Zombie romance novel is just the beginning for Eagan author
Teen-fiction author Emily Shore, who works part-time at Barnes & Noble in Apple Valley, commits to writing 1,000 words each day. “If I didn’t have a part-time job … I would write 3,000 words a day,” she said. “However, I tried that once, and though I gained a 90,000-word book in one month, I also gained a temporary case of carpal tunnel, which I have no desire to repeat.” (Photo submitted)
This summer brought good news for Emily Shore.
In June, the 25-year-old Eagan teen-fiction author saw publication of her debut novel, “Flesher,” a post-apocalyptic zombie romance that’s now available on Amazon.
It’s the first in what Shore hopes will be a long list of published works. She recently completed “The Legend of the Last Bookkeeper,” a novel inspired by Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” that examines what the world would look like without books.
“The Legend of the Last Bookkeeper” is one among several paranormal romance and science fiction novels she’s written and is now looking to have published. Her website, www.emilybethshore.com, gives a rundown of the writing projects she’s completed since committing to a career in writing.
“I think I was a born writer,” said Shore, who was home-schooled through high school and went on to earn a creative writing degree from Metro State University in St. Paul. “I started writing as a young girl – I would try to write short stories but I’d always end up writing a full-length book.”
She’s now working on her next novel, “Serenity,” a story about a future Earth where girls are put on display as artwork.
Shore, who works part-time at Barnes & Noble in Apple Valley, took time to talk to us about her writing rituals, her strategies for dealing with writer’s block, and how a book by Stephenie Meyer gave her laryngitis.
At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Ever since I learned to read and write. I credit my mother for giving me a healthy dose of literature at a young age. The first hours of every morning were dedicated to reading countless chapters of countless books. It was love at first sight.
What is your writing strategy? Do you have any writing rituals?
My writing strategy is to write no fewer than 1,000 words a day. No ritual other than stapling my pants to the chair and refusing myself any other pleasure other than writing those 1,000 words. If I didn’t have a part-time job, which required the use of my hands, I would write 3,000 words a day. However, I tried that once, and though I gained a 90,000-word book in one month, I also gained a temporary case of carpal tunnel, which I have no desire to repeat.
Describe your writing room.
This would depend on whether you mean inside my house or outside. My ideal writing room, if money and time were no object, would be any coffee shop first thing in the morning. I thrive in a crowded, chaotic, and above all cacophonic atmosphere in order to write. The more noise, the better. And the fragrances of coffee only serve to heighten my senses.
Inside my house, my writing room is my office, which my husband and I specifically designed. It is entirely themed around books, art, and writing.
What’s on your writing desk?
In addition to my laptop and desktop computer, my desk is entirely writer-themed with a typewriter adorning the back of it as well as a writer’s quill and ink bottle. On my desk,
I also keep two framed photos of my book covers, which always serve as a reminder to keep writing.
How do you get past writer’s block?
If you had asked me this a couple months ago, I would have proudly declared that I never get writer’s block. However, I recently started writing in an unknown and particularly difficult genre for me, and I found myself subsequently stuck. I discovered the answer to writer’s block in one of my defining character traits: persistence. I journeyed to a local coffee shop, researched the basis for my writer’s block (which happened to be plot structure at the time), and I stayed there for four hours until I had hashed out a worthy plot. I give most of the credit to Caribou Coffee’s hot cinnamon spice tea for this. And Google.
What are you reading right now?
Since I work at a bookstore, I constantly see new titles added to shelves. I’m always on the lookout for any compelling teen read since it’s the audience for which I write. I can read a number of books at one time without getting too scatterbrained. My favorite title on my reading list would have to be “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor.
What was the last truly great book you read?
“The Host” by Stephenie Meyer. Stunning character development, a wholly original idea, compelling emotional substance. I literally got laryngitis reading this aloud to my husband on a camping trip. Since then, it has become my ultimate choice for a “trapped on a desert island” book. “Blood Red Road” by Moira Young is another book notable and worthy of merit, which I found most stirring. “Warm Bodies” by Isaac Marion, the last.
Which authors have inspired you?
The all-powerful, paid-by-the-word Charles Dickens. The sheer genius of J.R.R. Tolkien. The seductive yet simple power of Gaston Le Roux. The pure romanticism of Jane Austen. The morbid attractiveness of the Grimm Brothers. The descriptive allure of Daphne du Maurier. And yes, even the emotional complexes of Stephenie Meyer.
