Technology has created a wide variety of ways to reach audiences all over the world. It takes is a little thinking outside the box and you can market a self-published Book in creative, affordable and impactful ways. Consider book tours! Tours are a great way to connect with your readers and technology has made them easier and more cost effective than ever!

Author Ellen C. Maze is taking her latest book Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider, on tour — a Virtual Book Tour with Outskirts Press. This will allow Ellen to take her book into the far corners of the globe, all from the comfort of her own home! Keep an eye out for Elle’s book as she will be featured on several blogs over the weeks and months ahead!

Luckily for us, Ellen was kind enough to answer a few questions as the tour was getting started so that we can give you a sneak peek into the mind of the creator of Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider.

OP: Tell us a little bit about Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider. What is it about?
Ellen: Author Beth Rider’s Christian Fantasy novel is a best seller, but the plot is leading real-life vampires — the Rakum — down a path their leaders cannot abide. She must be stopped, and senior-Elder Jack Dawn takes it upon himself to ensure her demise. He did not expect his most ruthless lieutenant, Michael Stone, would choose to help the woman escape. Beth goes on the run, joining forces with Rakum sympathizers along the way, but will their contributions be enough to protect her from Jack Dawn’s rage? Ancient and wise as the ages, the powerful entity that created the Rakum, High Father Abroghia, will face off with the power inside Beth Rider and in the battle between light and dark, there can only be one victor. Vampires are fiction, but the Rakum are real, and they guard their power zealously.

OP: Why did you decide to write this story?

Ellen: Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider began as a writing exercise to work on as I shopped my first novel — The Judging to publishers. The Judging is about a 15th-Century priest who is transformed into a vampire while unconscious. He spends the novel-time in the modern era justifying his bloodthirst, certain that he is killing for God. I started Rabbit after asking myself, what if real vampires read The Judging? Would it lead them to God? The more I played with it, the more it grew. Characters developed and the plot flowed on its own accord. Before I knew it, a novel had been born. When it was completed, a second popped out, seamlessly continuing the work done in Book One. When Two (Rabbit Legacy) was complete, a third book also poured out (Rabbit Redemption), and then a fourth (Anomaly: Beyond the Rabbit). When Book Four was nearly done, I realized the series would have six installments, each one more exciting than the previous and each one will dig deeper and deeper into the psyche of the Rakum. This 2019 edition reads “Special Anniversary Edition” because it has been ten years since Rabbit was first published, garnering hundreds of reviews and enticing readers across the globe to join the chase. It is my hope that this special edition will enable an entirely new generation of readers to dive in and enjoy this trip down the rabbit hole.

OP: How did you get your book published?

Ellen: Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider was first published by Treasureline Press in 2009, a traditional publisher that has since gone out of business. The book never stopped bringing fun to new readers, so in 2019 it was accepted and re-released by Outskirts Press, with additional material and a brand-new chapter.

OP: What types of readers would be interested in this story?

Ellen: I love this question because I am a reader, too. My work has been compared to that of Frank Peretti and Bill Myers. My influences as a young writer were Stephen King and Anne Rice, so many readers find a creep-factor in my work not present in most Christian fiction. Readers who enjoy vampire fiction and wonder what it might look like from a biblical perspective will enjoy this book and readers of paranormal and supernatural secular novels will enjoy it, too, as even though the main character is a Christian, the writing is not preachy. Does this mean my books are kid-friendly? Yes, if your child watches PG-13 movies or TV-MA television programming. My novels contain violence, mild profanity, (non-graphic) sexual situations, and adult themes, yet people can be edified by the messages hidden inside the fiction.

OP: What is special about your book?

Ellen: If one reads the reviews for this book, you find that readers are amazed at the messages intertwined with the plot. Anyone who enjoys vampire or paranormal tales will be entertained and edified (or provoked, as the case may be). Christian authors are often afraid to write of violence and horror, but isn’t the Bible peppered with such things? One reader said to me, “The Bible is often violent, and mankind suffers violence on the path to purity. God sharpens and cleanses us with trials and the Rabbit book puts its protags through the worst!”

OP: What differentiates it from other books in the same category?

Ellen: Along with the oddness of writing “horror” or “vampires” from a biblical perspective, which is extremely rare, this book has another bizarre oddity. The main plot of Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider revolves around Beth’s bestselling novel, The Judging. In real life, The Judging is published and available, penned by Ellen C Maze. The Judging is Book One of The Corescu Chronicles, two of four are published already, so my readers can dive into that series when they finish Rabbit!

OP: Have you published any other books?

Ellen: Besides those mentioned above (the first four books of the Rabbit Saga and first two books of The Corescu Chronicles), I have also published a collection of short stories, 22 Sideways: Twenty-Two Bloodthirsty Tales, a dozen digital short stories, and edited and contributed to an anthology of Christian fantasy writers entitled, Feckless Tales of Supernatural, Paranormal, and Downright Presumptuous Ilk. Outside of this genre, I have published non-fiction, a dozen equestrian coloring books, and illustrated children’s books under the names Ellen C Maze and Ellen Sallas.

OP: Do you plan to publish more?

Ellen: Oh, yes! I am currently completing Book Five and Six of the Rabbit Saga (Conundrum: The Lost Rabbit and The Vestige: Final Chapter), and I am simultaneously writing stand-alone novel of spiritual warfare, pitting Old Testament gods against biblically-accurate angels, and deal with the mortals caught in the cross-hairs. This will be my first “young adult” novel with the main characters being aged 16 to 21.

OP: Thanks for your time, Ellen! We look forward to learning more about you as you visit other bloggers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Raised on Bram Stoker and Stephen King, Ellen read Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness in 2000, and has never been the same. Now she takes the horror/ paranormal/vampire genre directly into the heart of spiritual matters, pitting good against evil within the confines of biblical truth. Scripture is often bloody and the struggle to escape the claws of evil is real and personal. With writing as her passion and her main hobby, Ellen lives in Alabama with her family and does NOT have holes in her neck.

For more information or to contact the author, visit https://www.outskirtspress.com/ellencmaze or www.ellencmaze.com

This author purchased the Virtual Book Tour marketing option, which allows self-publishing authors to connect with bloggers and harness the power of the blogosphere by taking their book on the “virtual road.” Learn more about this service by visiting your Publishing Center and reviewing the available marketing options.

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