1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)
Cendrine Marrouat: I am a poet, photographer, fiction writer, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms, a platform dedicated to inspiration and upliftment in the arts. I have authored and co-authored more than 40 books in several genres: poetry, photography, theatre, humor, and social media marketing. My latest releases include A Particle of You: Love Poetry (2022), Tree Reflections (2022), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), and After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021).
I am the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.
A Particle of You: Love Poetry, our latest book, explores how embracing love can shape and change you and inspire your inner life.
David Ellis: I am the author and co-author of over thirty books, with a specific focus on found poetry (romantic, inspirational and occasionally humorous), along with short stories and co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms with Cendrine Marrouat. My most notable releases to date include Life, Sex & Death (which won an Inspirational Poetry Award), Soul Music the Colour of Magic, Lemons, Vinegar & Unvarnished Truths, See A Dream Within (based on the entire collected poetic works of Edgar Allan Poe), along with a Fifty Shades of Grey parody 50 Shapes of Cakes.
Think of me like the thriller genre in that I am fast paced, relentless and impossible to put down!
To find out more about my own individual books, visit https://toofulltowrite.com/my-books
To find out more about my co-authored books, visit https://abpositiveart.com/store
2. What are your favourite books?
Cendrine Marrouat: I have read so many great books in my life! Some of my favorites include The Prophet and Jesus the Son of Man by Kahlil Gibran, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
David Ellis: My favourite authors of all time are Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It is their fantasy worlds, along with them making the writing process seem so effortless that makes me never fail to marvel at how they are exquisite masters of their craft.
I like reading a lot of fiction and non-fiction books/articles. I actually enjoy reading about subjects that I know little about, as it helps to broaden my mindset, when it comes to considering different/unusual subject matter for creative projects. I would say that the writing of comedians has had a significant effect on my writing style (whether comedy or drama, I will write to make an impact with the least amount of words possible). I am very heavily influenced in my poetry by the romantic poets/the Romanticism movement of the 1800’s too.
3. When did you know you wanted to be an author?
Cendrine Marrouat: I never really wanted to be an author. I just started writing poetry on a whim in 2005 and was hooked. A few months later, people encouraged me to publish a book. I released my first three poetry collections the following year.
David Ellis: When I was a teenager, I handcrafted my own “Choose Your Own Adventure” book and I have always had a passion for language and literature. I wrote alternative song lyrics for popular songs in my twenties but it was only really later in life when I discovered my connection with poetry and telling stories through this medium. This made me realise all along I had wanted to be a writer and needed the right outlets to coax it out. I realised this dream in 2016 when I published my first poetry book. Two more were published a couple of months later. It was at this point where I knew that my goal to become a published author had now become a dream come true!
4. What is your favourite part of the writing process? What is your least favourite and how do you get through it?
Cendrine Marrouat: I love how writing allows me to express myself and share my experiences with others. But being a writer can feel lonely at times. Thankfully, I have a wonderful writing and business partner in David. And the writing community on Twitter is wonderful. So, it is not that bad.
David Ellis: What I love most about writing is that with a few short words and phrases, you can transport yourself into different destinations in this world or a completely different one of your own design, you are only limited by your imagination. This to me is both extremely exciting and liberating. They say to write what you know but I like to think that we know a lot more than we realise, due to our ancestors. Writing/creating is a way of tapping into that knowledge, remembering our heritage and sharing our experiences constantly to ensure they are never forgotten in the mists of time.
My least favourite thing about writing is feeling anxious about the amount of time that I spend on it when there are other things to be done. Just like anything in life, there has to be balance and I don’t believe you should write/create at the expense of everything else. However, what motivates me is to truly feel like I have achieved something significant if I get some writing/creating done. Even if I have to fight for both the opportunity and motivation to get on with it, the end result is always time well spent!
5. What is your writing routine?
Cendrine Marrouat: I do not have any! I do many different things (writing, photography, digital art, marketing, etc.), so it is impossible for me to have a fixed schedule. I write when I have time and/or feel like it.
David Ellis: My process has become very efficient over the years. So long as I have a specific theme and a form to work with, I can usually motivate myself enough to get on with the writing, especially if there is a project to compose for, although I will also write to accumulate pieces over time, with an end goal of putting those pieces into collections.
If I am not particularly in the mood for writing, I can get there through enhancing my mood, usually through listening to music, perhaps enjoying a sweet treat with a cup of tea or watching a clip of something funny to give myself the motivationally boosting buzz to get into the creative zone.
6. How do you balance writing (and everything else to do with it) with the rest of your life?
Cendrine Marrouat: Very early in my career, I realised that a strategy and small, achievable goals mattered more than anything else. I compartmentalise everything I do, focusing only on one important task at a time.
David Ellis: Life has a very big habit of throwing things in the way and slowing down your writing/creativity. All we can do is find ways to claw that time back and that if we really want to be writers or artists, we have to dedicate some time to our craft if we are ever to get things done.
7. What inspires you? How do you beat writer’s block?
Cendrine Marrouat: Life and its lessons inspire me greatly.
I believe that writer’s block happens when you are too comfortable in your genre. The more you fight it, the more it will fight back.
I haven’t had writer’s block since David and I started creating our own poetry forms. We also challenge each other regularly with prompts.
To see our creative forms, visit https://creativeramblings.com/forms/. You can also give our challenges a try: https://medium.com/auroras-blossoms/the-poartmo-prompt-c52d790ce74b.
David Ellis: I used to have Writer’s Block but I found that by having a creative business partner in Cendrine, we continually inspire each other and have more projects being developed than ever before because we aren’t afraid to challenge ourselves or each other. Furthermore, if I am stuck for creativity, I never fight it, I go and relax, do some research and allow my subconscious to work on the problem and before you know it, a solution will constantly present itself!
8. How do you keep consistent/write a lot?
Cendrine Marrouat: When you work with small, achievable goals, it is easy to be consistent. I never pressure myself and do not care about the number of words I write on a given day. I have nothing to prove to myself.
David Ellis: I genuinely find that if I do not write, I feel like something is missing in my life, I have to keep chasing creative urges, if I am to at least feel some semblance of normality and peace within me. I keep myself consistent by only writing what I am passionate about and what brings me the most joy when I read it back to myself. I don’t write to impress others, only myself and if I can do that then I know others will like what I write, since I am my own harshest critic and biggest supporter!
I would say the most important couple of things relating to consistency is to create actual projects with clear goals/themes because once an outline exists, there will be an urge to complete them! Break everything down into manageable chunks. Start off with ten minutes per day and increase your time spent if you have it available and are generating a good flow with your words. Don’t be afraid to take a day off. You don’t have to make up for it the next day, just start at the ten minutes mark again and go from there. We can all spare ten minutes to create every day, no matter how busy or hectic our schedules may be.
9. Does anyone read or edit your work before publication? If so, how did you find them?
Cendrine Marrouat: David and I read and edit each other’s work all the time. I also ask knowledgeable friends to help when needed. Bartering can do wonders.
David Ellis: For my own poetry collections, I tend to edit myself since the writing landscape is so small, it does not take very long and I will then get others to proofread the material. As Cendrine mentions, we constantly edit and proofread our joint works, which is incredibly efficient because we are both professionals, we make sure that both of us will look fantastic when readers get around to looking at our works!
10. Can we have a sneaky look at your future plans?
Cendrine Marrouat: I love creating multimedia collections! One of my next books will feature a mixture of my poetry, fractals, photography and AI-generated art. In the meantime, you can check out my art at https://creativeramblings.com/photography/. I also share a lot of my work on Medium: https://medium.com/@cendrineartist/lists.
David Ellis: My future plans involve creating an infinite number of found poetry book collections! I also hope to revisit my musical roots in the near future and get myself involved in scriptwriting / video game storytelling because I am enamoured with visual storytelling as a medium.
11. Finally, what advice would you give to other writers (inspiring, those publishing and those published)?
Cendrine Marrouat: The most important piece of advice I have ever received is: “Show, don’t tell.” As a minimalist, it has served me well. Anything that does not help further your story is irrelevant. Let dialogues and action speak louder than long descriptions.
If you want to sell books, you have to write for an audience and have a strategy in place. Never cut corners, do your due diligence, and treat yourself and your work the way you want the world to treat them. Also, never take rejections and negative reviews personally. They are part of the game.
Finally, be realistic about your goals. A first book rarely sells well and some genres are more marketable than others. In a nutshell, invest your time wisely and be patient.
David Ellis: Look to join a local Writers Circle/writing group. Talk things through with fellow writers face to face or online. Set up friendly goals or encouragement to get yourselves writing regularly. Start a blog, publish often, keep honing and evolving your writing style. Be fearless and only take advice that you feel will improve the flow of your work and will not hinder it or rob it of its innocence/uniqueness.
To those who are already published, I salute you! Be sure to look for audiences who have read similar books to yours, Goodreads is an excellent tool for this. Find book reviewers online who have read these books and follow their submission processes with your own books. Do not rely only on friends or family to promote your work (they will be proud of you but sadly their reach is limited), be fearless and mix in as many different circles as you can. Share excerpts, liaise at book fairs, do whatever you can to get your name out there to people who care about the type of writing that you create. This will ultimately put you on the path to success or at least give you the best fighting chance of this happening at some point in your life.
Links
Cendrine Marrouat:
Website: https://creativeramblings.com
Blog: https://creativeramblings.com/latest-posts
Books: https://creativeramblings.com/books
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/cendrinemarrouat
Twitter: https://twitter.com/haiku_shack
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haikushack
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cendrinemarrouat
David Ellis:
Website: https://toofulltowrite.com
Email: davidellisbusiness@gmail.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/toofulltowrite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TooFullToWrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TooFullToWrite
Auroras & Blossoms:
Website: https://abpositiveart.com
Blog: https://medium.com/auroras-blossoms
Books: https://abpositiveart.com/store
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ab_positiveart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abpositiveart
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