Here is my first post featuring new and debut authors. I'm happy to welcome Elyse Springer on the blog today whose queer romance series, Seasons of Love, will be published by Riptide starting January 2017.

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?

I’m generally awful at talking about myself, because I feel like I’m a very boring person. I travel a lot, previously as a military contractor and now for a new job based out of New York City, and I’d definitely say that traveling is one of my passions. I started writing when I was in high school as a way to explore places that I wasn’t able to physically visit… fantasy lands, historical settings, and other planets. But as I started to travel more in college, I realized that I wanted to set books in the places I was living and seeing, and I wanted those books to be about finding yourself and finding love. One day I looked up and realized that I was writing romance, and never looked back! 

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?

Oh, such a difficult question… and one that changes as often as the weather does! Right now I’m re-reading a lot of TJ Klune, especially How To Be a Normal Person, which is an asexual romance that really resonates with me (because I’m asexual as well). KJ Charles is another favorite, and her Society of Gentlemen series is sheer perfection! And one of my all-time favorites is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I think is a stunning, magical romance… I’ve read it probably 20 times now!

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?

I get inspired by a LOT of things. Random snippets of dreams that I grasp onto upon waking, or things I hear on the radio or see on TV. Sometimes the strangest thing will inspire a story; for example, I’m currently playing around with a vampire/PNR romance after hearing a particularly hilarious commercial for mattresses on the radio! 

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?

Almost everything that I write these days is contemporary (though I have a degree in historical literature, so who knows what might come someday!), and most of it will be adult. I do have an NA sports romance coming out in May 2017, though, which I’m super excited about! 

5. Please, introduce your upcoming release.

My first novel is Whiteout, and it’s out January 23, 2017. It’s about a man named Noah who wakes up with amnesia in a cabin as a blizzard rages outside. And he’s not alone… a man named Jason is taking care of him, and he explains that they’re partners, but Noah starts to get his memories back slowly and realizes that not everything is as it seems. But I can’t say anything else without spoiling it! Whiteout is the first in a four-book series called “Seasons of Love”, and is followed by Thaw (asexual F/F; April 2017), Heat Wave (bisexual F/F; July 2017), and Changing Colors (M/M; October 2017).

The aforementioned N/A sports romance is Heels Over Head, and it’s an Olympic diving romance out in May!