Elle Hill

I write a lot of poetry. To be more precise, I write a lot of stuff, -- heck, I used to write music -- but poetry tends to be my favorite. I like writing sensually (literally, engaging the senses – not so much sexual), and a short poem provides me the opportunity to dive into a brief scene or thought, puddle about for a while until it soaks me, and then dry off and return to the rhythm of my everyday life. It’s a brief, intense interlude, and I love it. an e.e. cummings poem One of the things I like best about poetry and don’t pull off as well in my prose is the use of rhythm. You know what I mean; each story has a plot rhythm, and each scene involves a specific, emotional and temporal pace. We authors do this through dialogue, mixes of interiority and exteriority, and length and depth of descriptions. Most importantly to me, however, is the rhythm one achieves with the choices of words, punctuation, and sentence length. Just like a poem, a story achieves part of its flow f...

INFORMATION ON HATE CRIMES IN THE U.S. Hate crime victims and comparisons with their demographic representation “ Since 2000, the number of organized hate groups -- from white nationalists, neo-Nazis and racist skinheads to border vigilantes and black separatist organizations -- has climbed by more than 50 percent, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)” ( Florida, 2011 ). A summary of hate crime info, according to the FBI’s 2010 report : Hate crimes are broken down thusly: 47.3% by a racial bias, 20% percent by a religious bias, 19.3% by asexual orientation bias, and 12.8% by an ethnicity/national origin bias. Bias against a disability accounted for 0.6% of single-bias incidents. Hate crimes by race: Anti-Black: 69.8% Anti-White: 18.2% Anti-multiracial: 5.7% Anti-Asian or Pacific Islander: 5.1% Anti-Native American/Alaskan Native: 1.2% ·               ...

Let’s come right out and say it: I’ve been gone for a while. I apologize, my three readers, but once you know my reason, you’ll be helpless to hold it against me. I figure, since you enjoy paranormal romance, you’re a sucker for a good love story. Well, thank goodness, I became embroiled in my own love story earlier this year. I know, right? It’s just like my novels, minus the paranormal bits. And all the action. And the wittiness. And appealing narrative flow. But otherwise identical! Go, me! So, that said, I’m finally going to post something long overdue: a review of Keir by Pippa Jay. Let me summarize my review in a single command: Go out and buy it . It’s one of the sweetest things you’ll ever read. Seriously. Okay, so a little less gushy, below is my official review. This book has something for just about every speculative fiction reader: world hopping; fantastically creative species, cultures, and architectures; sexy and intensely sweet main characters; lots of ex...

In addition to being a super-shero author, I also style myself a dabbler in the digital arts. Translation: I really, really like playing in Microsoft Publisher. Anyway, when I finish writing and revising my books, I print them via Lulu and send them to my well-read and brilliant readers (i.e., my sisters). Since I need a sexy cover to snag my sis' attentions and convince them that art class in college was kinda worth it, I usually spend an hour or so slapping one together.  All that done, once I toss my baby manuscripts into the laps of publishers, they gather together their team of graphic artists and construct their own cover. Sometimes I like what they come up with, sometimes not. At least they're kind enough to let me contribute a few ideas, which I appreciate.  Would you like to see my very basic handiwork? Why, I thought you'd never ask! Below are the three covers I've tossed together for, respectively, Hunted, Hunted Past , and Hunted Dreams .  Caveat: Up unt...