Long and Short Reviews welcomes Elle Brownlee who is celebrating the release of Staggered Cove Station , the first book in her Coast Guard Rescue series. Leave a comment for a chance to win a gift certificate to Adagio Teas, one of Elle’s favorite purveyors.
To go along with getting to know a little about my new book, I’m going to talk about five things I like doing when I’m not writing, so you can get to know a little bit about me too.
1) Walks/hikes + birding
I love the great outdoors, I love adventuring in National Parks, and I love just getting up from my desk and going for a brisk walk. It’s invigorating, it gives my mind a rest but also a boost (the number of amazing plot fixes and fantastic dialogue I’ve come up with on walks—too many to count!), and I almost always see a landscape or interaction or detail that inspires an idea to tuck away for later use in a book.
I’m going to cheat a skosh and add birding rather than make it a separate of the five. I also love birds so much, and any walk I take, I’m always on the lookout for them. Currently I’m studying and learning birdsongs to add to my visual identification skills.
2) Quilting
My mother taught me how to quilt. I have many fond childhood memories bound up with her quilting; exploring and being surrounded by her process, thumbing through stacks of fabrics, fitting cut pieces together into my own designs, and sitting under her huge quilting table reading while listening to her sing along with the radio.
Now I have my own work area and process. Quilts are a meticulous, multi-step project, and that’s part of why I enjoy it so much. Just going to the fabric store and seeing all that promise on shelf after shelf of colorful bolts gives me a thrill. It also engages a different part of my creative brain, giving me a rest from plotting and worrying about grammar, but I’ve found that really helps my writing brain stay flexible. I generally binge-watch something while working, but I still make my own block designs.
3) Organizing
Organizing calms me and orders my thoughts. When I’m at loose ends, have a project get stuck, or can’t sleep, I organize something. I take a break to clear out and reorganize a space, a file, a drawer. I write a long to-do list of various type. I declutter digital piles. And I always feel so much better afterwards.
4) Traveling
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I am always up for an adventure! Whether a grand tour–I took a dream vacation to Italy last year and it was incredible–or day trips, I am here for it. Traveling is like the macro version of walks for me–restorative and inspiring. I love seeing, learning, experiencing new places and things. And traveling never fails to provide so many moments, details, meet cute idea, and inspiration to add to my mental file folders.
5) Reading
I believe every writer needs to read. It’s good for the writer brain, but it’s also good for the body, mind, and soul. Life would be so empty without books! It’s a wonderful way to escape, to adventure, to unwind, to share and enthuse and connect with others, and to think about my own work.
Something I love no matter what I’m doing is tea. I drink it all the time. When writing, when traveling, when trying to write while traveling… So I’m including a giveaway with this post for a gift certificate to Adagio Teas, one of my favorite purveyors. Adagio is also where I create my own signature Book Blends to go with every book I’ve written, which you can find here!
Hope you enjoy my list–and the read!
<3 Elle
Staggered Cove Station is book one in my new Coast Guard Rescue romantic suspense series. There’s thrills, chills, mystery, and hunky guys to the rescue. It released March 20 from Dreamspinner Press.
*** Rescues are wild in the Alaskan terrain. So is romance.Sun-kissed California guardsman Dan Farnsworth might be at home in the water, but he’s out of his element at remote, rugged, and freezing Staggered Cove Station. Acclimating proves hard enough, but he’s also digging into how the station’s previous rescue swimmer was lost at sea. Was it an operation gone bad… or something more sinister? Add to that instant tension between him and his partner, no-nonsense Alaska-born Karl Radin, and Dan has his hands full.
As his investigation heats up, so does the attraction between Dan and Karl—even if they don’t completely trust each other. But as suspicious events escalate to sabotage, Dan starts to fear he and Karl won’t get the chance to become more than reluctant coworkers.
About the Author Elle Brownlee has always followed her creative, adventuring spirit. Growing up she loved westerns and taking long hikes. On these explorations she’d craft miniature worlds with moss and rocks while making up stories about everything that happened there. This often included dashing cowboy heroes. As an adult, not a lot has changed. She still loves westerns, long hikes, and allowing her imagination to roam. Usually with a pot of tea at her elbow. Her romances feature flawed but relatable characters in immersive settings, told with wit, tenderness, and a sly note of sarcasm. Though a cynic in many ways, Elle believes love can conquer all. Every story is a little bit naughty, a whole lot of nice, and will always end with happily ever after.
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