Interview with fantasy author Ebony Olson

Author Ebony Olson is with me today and we’re chatting about her new fantasy, Spectra.

Bio:

Ebony has always been different. Born a high functioning Aspie, and one of a small percent of the world’s population that is center brained, she could never be considered ‘normal’. Ebony holds a combined Education / Arts degree, with a major in languages and minor in drama, a Medical Science degree, and a post-grad in Forensic Anthropology. She has lived and travelled throughout Europe. Managed various science research laboratories and been in the army, but her favorite job by far included dissecting bodies at a university morgue.

After a devastating car accident wiped out her plans for the future, Ebony refused to give up and turned to her overactive imagination to escape her pain and reality whilst she built a new future for herself.

Ebony thinks outside the box. Her fictional worlds reflect her ability to take facts, interpret them, and expand on the ideas to create something new and unusual.

After years of keeping stories in her head and only sharing them with her closest friends, Ebony was encouraged to write those stories down. It took Ebony a month to complete her first draft novel Succumb. Succumb was dark and twisted and is available for reading on her Inkitt.

Within a year, she had drafted three more novels of the Hierarch Series and several independent novels. Including Best Man, which was published in September 2013.

Ebony enjoys making book covers and trailers for her works in progress as part of her creative outlet. She also makes videos of her cats playing which you can find on her YouTube Channel.

Ebony has a wicked imagination and a dark sense of humour. Her writing is full of witty one liners, characters, and storylines that will stay with you long after you’ve put her book down. She writes for the joy of writing and hopes you enjoy it as much as she does.

Welcome, Ebony. Please tell us about your current release.

Spectra is a book written from dual points of view set to in a paranormal fantasy with a romance backstory. Spectra is a female descendant of an angel, and one of very few people who can absorb a sorcerer’s power or shield against it. When the book starts, she is untrained in her powers. She hates predators due to her personal history, but when she meets Bay, a sorcerer who has been turned into a predator de Sang, she sees the chance to get the training she needs.

Bay is one of the oldest and most powerful sorcerers alive. He has spent years building his business and trying to have the different types of predators live and work together in harmony, overcoming centuries of hate for each other. His arch nemesis are a group of de Sang elitists called Essence. Essence wants to rid the world of any other predator and believe Bay holds the secret to doing this. Bay seeks out Spectra just to get forged documents for a business deal. However, once they touch, he realizes she is more than human, but he can’t work out what she is. He becomes fascinated with her and is determined to get to know her and reveal all her secrets. Secrets that make her a person of interest to Essence.

What inspired you to write this book?

The majority of my books are inspired by very vivid dreams I have. Spectra was one of those dreams. I woke up and started writing already knowing about Spectra, Bay, and Alexander. Mercury just turned up on the scene one day. I really liked him, so I let him stay.

Excerpt from Spectra:

The suit emerged from the crowd a few meters away, though he was tall enough that I'd been able to track his naturally dark hair through the crowd. He was pale enough, that if he ditched the suit, slipped into some black jeans and a heavy metal shirt he could have blended. He looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties at the most, but that meant nothing when it came to his kind.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me," his accent was aged, Welsh. "I'm sorry I wasn't aware there was a standard protocol to engaging your services. I've heard you're the best."

"You should have also heard I don't work for your kind."

"I did, but I need someone good, and quick, and you come highly recommended."

"By who?" I lifted a brow wondering who was whispering my name in the wrong circles.

His ice blue eyes focused in on me a moment, weighing his response options. "I'll pay whatever price you ask."

"Your first born." I didn't smile with the sarcasm.

"Died centuries ago." His face stayed emotionally blank.

"Then I guess you're out of luck." I held his business card out in front and ripped it in half before dropping it on the floor. "Forget my name, forget we met, and whoever is using my name in your circles needs their neck broken. I don't work for predators."

I took two steps towards the crowded dancefloor. He grabbed my arm firmly but not aggressively. I met his eyes and noticed the strain around the edges. "Miss..." he looked puzzled for a second.

"Michaels," I answered for him. "Spectra Michaels. And you are?"

"Mr. Bay Ryder. I need a full set of documents in two days."

I closed my eyes in annoyance. "Damn it!"

I took the two steps back to the wall grabbing Mr. Ryder by his expensive looking suit jacket and pulling him hard against the front of me. He was surprised, but his eyes nearly left his head when I started pulling his shirt out of his waistband. He opened his mouth to object, and I gave him my best death stare.

"Shut it. You come here asking for me by name, with no formal introduction, and then proceed to state your business openly, even after I politely turn you down. You're not a cop, so I'd say you're NSIO." The Nachtwelt Security and Intelligence Office is the law in the Nachtwelt. It keeps the supernatural hidden from humans. Forging identification documents definitely impinged on human Federal law, but for obvious reasons, was a service the Nachtwelt utilized regularly. However, helping citizens of the Nachtwelt change their identity and disappear entirely, may just infringe on Nachtwelt law enough to get me in trouble. I had no intention of being busted by them.

I slid my hands in against his bare abdomen, caressing up with splayed hands to his upper torso, before circling around and searching his back. As I bought my arms back to the front, I started unbuckling his belt. Mr. Ryder grasped my wrists, his eyes fierce on me. While the search of his upper body seemed to bore him, this more invasive search angered him.

"I don't believe this is the place for a strip search, Miss Michaels."

I smiled, "See that girl over there." I tilted my head and watched as he turned to look. He found the man with his back to the room, his hips moving back and forth. I saw his pupils dilating when he realized there was a girl kneeling in front of the man, her face hidden by his body. "I don't think she's searching for a wire, so trust me, no one is going to think for a second what we're about."

I unzipped his fly as his angry eyes met mine. I maintained eye contact as I slipped my hand in smoothing down to the base of his flaccid member, circling around, feeling around his sacs, and down his inner thighs. I was impressed when the most he reacted was a slight pulse against my forearm. I slipped my hands around to check for anything at the back. When I was sure he was clean of any listening device, I withdrew my hands from his pants. He stepped back a small step to right his clothing. I took out the small bottle of hand sanitizer I kept in my bag and cleaned my hands till I could access the bathroom.

"You look disappointed I didn't get hard for you." Even his voice was tight.

"Relieved actually," I responded honestly. "Admittedly though you are the first of your kind who I've let get this close to me. So, I'm not sure if that's just a physiological thing for you, that you prefer men, or that you're so old you need pharmaceutical intervention."

What exciting story are you working on next?

I work on multiple books at the same time. When I wrote Spectra, I wrote it in a month at the same time I wrote another fantasy novel, and a romance novel. I tend to jump around between stories when I get stuck or the book doesn’t suit my mood. So I currently have around thirty seven books that I’m working on at different times, but I keep a writing schedule to work on set books that I want to finish.

The next book I’d like to publish is Dioltas. It’s a thriller / romance about assassins and spies. It’s probably my favorite book out of everything I’ve written and I really want to get it out there and share it with everyone.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Possibly in 2013 when I published my first independent novel Best Man. Even when I started writing, it wasn’t with the goal of becoming an author. Writing was my escapism and it became something I could share with my closest friends. My friends were the ones who pushed me to try publishing, I would never have done it otherwise. So if you enjoy my books, you can thank Ari and Luka. If you hate my books, you can blame Ari and Luka.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I work at a university in the school of Medicine. I write at night when I should be sleeping and on the weekends in my spare time. I’ve had insomnia since I was a child and never sleep more than six hours if I do sleep at all. So I’ve put that quiet time to good use.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I have so many quirks it’s hard to decide. I never write at my desk or on a computer. I am usually situated with my iPad somewhere with a cat curled up asleep beside me whilst I tap away.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ooh, this was a toss-up between a teacher or an assassin. I tried the teacher thing, but it turned out to not be my cup of tea. I write about strong females, some of whom are deadly, so I guess you could say I went the assassin line.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I’m a friendly antisocial girl who lives in a comedy, but tends to write the darker side of human nature. I’m a mother, a wife, a crazy cat lady, and a walking contradiction (it’s all my rising signs fault). I’m on twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you want to read more of my insane dreams world, you can find me on Inkitt or read me raw on Wattpad.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Thank you for asking me to interview and showing an interest in Spectra.

Very happy to have you here today, Ebony! Happy writing.