conflicts, and the page turning pace draw readers in despite the unusual level of genre-crossing.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Full time, for a 150k word book including editing, one year. The fastest I have ever written a book was during NaNoWriMo in 2016. I wrote 56,000 words in 24 days and published it on Wattpad where it later won awards and was featured by Wattpad HQ. The second fastest was a 185k word book I wrote in five months during the winter and spring of 2017. This book, Daughter of Azeroth won a slew of awards on Wattpad and is closing in on a half million reads. It is currently available to read in full on e-readers for free via my website.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Of course. We are not machines. It happens. Sometimes I know what I want to write, but the words come out like glue, all clunky and ugly and I fear I have lost my mojo. It's hard to stop when I am disciplined about completing my word count every day, but on those days, I know I am wasting my time trying to force the issue. Instead, I focus on other things: discovering Pins on Pinterest for the graphics I make for my books, making graphics for social media on Canva and Book Brush, working on my website, and so forth.

Sometimes we just get tired, or stressed, or things are going on in our personal lives which claw into our creativity. At times like this one can only be gentle with oneself. Go for a walk. Watch a film that triggers strong emotions (Collateral Beauty is my go-to for this). Bake. Play with your cats or dogs if you have them. Sit in a cafe and just observe those around you and absorb the atmosphere. In short, switch off. Dream.

If the story is meant to be told, it will come. Although at times, it's shy and you have to look away until it has the courage to step forward. But when it does, oh what a wonderful thing it is...

Describe your writing style.

I have been told my writing is poetic, lyrical, literary, beautiful. Descriptions are driven by the senses, in particular I enjoy the challenge of the description of the taste and scent of food. My sex scenes are emotion driven, although there is a physicality too that is deeply sensual and erotic in an elegant way. Each scene plays out from the point of view of the character. Their presence dominates the tone, even if my voice is lurking in the background. Dialogue tends to be tight without the use of dialogue tags if possible. Instead, the goal is to give a description of what the speaker is doing, how they are looking, or what their demeanor is in a pleasing, poetic way.

What makes a good story?

Conflict. Both inner and outer. Multiple threads tying into one major thread. Solid character arcs with believable characters. Strong beats so the pace keeps escalating into a satisfying climax. And love. Passionate love thwarted, denied, fought for against all the odds through war, time, and worlds. Love that persists. No matter what.