Hi Erin! Tell us about yourself.
I was born and grew up in Ukraine, and have lived in Chicago’s north suburban area since 1992. I have BS in civil engineering and work in the IT field. My passion, however, has always been reading and writing. Having been on a spiritual quest through all my life, I am inspired by the vision and work of Gangaji, Papaji, Eckhart Tolle, and Adyshanti. Through the Clouds is my debut novel, and if anyone finds their answers in this novel, I am glad I wrote it.
How long have you been a member of EPIC?
Since January 2010
If you use a pen name, how did you choose it?
I do use a pen name. I didn’t have to spend much time to come up with it as I’ve always liked the name Erin, which is close to my real name – Irene. And Aslin is just a short version of my last name.
How long does it take you to write a book?
My debut novel, Through the Clouds, took me roughly 3 years to write. Then there was another 2 years of reviewing and editing the manuscript, synopsis, query letter and outline and submitting everything to editors and agents. As I have a full-time “non-writing” job, I worked on my book any chance I had – weekends, nights, vacations.
Do you write one book/story at a time or multiples?
I write one book at a time. I let my mind and thoughts become completely engaged with the story which is unraveling. I will have some ideas for other books here and there – some character sketches, an intriguing plot or situation…if that happens, I record those into my journal, or any piece of paper I have on hands.
What genres do you write?
I am officially writing women’s fiction. Although, I don’t think it should be “women’s” only. The main heroine is a woman and the book is written from her point of view, but the quintessence of my book—struggling through life’s trials and tribulations (emotional abuse, divorce, financial hardship, depression, etc) to raise above the tragedy to the brighter outcomes—is a journey of one’s soul through the “dark night” to the light of the day that I think anyone can relate to.
Are there any genres you’d like to try but haven’t?
Yes, spiritual. I have a lot to say on this topic, but there so many books are out there…I’m not sure that there is a need for another one.
What’s your writing process? (i.e. pantser/organic writer or plotter or mix? write on the computer? longhand? mix? how many passes? etc.)
I had the whole plot of the book planned out before I started writing. I obviously made some adjustments as I wrote, but the book mostly stayed the same as I’d envisioned it in the beginning. I write mostly on my laptop, but if I have an idea or think of a way to write a passage that I’d been stuck on, I would jot that down on any piece of scrap paper I could find at the moment.
What are the strangest conditions you’ve written under? The strangest place and/or time you’ve written something?
I was driving along a highway thinking of the story and suddenly a thought occurred so I had to put it in writing immediately as I knew I might forget it later. So, I pushed my car to the road shoulder, pulled a notebook out of my purse and began writing. Forgetting about where I was, I startled when a cop knocked on my car window and was genuinely confused as to why he was bothering me. It took me a moment to realize I was actually still on the highway shoulder, and therefore he had every right to “bother” me. Everything ended up well though – no ticket.
If you could choose two authors to be seated between at a signing…or to have your books shelved between in the bookstore, who would they be?
Danielle Steele and Eckhart Tolle
How many books do you read in the average month? e-Book or print or both?
I am reading one for a while now – “A Course in Miracles,” and I am kind of skimming through the others as they appear on my plate. Sadly, writing this book took away most of my free time to read others. I prefer hard copies over e-Books, though I do see the appeal of e-Books for some people.
What is the funniest or strangest editor/crit request/comment you’ve encountered? (This one always has funny answers.
I have a phrase in my book about the flowers nourishing the window. So, this editor actually snail-mailed me a response—a short critique in my SAGE. She said the flowers cannot nourish the window as they simply are not nutrition for the window. In other words, the windows do not eat the flowers—maybe in sci-fi books they do, she said, but not in women’s fiction. She was being very serious and I was amazed at how one could take those words in such a literal way. However, I was grateful for her taking the time to write a response to me anyway—it was one of the few personal responses I received out of many of canned rejections.
What is your ideal location to write a book, if you had the money to live there or sequester yourself there?
On the terrace outside of my mansion, under the shade of a beautiful leafy tree, surrounded by rose bushes and blooming flowers, enjoying the view of the ocean…
If you could choose your dream job, besides writing, what would it be?
Traveling around the world, talking to people from all walks of life. That could be a job, right?
Where do you get your character names?
Most of the time they just drop into my head, like, Hi, I am Lisa, or something.
Tell us about your current release… blurb… link to purchase is a plus!
Through the Clouds was e-published by Write Words, Inc and was released on Dec, 2009. It can be found at the following sites:
Write Words, Inc (http://www.writewordsinc.com/throughclouds.html)
Amazon (Kindle Edition) (http://www.amazon.com/Through-the-Clouds-ebook/dp/B002Z6G7TU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1259894296&sr=1-3)
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b101946/Through-the-Clouds/Erin-Aslin/?id=1642
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?authorId=119281&authorName=Aslin%2C+Erin
Give us your URLs (web site, MySpace, Facebook, blog, etc.)
My website: http://www.erinaslin.com/
