Elise Thornback is an author, sculptor, and illustrator who has also been self-titled with the illustrious Spinster of the Year Award.

 

Her writing style is so wonderfully in-depth that this interview starts out a little differently than the others. I asked her for a bio, and this is what she sent back:

 

 

• • So the pen name Elise Thornback is an ode to the fact that I'm hoping to die old and alone like an absolute boss. Preferably in my 90's, in my house which I have filled up with hundreds of dolls, of which I will possess exactly one. This is a life goal of mine, not just because I am a woman and statistics say we marry older partners and live longer, so dying alone is all but inevitable, but also because I am aro-ace (aromantic asexual) so the moderate amusement I would get from going out like the intro to a horror movie far outweighs my interest in men.

  • I gotta do it for the lols.

  • I've also been sculpting faces for 9 years with the past 8 years utilizing polymer clay. Before I got into sculpting faces I drew a lot of people, often focusing on their faces. I just feel that's typically what we use to identify a person: their face, so finding the right face for the characters completes them in my mind.

  • I have a mechanical engineering degree I don't get much use out of so I suppose part of my doll army needs to be automations. I am pretty much obligated to do that at some point.

  • And finally, I'm dyslexic. I caught up to grade-level reading in seventh grade, but you never really get over dyslexia, so reading is something I will always have to stay practiced in just to stay on par. That's not to say I dislike reading. It's like exercise: necessary, sometimes I just want to procrastinate, but once I get around to it, it's a lot of fun.

  • Which is, I think, the mentality anyone who struggles with reading needs to take. They have to read more than anyone, so best to find the books they enjoy and have fun with. Being dyslexic doesn't have anything to do with intelligence and it doesn't mean you don't have stories you love to hear or want to tell.

 

                                       ~*GIVE A GOLDEN GODDESS GANG GREETING TO ELISE THORNBACK!*~

 

• • • Do specialize in horror? If not, what would you say your genre is?

  • I actually wasn't aiming for horror at all. Things just keep getting darker and darker as I write them. I believe most of my stories are n the middle grounds of sci-fi and fantasy. Though I might branch out from there

    • I prefer to stick to the realms of sci-fi and fantasy as well.

    • So, tell our readers about your latest project. I don't want to give too much away.

  • I currently have a set of books in the works. The novel they're all associated with will be published at the end of the year.

  • In the meantime, there is a novella and an art book scheduled for early summer and a coloring book that will be out in the fall.

  • The novella is a flashback of the story told in the novel, the art-book: sculptures I made to help with character design and illustrating, and I'm sure you could have guessed the coloring book will be comprised of all of the illustrations from the novel and novella.

  • All together there will be nearly 100 of them.

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  • I'm also hosting monthly coloring contests using these illustrations. For details on that, people can keep an eye on my Instagram.

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  • As for the story all of this is based off of: Well, on the planet of Frai there is a civilization living in quarantine. They often get a bad rep, for some reason or another, but in this set of books I am giving them the opportunity to tell their side of the story.

  • It's a gloriously biased take on a lost colony devolved into cannibalistic wild-men.

  • I think anyone with a dark sense of humor will like it.

    • Sounds super intriguing!

    • Where did you get the inspiration?

  • Thank you!

  • The quarantined people this book is focused on came about approximately a decade ago. They started off as a side note in the planet lore. That's usually how all of my best stories and characters come about: they were created for the background, then I decided I really liked them and built them up.

  • In this case I can't say anything really inspired me so much as my imagination took a dark turn and kept heading down that path.

  • Other books in the series will be based off a nightmare I had years ago, but I have yet to write those.

    • That's so cool though! The best stories aren't written by you, they are written through you.

    • How long have you claimed the title of writer?

  • Well I started with this story universe when I was 12, but I think I was still way more devoted to drawing than writing back then. It may have taken until high school for me to get serious about writing. Of course, that stuff is just packed full of teenage angst. I'm 28 now. (*interviewed in May 2020) I may have kept up with writing stories in the same world but I've rewritten just about everything.

    • Oh my gosh, the transformation over 16 years!!! That's incredible!

    • What drew you to the magick of writing?

  • Well, I grew up reading a ton of manga. I'm dyslexic, so when I was younger reading was more of a chore than anything. I preferred comics. Though conveying a story through comics is incredibly time consuming. You can spend a single day and only cover a single conversation.

  • Editing's a nightmare too. It basically just didn't happen and my quality was piss-poor.

  • I had a story to tell and comics just weren't going to cut it. The only reasonable medium to cover that much ground was writing. That's not to say I ever felt the same negativity towards writing as I did for reading. I never minded writing. I just can't spell.

  • I'm also aware that being well-read correlates to being a better writer, but I can't change my past and I don't think people should give up on the stories they have to tell just because they're unfamiliar with the medium. You learn a lot along the way.

  • I do have a bunch of bibliophiles to check in with. Consider them consultants making sure I deliver a quality product. There's always a workaround for these things.

    • I have mixed feelings on the whole concept of reading... yes, it serves a purpose, but I am also skeptical of writers who spend more time reading. It seems too easy to come into the territory of copying if you're reading too much.

  • I can see that. When I'm in story plotting mode I cut off all other media for months to stay focused on my story universe. I don't want to fall in love with a component of that and feel the need to cram it into my story.

  • Overall, I see reading for writers as the same as memorizing the example problems for the test.

  • I think it helps, but you still need the practice of solving problems on your own if you're going to pass the test.

    • This is the most amazing, practical take I have ever heard on this. Thank you.

    • So, when was your moment of not giving a fuck and pursuing it? You mention thinking people shouldn't give up. It takes a lot of courage and strength to find the thing you won't give up on, and I'm sure our readers want to hear that saga.

  • Well I'm not sure I could call it a saga so much as persistence over the years.

  • Like I've said, I've been daydreaming the same fantasy world since I was a kid and I've tried conveying that to people in all sorts of ways. I've sculpted it. I've written it. I'm just trying to get this out of my head and into everyone else's.

  • My battle with dyslexia is kind of another matter.

  • When I was a little kid I apparently told my dad I didn't ever need to learn to read. I would just become a scientist.

  • You can't really do anything if you can't read though and fortunately my parents, older sister, and study skills teachers cared enough to get me caught up. It took countless recesses and I'm sure I killed a forest somewhere with all the worksheets I had to fill out, but they got me to grade level and I appreciate that.

  • (It was actually a lot more of a hassle than that because I also had a speech impediment and when they tested me to find out what the reading disability was, they found my IQ was high enough to put me in a special class for that too. Problem was, all 3 of these extra classes didn't have their own time so I was being pulled out of my regular classes 6 times a week when I was in elementary school. It was really a mess when you factor in the fact that I already couldn't read and was pulling 3 all-nighters a week just to keep up with the work.)

  • If you had told elementary school me that she would one day write a book, she'd have thought you were out of your mind.

    • I love you.

    • Thank you for sharing this.

  • Thanks for the support.

    • So when is the big release date?

    • (Also, you're a badass! It's an honor to support you!)

  • I'm turning 29 on June 29th, so I'm determined to publish the novella before then.

  • It seemed like an appropriate way to celebrate. (*Interviewed May 2020)

  •                                                 *** CHECK OUT THE TALE OF ESSICS ***

  •                                                                   *** RIGHT NOW! ***

  •                                                      *** IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!***

  • Other than that I'm trying to check things off my to-do list. I post a lot of progress pictures so for artistic components, people can follow me on Instagram.

    • How are you handling editing?

  • I have beta readers, character editors, and overall book editors. All are friends. I haven't splurged on a professional editor. I am just counting on having enough eyes to catch everything.

  • My stories also jump around between points of view which is why I have character editors, to give them distinct style and vocabulary.

  • I'm always on the lookout for more character editors. Finding the right match for a character is always rewarding.

    • Woaw, that is inspiringly complex!

    • How many people do you have on your super team?

  • It varies, given it's a long term project requiring a lot of commitment and things come up all the time to complicate that, but for the novel, I could go up to 9. I don't currently have that many on board, but that's probably the cap for how many people I could find places for on this project.

  • As for minimum: probably 2 or 3 with each of us handling multiple jobs. This is also the most likely circumstance till I can prove myself to more people.

  • Planning anything with adults is always kind of a nightmare, but when the group gets to working together it's great having other people who know the project as well as you do and who you can bounce ideas off of.

  • Melody Splicer is one of my editors. She's got this fantastic understanding of her characters and the society they live in. There's a couple of sections in the book she's filled in. That's really the ideal match I want to find: Someone who gets the character so well they can take the idea and run with it.

  • To a large extent, that's also the kind of world I hope to build for the readers, one they can come to understand and imagine their own stories within.

  • It's something I keep in mind when writing plot summaries: keep things open enough so that the editors and readers can have some freedom.

    • Dayum lady! Hard to come up with a response. Lol. I am totally blown away.

    • So, how long is your series expected to be?

  • At least 14 books.

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  • I know that's crazy long, but I follow a ton of characters and like to give them time to grow naturally.

  • There's also a prequel series that'll be even longer. That one will require me to rewrite all my stuff from high school and college, as well as finish it.

  • So I'm pretty much set for the rest of my life.

  • Wish I could rewrite them faster, but that's easier said than done. At the very least I promise to have them written and available.

    • Dude, that's epic!

    • You are a true innovator.

  • Why thank you.

  • I've mostly had a long time to think about this stuff, it's a big world.

    • Oh my gosh. I am just beyond words.

    • Okay, since I can talk to you ALL DAY about your incredible work, I want to wrap up by asking – what advice do you have for anyone struggling to stay motivated, or anyone feeling a little down.

  • As far as motivation goes I feel it helps to find the appropriate number of hobbies that works for you and cycle through them. If you only have one project you're going to find yourself unmotivated frequently. Working on the same thing day in, day out gets old fast. Likewise, if you take on too many projects you won't have time to make headway in any of them and that'll get discouraging. What you need is just a couple of options.

  • For me that's between writing and sculpting for the majority of this book's process. I only added in drawing when the sculptures were all but done and I'd reached the editing phase of writing. Three is a lot tougher to make progress on than two was, but now that I'm wrapping things up in other areas of the book I can take on that challenge.

  • 2 or 3 feels like the best number if you really want to be productive. Just put your heart into those few things and turn down other projects in the meantime. You have to be honest with yourself about what you actually have time for.

  • My advice for anyone who's feeling down is somewhat related to this. I find that making time in your life for one thing you excel at is key.

  • It doesn't matter how practical that activity is or what value others place in it, only that t's something you know you can get right.

  • For me it's sculpting people's faces. Yes, that's very specific and it doesn't make me money or help with any adulting I have to do, but it reminds me that I can succeed.

  • I think we could all use that reminder every now and then.

  • (This is also a tactic that builds with time. If you're worried you're not good at anything: First off stop lying to yourself. Everyone has something they do well, don't be too modest to give yourself credit for that. Secondly practice will develop those skills further. Find something you're good at and enjoy. Over the years you'll gain mastery of it, I promise.)

    • And... what is your supernatural title?

    • My first guest was podcaster/witch

  • Artist and author?

  • That, or “Spinster of the Year”. Lol.

  • I'm kicking butt in that category and proud of it.

    • **rofl**

    • Okay, if you're proud of it, I will run with it.

    • **roflmao**

    • Absolutely. Beautiful.

  • Thank you, and glad you find it funny too. Some people get so serious about that stuff and start giving me a lecture about how my true love is out there, somewhere, waiting and how I too can lose 15 pounds, give up my strange, antisocial hobbies, quit my job and clean houses and diapers for the rest of my life.

  • Yay?

    • Fuck that.

    • Your love doesn't want you to lose weight or being antisocial. That's actually what love is.

  • I'm doing great on my own. Turns out being perpetually single isn't the end of the world like we're told.

  • So yes, if you were to refer to me as Spinster of the Year in the interview I would be honored.

    • Sounds good babe.

    • Elise, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today about your incredible work.

    • How can our readers stay connected to your journey?

  • Following me on Instagram is the best way. I have a website in development but it's not out yet. Though even once it's up and running I'm still more likely to post more in-depth about my stories and artwork on Instagram than anywhere else.

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Well Goddess, what are you waiting for? Go read The Tale of Essics! If you're a long-time reader, you will know that very rarely do I ever actually read something someone else has written.

 

I have been reading and enjoying every moment of this marvelously entrancing novella.

 

Please go support Elise and buy a copy today