Meet Eileen Troemel!!!

HELLO, friends!

Today it is my honor to host the acclaimed author Eileen Troemel. I first ‘met’ Eileen when I stumbled across her novel ‘Dragon Lord’s Mate’, and I gotta tell y’all… that book TOTALLY blew my fragile lil’ mind! It was dark. It was intense. It was brutality, tenderness, sex, violence, and hope all rolled into one delightful literary ball!!!

I’ve since come to view Eileen as a wonderful big sister. She’s a loyal teammate and an aggressive promoter, and—since she’s been around the literary block far more times than I—I often look to her for guidance as to what I should be doing as an author. When I get stuck on the ins and outs of promoting my books, I very often remember to do this: Look at what Eileen’s doing!

Eileen is an amazing writer, and a well-loved member of my literary circle. The world of fiction is a better place because she’s in it. I’m grateful she’s here. I am even more grateful that—for the first time ever—she and I will be sharing a cover credit on the upcoming anthology ‘Cowboy Desire’, from Black Velvet Seductions.  

So, ladies and gentlemen… without any further ado, I give you the one and only EILEEN TROEMEL!!!

(All opinions and statements contained in this interview are solely those of the author providing them, and may not necessarily reflect my own. – Virginia)

When did you start writing? What made you first decide to try your hand at it?

I learned to love writing at eight when my third grade teacher assigned the task of writing a short story.  While I’m a bit rebellious now, back then I did what I was told.  What I discovered was I could use my imagination to create a story. 

What was your first published work? What do you think of it now?

Secret Past in 2014 for a novel in fiction. I had articles and other items published previously.  I think it’s a solid story in need of a new cover and an edit.  

How do you balance writing with your personal life?

Balance?  We’re supposed to balance things?  Huh?  Hadn’t thought of that.  I work my day job.  I work at writing.  I crochet and publish my patterns.  I spend time with my family.  It all overlaps and intertwines – except the day job – that has set hours.  The rest is muddled and messy and I don’t mind it that way.

Do people you actually know make appearances in your stories?

Yes.  I have a co-worker who is an ex-cop and he asked to be a villain.  He’s an assassin in my Wayfarer novel.  Others have jumped in here and there.  Some purposefully and under request.  Others  – well let’s just say the saying about not pissing off an author or you’ll end up in their novel… very true.

Do family members or friends help with your writing? Your marketing?

My family are amazing.  My middle daughter is my “consultant” and reads everything – usually.  My oldest daughter reads when she’s able – busy life and sometimes cannot read my stuff.  My sister does promo work for me.  She also reads everything I write.  There are others in my family who read (except the love scenes – it freaks them out to think of Aunt Eileen writing stuff like that). 

My children’s book (written under pen name RJ Stone) I consulted with my sister who was a teacher and reading specialist for forty plus years.  I’m working on the next one in that series… have to see what mischief my characters want to get up to.

Do you have stories you want to write that you haven’t yet?

I have over 25 works in progress.  There might be twenty or thirty stories I want to tell.

Is there a story you’re afraid to write for some reason? Why?

I won’t write historical.  Not really afraid of it – just lazy I think.  With a historical novel you have to make sure your details are spot on.  If they aren’t, you get readers who call you on it.  I want to tell the story not worry about the language or did they use this word or how did they do X (fill in the blank from going to the toilet to raise children).

Do you ever target differing age groups or demographics with your writing?

At this point, my characters have been up to their thirties.  I have a couple of WIP which have older main characters but I’ve not developed them yet

Have you ever written non-fiction? If so, what?

Yes, Moon Affirmations.  It’s a meditation book which follows the energy of the moon phases and offers a short meditation for each phase.  It’s meant to help people bring balance and peace into their lives. 

Are you a ‘normal’ person who likes to write, or do you consider yourself more of the tormented/driven ‘artist’ type?

This question makes me laugh.  Normal – I can already hear my family and friend laughing until they pee their pants.  Tormented – no.  I’m not some starving artist.  I’m a pragmatist.  I know writing is unlikely to pay the bills.  I like a house with heat and air conditioning.  I like running water – particularly in the bathroom.  I write as much as I can.  I work at it and when I’m annoyed because all I want to do is write, I remind myself that without the day job – there wouldn’t be any writing because no power for the computer to create my stories.

Do you drink? Why or why not?

Every day – water.  Occasionally, I drink Izze (carbonated fruit juice). 

Are you married? How does being a writer affect that? Has your marriage affected the way you write love stories?

Yes I am.  My husband is really good about leaving me alone when I let him know I’m writing.  If he wants attention, he’s pretty good about letting me know that too.  Everything influences my writing.  I think this is seen the most in my Wayfarer series. 

If you could see one of your stories made into a movie, which one would you pick and why?

Oh this is a question… So I want all my books (under Eileen Troemel) to be made into movies or tv series.  The money which comes from a movie deal is usually too good to turn down.  BUT – and it’s a big one – I wouldn’t want them hacking away at my stories.  Who hasn’t gone to the movie made from a book and come out pissed off because they messed up your favorite scene? 

Wayfarer series – I think this one lends itself to a series.  I think each book could be a season.  I also think the further in the series they get the more episodes they would have to make.  Wayfarer Aegis (the prequel) could be the two hour movie to hook people.  Then the first book could start the series.  When I wrote it, I saw it almost like a movie. 

How does your life experience influence your writing?

I’ve been an observer most of my life.  I’m the creepy person in the corner taking notes and listening in on snippets of conversations.  Anything in life – mine or others can influence a story or make it’s way into a story. 

Do you try to keep your stories within their pre-determined genres, or do you just tell the story your way regardless of genre expectations?

Try – sure… I try.  These characters are unruly and demanding.  They run the show.  They keep me up at night – either telling me too much or being too quiet.  It’s all the characters.  What may start out as one type of story end up being something different. 

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kinds? Does music influence your stories?

Yes.  Classical.  Not really.  It’s more background noise.

Have you ever written a story based on a personal experience you had? If so, what was it about?

Yes.  Guess.

Do you let real-life events influence your work, or is there a ‘disconnect’ between your stories and world/national/local events?

Draconian Peace is all about race and bigotry and prejudice – to the extreme level.  This was very much influenced by the racial issues in the US.

Is your writing time planned out or structured? Do you go on writing ‘benders’?

I’m a feast or famine writer.  When the words are flowing, leave me the F*** alone.  I just want to get the words down.  I cannot type fast enough.  When the words aren’t flowing, I still write but it’s putzy.  Oh here, I’ll write a silly scene or a scene to give background information or something similar.  Wild Magic flew into the computer.  I couldn’t get it down fast enough.  When I tried to write the sequel – Hostile Magic – there were part I felt like I was dragging the story out of the characters. 

What to you is the most rewarding aspect of being a writer?

When I get a story out and it feels like a good job – that’s fantastic. If it’s out of my head, I can move on because there’s always another story waiting to be told.

Who is your favorite author, and why?

Hahahahahahahahaha  – What genre?  What era?  I can give you an extensive list of who I love to read.  I will inevitably leave someone off. 

If you could pick anyone to narrate one of your books, who would it be?

Jim Dale – he narrated the audio book for J K Rawling.  He’s amazingly talented.

Which character of yours is your favorite? Why? Whom would you pick to play him/her/it in a movie?

Oh this is a tough one.  I am currently rereading Dragon Lord’s Mate – working on the sequel and putting it through an edit – I love Pena.  She stubborn and determined.  But I think if I look at all my characters across all my books and have to pick a favorite one – don’t tell all the other characters – I think it would have to be Adara Stone from my Wayfarer series.  I loved watching her grow and develop. 

Do you write when you take a vacation, or do you prefer to simply relax?

I write everywhere and any time I can.  My sisters and I spent time together one weekend and while they thought I was playing on my phone, I was writing two poems.

Do you prefer to read fiction that’s similar to what you write, or do you pick different types of stories?

I prefer to read fiction which entertains me – I don’t care what genre so long as I’m entertained.

What’s one quirky thing about you that your readers might not know?

I like educational programming.  Give me a good documentary and I’ll watch them.  Nature, science, social, anthropological, I will watch almost anything educational.  I find it all fascinating and it’s almost like research because odd things end up in my stories.

What’s your favorite movie? Why?

Hahahahah I’m going to refer you to my answer for a favorite book.  I love to watch movies.  It takes me away from life.  I watch a variety of movies across a lot of genres so tell me which genre and I might be able to narrow it down to a top ten. 

Do you set up events to meet your readers, or is your interaction with them strictly online?

Pre-covid I was doing in person events.  Unfortunately, we’ve all had to move to virtual relationships.  Once we’re past this, I hope to do in person events again.

Have you ever had to exhaustively research something (say, history) for any of your books?

When I write, I use my computer to write but then I will use my phone to research.  If I need something more in depth, I’ll do it on my computer.  I am more likely to tap into what I’ll call an expert.  When I wanted to know divisions in accounting, I text a friend who knew.  Once when I wanted to know about hanging – I asked my youngest daughter (she’s science woman) and her answer was “do I need to do a wellness check on” my daughter who was living with me.  I laughed and told her no I was writing. 

While I write a lot of fantasy where I create the worlds, I still need to research how things are and the way they are moving. 

You said it, sister! Whenever I work at creating worlds, I begin to suspect that God must have given Himself a terrible headache. S’prolly why He rested on the seventh day. THANK you for taking the time to join us today!

EILEEN TROEMEL’S NOVELS ARE AVAILABLE ON BOTH AMAZON AND BARNES AND NOBLE. (Sorry no link, but Amazon’s ‘author page’ link tends to hijack my page.)

Take a Chance Eileen Troemel and Amelia K Oliver’s ‘Kidnapped’! Among a group of humans, Mae must hide her true self in order to avoid a lifetime of horrors. She must escape from the hyena shifters who plan to sell the humans for hunting. But how can she overpower a cackle of hyena shifters. Good at hunting they are persistent and once they get her scent, they won’t stop until they catch their prey. Chance grabbed with the other humans wants to put a stop to the hyena shifters but can’t take his focus off the beautiful Mae. He knows she’s not human but he cannot tell what she is. As they work together to reach safety, Chance cannot resist a bit of flirting as he’s drawn to her. She’s a puzzle and he’s determined to find out what she’s hiding. Will Chance and Mae escape the hyenas? If they do, will they be able to overcome old prejudices in order to be together? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W5F27M9

TO READ MY REVIEW OF EILEEN’S ‘DRAGON LORD’S MATE’: https://virginiawallace.com/2020/09/25/dragon-lords-mate-by-eileen-troemel-a-review/