Ellery Adams
Author Interview - Ellery Adams
Author of Invasive Species
Something’s not right in Cold Harbor—more so than usual. While this sleepy small town has seen its fair share of monsters in cheating husbands and leering bosses, none are as hungry as Mrs. Smith. The mysterious resident has finally emerged from her crumbling mansion on the hill, mesmerizing the townspeople with her beauty. Her secret? Nine human sacrifices to feed her immortality.
Natalie Scott is more worried about Mrs. Smith blocking her first real estate sale—the one that will take her from stay-at-home mom to working woman extraordinaire. She's eager to prove herself in a world where the social mores of 1980s suburbia reign, where she's expected to keep a magazine-perfect home and raise beautiful children, all while sticking to her husband's budget. Natalie's two best friends are facing their own demons, and Mrs. Smith and her deep, dark woods are an easy scapegoat for everyone's problems.
But Natalie's twelve-year-old daughter, Jill, and her Icelandic housekeeper, Una, can sense something deeper at play. Armed with library books and a whole lot of grit, Jill and Una team up to save the town once and for all. But as the rest of Cold Harbor sinks into anger, fear, and jealousy, they’ll have to confront the question: What does it really mean to be a monster?
(Think Desperate Housewives meets Stranger Things)
Author Interview - Ellery Adams
Author I draw inspiration from:
There are so many, but some of there are Stephen King, Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Steinbeck. I love to blend genres in my books, and my reading taste is all over the place.
Author Interview - Ellery Adams | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
On a lounge chair by the beach.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I'd love to be stuck with a female character labeled as a monster. Medusa or Medea—any woman with power who's been villainized in folklore or myth. I'd just want to hear her real story, told in her own words.
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
It was so long ago I can't remember. It seems like I've always been a writer. I used to write stories and sell them on the school bus.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback, paperback, and audiobook. I never read ebooks or mass market editions.
The last book I read:
Perfect Remains by Helen Fields. I loved it. I read another thriller by Fields in January and wanted to go back and read other books in this series. She's a brilliant writer. I love the Scottish setting and her tough, flawed, and likable investigators. She also provides insights into the motives of her killers that I find unique and utterly fascinating.
Author Interview - Ellery Adams | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I have dysgraphia, so I'm not a big fan of pen and paper. I'll jot ideas in a notebook (and I buy a new notebook for every book. This is a lengthy process because the notebook has to feel right for the book, which means the cover design is super important and it can't be a spiral because I'm left-handed). Otherwise, I type everything and think the computer is the greatest invention ever.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Any of the women from Kirsten Miller's The Women of Wild Hill. They're all fierce females with magical abilities, which they use to even the score against misogynist billionaires.
Author Interview - Ellery Adams | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
An archaeologist or an antiques dealer.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
The Regency Era (because I'm a sucker for a man in a cravat)
Place I’d most like to travel:
Alaska. I'd love to see the glaciers and wildlife of the region.
My signature drink:
Cosmo or bubbly.
Favorite artist:
A North Carolina potter named Billy Ray Hussey. I love NC folk art pottery in general. I collect pottery and paintings by NC artists. I have a weird love of decrepit barn paintings.
Number one on my bucket list:
If I'm being honest, seeing one of my books adapted to film or a TV series.
Anything else you'd like to add:
This book is a new direction for me and it's a little scary to see how it's going to be received. I've written mystery novels for 20 years, so this is like starting all over again. I'm excited but also a wee bit terrified.
Find more from the author:
About Ellery Adams:
Ellery Adams
Ellery is the USA Today & New York Times Bestselling Mystery Author of over 40 novels. She grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound but now writes from her home in North Carolina. She loves rescue animals, jigsaw puzzles, coffee, black licorice, college football, reading on rainy days, wood-burning fires, and porch swings.
