“A wonderfully delightful and deeply imaginative tale of struggle and the quest for knowledge, set in a well-developed and complex high fantasy setting.”

–G. S. Jennsen, author of Science-Fiction saga Aurora Rhapsody

“I love Bell’s sensitive and insightful exploration of compassion, connection, and relationships. The Banished Craft provides layers of thought-provoking ideas as well as good old-fashioned escapism.”

–Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, bestselling author of The 30-Day Vegan Challenge

The Write Stuff with E.D.E. Bell

The Banished Craft is direct, complex, and a little bit strange, which is already a pretty good look behind the scenes at its author. I’m really proud of this opening novel to the Shkode genre-bending epic fantasy trilogy. If The Banished Craft is about one thing, it’s about passion: the passion of a four-dimensional creature to assist in the survival of a world she inadvertently set on a course to destruction, the passion of a repressed woman to discover the mystery of her parents’ death and how it relates, and the passion of a pair of dragon soulmates to save the world so that their whelp can grow up.

It’s an interesting road that brought me to the point of writing this book, but I’m glad that it’s the one I followed. I went to college for electrical engineering in Michigan, came upon a job in the defense industry, moved to Virginia, married a cool guy, had three cool kids, and ended up working in Ohio at a military base where, without getting into it, I experienced some very frustrating situations. This drove me to realize one of my own true passions: fantasy fiction. One day I picked up a notebook and a pen, and I started to write.

Don’t worry, the pen and paper didn’t last long. Here, with my slightly old MacBook Pro, is my usual workspace—at least if my husband gets the kids out of the house or they are out playing. It’s just a couch, a couple of sidetables, and a coaster for a nice cashew latte (ok, sometimes a martini). I can look outside, which I especially love if it’s raining or snowing. And when it’s not, I can watch little birds and animals outside of the window, or sometimes the neighbor mowing the lawn. I don’t watch him, but he’s there.

Because of my full-time job as a technical advisor and manager, and the aforementioned three kids (©), my designated writing time is whenever I can get time to write. This means I write in the evening and weekends: in between music lessons, school events, and family visits.

Sometimes I am fortunate, and I get an hour or two alone, where I can write uninterrupted—except by my cats, who do not care about the sanctity of writing time. But most of the time there are playing children, phone calls, and other “quick” yet entirely distracting interruptions. With a family to support, I do what I can, and a writing career takes time to build. But if you like what I have to offer and are willing to join me on this journey, I’m willing to put the work in. Whatever it takes.

This is my other office, when we are visiting family and my husband is willing to drive so I can write. This picture was taken while writing this blog. There is always distracting music on the radio, kids bickering in the back, and my screen bouncing in ways my eyes and stomach don’t so much enjoy.

So what is all this madness? It’s my passion to write and to explore, because speculative fiction is all about exploration of the mind as well as of the realm. Cor is illustrated on the cover, determined to find her book, but behind her is me, determined to write mine. And I hope you join me for the adventure.

E.D.E. Bell | Goodreads | Facebook | @edebellauthor

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