E.M. Tippets shares her "Fairytale" Ending

***Giveaway is now closed***

Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, called London, a talented female writer resided.  

This writer, who originated from New Mexico, began her writing career focusing on science fiction novels; however, one day she decided to venture out beyond the boundaries of the Sci-Fi genre into the unknown, and sometimes misunderstood, genre called "Chick Lit".  Amongst the results of this exploration is her recently published novel, Someone Else's Fairytale. 

It is with much anticipation that we welcome E.M. Tippets to Chick Lit Central as she tells us all about her writing, her other talents and how she made her"fairytale" ending come true!

Thanks to E.M. Tippets and Chick Lit Plus, we have ONE copy of Someone Else's Fairytale for a lucky reader located anywhere in the world!

You can find E.M. Tippets at her website, Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.


When you first started writing you wrote Science Fiction and Fantasy. What compelled you to venture into Chick Lit?
It was an experiment, actually. I decided I wanted to get a novel published, and in the national market, using an agent and a regular publisher, that is very hard to do, so instead I went for a small niche publisher in Utah. I used my married name, E.M. Tippetts, and since most of what I saw selling in the LDS/mountain west market was romance, I wrote a chick lit and sold it to the second publisher I queried. All in all, I learned a lot about publishing, including the fact that it's better to be unpublished than in a relationship with the wrong publisher. Years later, when indie publishing got going, I decided I wanted to try that too, so I resurrected E.M. Tippetts and published two more chick lit novels to see what that was like. Four months later I got a book into the top 200 books on Amazon, and last Christmas I cracked the top 100, so I guess it's time to think of myself as a chick lit writer.

Do you have a formal process you follow when writing a new book? Or, do you approach each book differently?
I tend to hold the outline in my head and a few key scenes when I begin writing. My process then usually goes something like this: 1) write the beginning 2) stress out over how I have nothing for the middle 3) write and rewrite the end over and over 4) go back and try to make the beginning fit the end I want 5) panic about the middle some more 6) contemplate quitting forever 7) take a few long days and edit the entire thing 8) send it out to beta readers once I feel it's all right 9) get their feedback and realize it's all wrong 10) revise it to the best of my ability 11) move on and start another book

What do you feel are the top three things that scare aspiring writers away from actually pursuing a career as a writer? How would you put those fears at ease?
I would have to say 1) the work involved, 2) the work involved, and 3) the work involved. Really, every complaint I hear from aspiring writers is a variation on this, whether it be fear that no one will like their writing (which requires working on self confidence and/or writing skills), the fear that no one will buy their book (which requires work on marketing and building up a brand), the fear that their publisher will dump them (which requires working on their business relationships), or countless other variations. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's no situation you can't work your way out of, but it might take a LOT of work. My writing skills were all right when I was a teenager. Now after a couple of decades of hard work, they're better than average. I'm still a long way from being great, more than a lifetime I'd estimate. But any fear anyone has can be overcome by rolling up your sleeves and putting in the hours.

You have a bachelors degree in philosophy, politics and economics, and a juris doctorate in business law. With such a diverse education, why did you chose to become a writer?
Those degrees were to pay the bills. Writing's what I always wanted to do - and while they may sound diverse, you'll note they aren't really. Philosophy and politics are both key in law - I once had someone laugh when they heard me say that law was applied philosophy, which makes me wonder what people think philosophy is if deciding what's right and wrong and how we should live as a society doesn't qualify. Economics and business also go together. I have the training of a corporate lawyer or politician, because even politician is a more stable, predictable career than writer, and I may need to return to practicing law someday. It depends on how my books do and what colleges my kids want to attend.

When I'm not writing or promoting my books, I like to:
Play with my kids and spend time with my husband and friends. Other than that, I'd prefer writing to just about anything, especially things like housework. Though I also read a lot, but I read like a writer, dissecting and pulling things apart and plotting my own books in the process.

Amongst your many talents is the ability to make jewelry. Of all the jewelry you've made, what is your favorite piece?
It'd be a series of pieces I did for my friend, Stephanie Burgis, and her Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson series. The full set can be seen here. She was kind enough to sell me a license to make jewelry that tied into her books, which are fabulous, by the way. They're Regency Era middle grade fantasy and the third one's about to come out in the United States.

Three things I must have with me at all times include:
My kids, and then I don't really have anything else. I don't even carry my cell phone and Kindle at all times and don't carry anything I don't absolutely need when I leave the house, so even my purse stays behind much of the time.

Spring is right around the corner. What is your favorite thing about this season?
The end of the cold, though I suppose I say that because we're breaking records here in the UK for coldest March. We will be very happy to get the sunshine and warm weather back. Also, we're a little traumatized because summer didn't start in the UK until right before the Olympics last year, so it was drizzling and cold well into July. Hope that doesn't happen again.

Special thanks to E.M. Tippets for showing us her world and Chick Lit Plus for sharing her book with our readers.

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Open worldwide.  Ends April 9th at midnight.

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