ABOUT JJ ELLIS

Q&A

Q: What happened when you wrote Anguish?

A: Anguish is about Ben Harper, a teenager that I mentioned in a couple of my Sunset Destiny Romances. I just knew that I had to write his story so I did. What I didn't realize was that Anguish would become the first novel I wrote that had me saying, 'wow, this is good.' I believed it to be the best thing I'd ever written, and I wasn't sure how I would ever live up to it. That, in fact, affected my writing for many years. Every book that I wrote after Anguish was forced and miserable to write. I'm just lucky that they came out good enough to publish. I know part of my downfall and switch to writing YA and Mystery came from writing being an ADHD/Autism hyperfocus, but at first, it was all about feeling inadequate after I'd written my "Masterpiece".

Q: Do you ever regret writing romance?

A: I don't regret it; however, I wish I had known how hard it was going to be to market it on little to no budget. I also wish I had known how awful the romance side of Indie Publishing could be. It was like watching the movie Mean Girls. I do love the books I wrote in that era, so I can never truly regret anything about it.

Q: What was it about writing Young Adult that you love the most?

A: I watched my kids struggle with their mental health, and it broke my heart that they felt so alone in the process, despite my ex-husband and me both having our own issues and experiences to share. After writing Anguish, I knew I wanted to write books about real kids, real situations, and real emotions. I hoped that maybe if one kid or parent of a kid who was going through mental health struggles found something to relate to in my YA books, it would help them know they aren't alone.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

Hello and welcome! My name is JJ Weatherill (JJ Ellis), and I am the author of 19 books in three different genres: Adult Romance, YA Romance, and Cozy Mystery.

I am a 55-year-old American living in Tasmania, Australia, with my husband. Let's just say a lot of crap happened, and I ended up here while my kids are back home living with their father. He's doing a great job taking care of them. Four of the five are adults, and my baby girl is a teenager.

I started my writing journey later in life than most. I was in my late thirties when I started writing and in my early forties by the time I published my first novel.

Romance had always been my favorite genre, but after so many years of immersing myself in the life of romance, I burned out and switched to Young Adult. It was here that I wrote a book that will always be my heart. It's called Anguish, and you can find it at Amazon or on my website AuthorJJWeatherill.

So, now you might be wondering how I got into Cozy Mystery, and it's really not a big deal. I thought I had burned out on writing because I just couldn't do it without a struggle that threatened to ruin my fragile mental health. I managed to put out a few books after Anguish, but my heart just wasn't in it. So I thought maybe if I tried something that was the complete opposite of romance, I could get out of my slump. The first two books came easily, and then my life was upended by the 'lot of crap' that happened, and I was in limbo for over two years. Now that life has settled in, I've discovered a new passion for my mysteries. This series will soon be ten books long, and I can't wait to start on a new series involving a little old librarian who likes to investigate things. I hope you'll enjoy this series and don't hesitate to check out my other genres too!

Thank you for joining us. Love and hugs to all!

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