Happy Pride Month everyone! Twinsie Tenise here. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who took the time to answer the questions for our pride month celebration. I thought hard about the questions and had fun coming up with them. I love that the authors seemed to have as much fun answering them. We will be celebrating all month with author spotlights as well as reviews for some of the LGBTQIA books we’ve read this year. Check back daily to learn more about that days featured author or book and add to your TBR piles. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little about all of these wonderful authors and their work.
On day 3 of Pride Month we are spotlighting one of my most favorite humans, A.D. Ellis. If you see us giving each other a hard time; online or in person– it is completely out of love– I promise. We met and I feel like we immediately clicked. Soon after she asked me to be an Alpha reader and the rest is history. Now she couldn’t get rid of me if she tried. She is a kindhearted, loving, genuine human with THE BEST hair! I am super lucky to have her as a friend. The MM romances A.D. has released are spicy and addictive. It is hard to pick a single favorite as I have a few and I refuse to narrow them down. Make sure to check out their blacklist when you finish the spotlight. 💜
🏳🌈 Tell us your name and a little about yourself?
Hi! I’m A.D. Ellis. I’m an educator of almost three decades, the mom of two 18+ kids, and a lifelong Indiana girl (please don’t hold that against me!) I’ve been writing and publishing since 2014. I’m a huge fan of tea, a brand-new coffee drinker, a lover of plants, and a master napper. I adore laughing with friends, sipping sweet red wine, and reading along with writing. I’m a bit of a weirdo. I’m an extreme overthinker. And I have an odd sense of humor.
🏳🌈 How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?
I’ve published 58 single titles, along with several box sets, stories in anthologies, audiobooks, and translations. To choose a favorite is impossible. At this point in time, I’ll go with The Men of Haven Grove as my favorite series and Once Upon a Christmas House as my favorite single title (but I feel bad even listing those because I love them all!)
🏳🌈 Do you write one book and finish it completely before starting the next? If not, how do you keep yourself from confusing the projects?
For the most part, yes. Occasionally, I will have a couple stories going, but I almost always keep everything separate.
🏳🌈 What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is it a default setting?
Almost always Comic Sans. I think it’s MY default these days. There are definitely some fonts I could NEVER write in.
🏳🌈 How do you ensure your LGBTQ characters feel authentic and mutifaceted, rather than just serve a plot function?
I think it’s important to surround yourself with authentic and multifaceted people in life, in books, in media, in writing communities, etc. Writing LGBTQ characters should never be just a way to check a box for plot points or being able to fit into a certain category. All of my characters will always be written as authentically as possible based on friends and family around me, my own experiences, the amazing books I’ve read, the conversations I have with my author friends, and what I can learn by educating myself.
🏳🌈 Do you have a favorite piece of LGBTQ history or fun fact you would like to share?
I can’t say that I have ONE piece of LGBTQ history to share, but I have spent the last decade educating myself about LGBTQ history because it wasn’t something I was exposed to when growing up. When I realized the massive amount of LGBTQ history I’d missed out on, I was so very angry. (This is true for the histories of all marginalized people. I’m so very angry about the histories that were buried.) I recently listened to the audiobook about The Upstairs Lounge. I’d learned of this tragedy several years ago; the audiobook was a HARD listen, but also very good. One thing I love on social media is The AIDS Memorial. I love the stories that get shared. They are often very hard reads, but it’s so very important to give those stories space and honor the people being remembered.
🏳🌈 What is one of your favorite books or movies with LGBTQ representation? Feel free to share more than one, I know it is difficult as a reader to pick one favorite of anything. Especially if its book related. Ack! This is so hard! Obviously, Heated Rivalry most recently. I LOVED Red, White, and Royal Blue in book/audio/movie formats. I LOVED the Simon Snow series on audio. I adore pretty much anything by Gregory Ashe, Tal Bauer, NR Walker, Nicky James…the list goes on and on and on.
🏳🌈 What is something you have used for a bookmark that IS NOT a bookmark?
I’m guilty of dog-earring. I know! So bad. Receipts, nail file, gum wrapper, etc.
🏳🌈 Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some of your favorite genres or songs?
