Today I’m returning from the depths of adulting that has kept me from this blog for over a month, to bring you a real treat! Today, I’m interviewing the amazing young author E.K. Seaver, who has just released her debut novella, The House That Didn’t End. And because I’m not content to stop there, tomorrow I will be reviewing the novella in question. But for today, we’re going to get a sneak peek into the mind that created this masterpiece. Let’s get into it!
Chelsea: Welcome to the blog, E.K! To start us off, what are three things we don’t know about you?
E.K. Seaver:
1. Indie publishing is the most expensive thing I’ve ever done
2. I don’t write every day
3. I hate heights.
I can imagine that publishing is not exactly the cheapest. What inspired you to write this novella?
I was trying to post consistently for thirty days in a row and wanted to find a short story to fill in a day I didn’t feel like writing. Ends up, I never concluded that short story well, and so I serialized it on my blog. About a month and a half later it was done and I’d decided I wanted to publish it.
That’s really cool! And posting 30 days in a row is a huge commitment! What parts of this novel are drawn from your personal experience?
Probably the biggest thing is when Jackson says at the beginning of the book “There’s a ton of snow. We’ll probably be snowed in for the next two days” and then at the end Ly is like “Uh. There’s not that much snow out here.” and Jackson responds with something like “Tbh I didn’t really know. I’m from the south and we honestly never get more than, like, six inches and it shuts down our entire society for weeks.
That’s hilarious! In Australia, we have the same attitude towards snow. Our entire society shuts down when it snows. What did an average day in the writing of this book look like?
Finish school, write it at home, go to work, spend most of work (because it was pretty slow.) writing on my phone. Post the updated chapter to my blog.
Wow, so most of this book was written on your phone? Even more dedication! What are three interesting facts about this novella?
Less people die in this one than probably any of the other ones I will publish. I’m easing y’all in. It’s also the first fantasy I wrote in almost three years. Even though Ly is canonically white, she’s a character I’d 100% be chill with headcanoning as a different race. Jackson and Hecate both have their European decent mentioned for plot reasons, so they’re very white. (Legit they’re both more pale than I am.)
That is not boding well for your future characters! Speaking of characters, do you have any special secrets/tips for naming characters?
I have done everything from naming characters after my friends, to Disney characters, to… pretty much anything. Ly’s full name is Lysithea, because she’d been named Ly in the first draft and I realized I should probably find a full name for her. That was one of the names that came up. Jackson was a discarded name from another book, and Hecate is the Greek goddess of witches, and given that Hecate is the villain of the story, I felt like it fit well.
Ly is such a cool name though, especially when paired with the last name O’Dare. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever had to research?
I… actually don’t know. I mean, I have eaten weird foods, gone outside in weird temperatures, and almost injured myself to see what it would be like for my characters, but my search history is fairly normal. (Seriously. The weirdest few searches I’ve done lately are to find a common spelling for something, a fact about some mental health problems I’ve been having and, the last name for a manager at a job I hated.)
I also look up spelling all the time. Weird poisons, not so much. What are your top tips for someone looking at indie publishing?
Invest in your cover. So many indie authors dismiss this tidbit of information, and let’s be honest– we’ve all seen indie covers that suck. It’s also really hard to talk to indie authors about it because you can’t be like “Hey, your cover sucks, you should probably actually pay someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Canva covers don’t look good, folks.
That’s great advice! I remember thinking that THTDE had a wonderful cover when you first revealed it! What made you think “this, this is the book I want to publish”?
So my friend who’s kinda grumpy about my writing really liked it, the characters were the first ones I’d actually liked in several unfinished books, and I wanted to experiment in indie publishing.
Finally, do you play favourites with your characters? If so, which is your favourite character?
Yes, I do. Most of the time they are the villains, though. In The House That Didn’t End, Jackson is my favorite character. However, the more I like my character the worse they get treated. The ones I don’t like get killed off pretty quickly.
Thank you so much for coming on here to chat about your debut! Best of luck with the rest of your blog tour!
Nothing, not even the creepy house in the woods, can dissuade Ly O’Dare from finishing this scavenger hunt. Where else can a broke seventeen-year-old get enough money to finance her art endeavors and start a business?
Even being snowed in with a sarcastic stranger isn’t too bad, and as long as he is helping her find the hidden staircase, she’ll tolerate his quips. Jackson Evergreen’s quest was something he had been preparing for his entire life. And now he’s finally at the end of it, so close to saving the world when he gets snowed in with a bubbly blonde named Ly. The house is more dangerous than either of them prepared for, though, and Jackson’s suddenly thrust into a situation he didn’t intend to get in and is falling for a girl he only just met.
One thing they know for sure, however, in this house, nothing is what it seems.
To find an E. K. Seaver, you must set a trap. The best option is to lure her in using chocolate, blankets, and a typewriter, but if none of those are on hand, spare books and Broadway music can be easily substituted.
She prefers to be wild and free, though. Whether it includes adventuring through the Rocky Mountains or curled up at a local bookshop, she uses her freedom to produce art. From books to scarves to paintings, Ms. Seaver strives to honor her King in every aspect of her creative works. She desires her stories to hold a meaning beyond the tale and attempts to follow in the footsteps of storytellers who came before her. You can find her and her wild adventures at ekseaver.wordpress.com or on Instagram @ekseaver.author.
The House That Didn’t End can be ordered from these links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/House-That-Didnt-End/dp/1737462303/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+house+that+didn%27t+end&qid=1625841913&s=books&sr=1-1Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58401645-the-house-that-didn-t-endBarnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-house-that-didnt-end-e-k-seaver/1139809494
Have you heard of this book before? Are you planning to snag yourself a copy? What do you think a house that never ended would be like?
an ordinary pen 
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