Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Elizabeth.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Writing has always been my passion, even before I knew it was. From my first story at five years old about playing PowerRangers to the novels I write today, putting words onto the page has carried me through everything. Strangely, I didn’t realize I wanted to be an author professionally until after college, and that’s how I ended up becoming a Physical Therapist. Even during grad school, I found time to write, letting it relieve my exam stress. Now, I work at the clinic treating patients during the week and write at night or on the weekends. So far, I’ve written seven books, and that doesn’t mean they’re all revised, edited, and ready to go! The few that I have polished up, I’ll be working toward traditional publishing through a publishing house, and I’ll keep working on other writing and writing-related projects in the meantime. One project I’m particularly excited about just launched recently; I combined my expertise as a Physical Therapist with my passion for writing to create a Character Injury Consultation Service to help authors write and portray characters’ injuries, disabilities, and conditions more accurately and more sensitively. I even started a Character Injury blog to go along with the Consultations. It’s a bit tough to balance writing, Physical Therapy, and a consultation service, but I’ve always found passion projects to be the most rewarding. Someday, I hope writing, and consultations will be my full-time job!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Publishing is a competitive industry. I’ve written a few books with which I’m working on pursuing the traditional route through a publishing house. It’s slow going, and writers face a lot of rejection at every stage of the process. That’s honestly the hardest part. You could have written the book of your soul, and it could be your best writing, but if it doesn’t land on the right person’s desk at the right time, then it doesn’t stand a chance. Art is so subjective and comes under a lot of scrutiny; creatives have to have a thick skin in order to persevere and stay true to themselves and their art. It’s a hard pill to swallow when something you put so much time, energy, and heart into doesn’t make it. One of the best things a writer can do is work on the next thing. Fall in love with a new project and a new world with new characters, and try again! And that’s one reason why I wanted to explore self-publishing while my other novels are working their way through traditional publishing. My Paranormal Romance novel TRINITY started out as a fun side-project, but as I wrote, the idea of putting it out there in a serialized format (Kindle Vella) became more and more appealing than letting it sit on a shelf with my other books waiting for readers to someday meet them. It can be a downer when your art and creations aren’t reaching an audience, so self-publishing is a great way to just put yourself out there and let an audience come to you.
There was definitely a bit of a learning curve with adapting a novel for serial fiction; they have to be fast-paced, snappy, and really hook the reader with each episode. There isn’t as much room on the page for crafting lush worlds and complex character depth, so you have to be very intentional with the space you do have. I will say that marketing is probably the hardest part, though! I think most creatives will agree that selling yourself and your work isn’t easy, but it’s a “necessary evil” of the field. I’ve leaned heavily on my writer friends through social media for word-of-mouth advertising, and it’s amazing what a good community can do for you!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a writer and a Physical Therapist. Most of my novels are Historical Fantasies for an Adult or New Adult audience, though I’ve branched out into Young Adult Contemporary Romance and, of course, New Adult Paranormal Romance with TRINITY! TRINITY is a unique project for me because I never saw myself writing Paranormal Romance, but the idea hit me, and I ran with it! As I was brainstorming, the story instantly unfolded in Savannah. I’ve never set a book here before, but there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that of all the places I’ve traveled to, Savannah was where TRINITY had to be set. With the city, its beauty, and its history as my muse, the story fell into place, and what came out was this really fun cross between The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural but with a twist of Savannah grace. I didn’t skimp on research, either. For all the locations featured throughout the book, I scouted each of them to get a true sense of what their vibes were; how they looked, smelled, and sounded; how the tourists and locals interacted with them; and how they’d best serve the novel’s plot. The internet was also very helpful in reading up on history.
From there, the story just spilled out, and it kind of wrote itself in just three months! I was able to release it in late October 2022 for the start of “Scorpio Season” (the book has definite Scorpio vibes) and consistently posted episodes through the end of the year.
It was a quick turnaround for me between drafting chapters and then having to post them, so making each one as clean and tight as possible was truly a challenge, but I’m really proud of how it came out! There’s certainly room for improvement, and maybe I’ll revise and republish it someday, but for now, I’m soaking in the excitement of having finished a novel and put it out for readers to enjoy. It’s even garnered a good number of likes and five-star reviews on Kindle Vella. I will say, though, that if it weren’t for the help of my writing partner, then TRINITY would have been a lot harder to manage in such a short time (thanks, Briana!).
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was into everything. Sports, arts and crafts, drama club, music, hiking, traveling – you name it! But whatever I did, I had to be good at it, and once I was, then I’d move on to try something else! I was really competitive and passionate, and I still am, but I’ve learned to be a lot more intentional with where I direct my energy. My parents were really excellent role models and just genuinely great people, and they taught me to be confident and strong from a young age. I think those are some of the most important things a young woman–and a creative–can be in order to forge the path you want for your life and sculpt your dreams into being. They supported me through every era (the astronaut era, the CIA operative era, the actress era…), and I’m very thankful for it! I’d love for them to visit Savannah sometime and see why this city is so inspiring!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bychelseaelizabeth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bychelseaelizabeth/
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/TRINITY/dp/B0BK7NZFLH/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=trinity&qid=1673904785&s=falkor&sr=1-1
