I am delighted to introduce you to my friend Elisabeth. Our paths first crossed in 2025 at Realm Makers. It isn’t every day you meet someone wearing cheese wedge earrings. Since I grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, it was a very memorable accessory. Then I found out she lives in Illinois, only two hours away from me. What a fun coincidence! We chatted about hometowns, kids, and libraries (she works in a library and I’m a library trustee). She is a kindred spirit, for sure.
She won a Realm Award for Best Debut with What Comes of Attending the Commoner’s Ball, delivering the most hilarious acceptance speech I have ever heard. Everyone still talks about it.
After the conference I snagged a copy of WCOATCB, found the significance behind her cheese earrings, and discovered her humor and wit extend far beyond an acceptance speech. I cannot recommend this whimsical and comical fae book enough!
When she announced a Kickstarter for her next book Lady Agatha Speaks Her Mind, I immediately jumped in to support her campaign. Once again, Elisabeth treated me to another smile-inducing fae novel.
Keep reading to learn more about Elisabeth and her amazing books. I hope you enjoy bits of her humor sprinkled throughout as much as I do!
Can you share a bit about your author journey from unpublished to published?
I am not a particularly confident person, so even though I loved writing and was working hard at doing my best, I didn’t think anyone would actually enjoy reading my debut novel. However, encouraging feedback from the judges of the Realm Makers Aurora contest and the generous gift of a cover from a talented designer nudged me toward self-publishing. I talked with a lot of experienced friends, took the leap, and haven’t looked back since.
Where did you find your inspiration for your books?
Your guess is as good as mine, to be honest.
What is the most inspiring feedback you’ve ever received from a reader?
Just a few days after my debut was published, a friend reached out that she’d been having a bad day (on her birthday, no less!) and had asked God to give her some little good thing to end her day … and then she started reading Commoners Ball, and it was her answer to prayer. I may not write theologically deep or heart-wrenchingly emotional stories, but God has still used my books to bring light and goodness to readers, and I’m so honored by that. This is why I keep writing.
While writing, did your characters run away with your plot, adding in unsuspecting twists and turns? Or did they stick to the script? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Alas, alas, I am a pantser through-and-through. I wish I could plot, but I don’t have very good ideas until I actually start writing. The characters definitely do surprise me more often than not!
Do you have a favorite character? If so, who?
I have a very soft spot for Lem, one of the main characters from Lady Agatha Speaks Her Mind. He is not overly competent, but he has a good heart, and I just love him.
What was the weirdest thing you researched while writing these books?
The history of door hinges. If you know, you know.
Without giving any spoilers, what is your favorite scene you’ve written in your books?
Any kissing scene, ha. Since I write romantic fantasy (or fantasy romance, depending on one’s definitions), I always end with a lovely-dovey scene where the characters confess their feelings—they’re my favorite to write, but I also have to edit heavily because I tend to drag them on too long!
Since food is a fun element of What Comes of Attending the Commoner’s Ball, it feels appropriate to ask: what is your favorite snack or drink while you are writing?
I love a good latte!
(I also love bad lattes. I am not picky.)
What advice would you give to a new author who is writing their first book?
Perseverance matters more than raw talent. Your first book might be terrible—good, congrats, that’s a great place to begin! In the words of one of my favorite poems, “Go on, go on, go on, go on … go on, go on, go on.” Truly inspiring.
You have had amazing success in the indie publishing world. (Hello 3,000+ Amazon Reviews for your first book!) Do you have any insights or tips to share with others embarking on the indie publishing journey?
Well, I wish I could point to a list of Five Easy Steps for Getting Readers to Review Your Books!! or How I Have Been Somewhat Successful in Indie Publishing, but I must confess that I can take little credit for anything. I “just happened” to write a book in a quickly growing genre, I was gifted a wonderful cover, and a very kind network of friends and authors helped share my book in their newsletters and facebook groups. Ultimately, I made good friends, I wrote the best book I could, and God chose to bless it. I still don’t know why, but I trust He has a reason.
This is not, alas for anyone else, a very actionable tip, but it is spiritual truth: work hard at your craft, accept criticism (or praise, or other help) graciously, and leave your success in God’s hands. He has a purpose for your story, and He will bring it to pass. Amazon reviews are optional.
What other up-and-coming projects do you have in the works?
I’m currently drafting a sequel to What Comes of Attending the Commoners Ball, but I don’t have a release date planned … yet! My newsletter subscribers will be the first to know.
Where can people find you online to follow along on your author journey?
I’m mostly reachable through my Substack newsletter these days: https://elisabethaimeebrown.substack.com/
And you’ll occasionally find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethaimeebrown
For links to my books, check my website: https://elisabethaimeebrown.com/
Snag copies of Elisabeth’s books HERE!
Are you curious about Elisabeth’s books yet? Keep reading if you want to know more!
Book Blurbs:
What Comes of Attending the Commoner’s Ball
Hester Flanders went to the ball for the food. She didn’t expect a prince to follow her home.
If there’s one rule Hester learned during her country upbringing, it’s never accept a gift: that’s how the Folk get you. Although she’s left her farm behind, she can’t leave her superstitions, even if no one else in the capital city seems to care. Hardworking but hungry, she’s looking for loopholes, and the king’s annual Commoners Ball seems like the perfect way to get a free meal that’s not technically a gift—and it would have been, too, except a pesky prince took a shine to her.
Inglebert Lucas Chesingwick isn’t just the crown prince: he’s also practical, responsible, and very annoyed to see his younger brother causing a scene by flirting with a peasant at the ball. He can separate them for one night, but his mischievous brother is determined to see the poor girl again. And again. And for some reason, Lucas keeps running into her, too. If only there was some way he could help her …
The princes might mean well, but Hester knows better than to accept favors from anyone, even royalty—even if it’s cheese—and even if saying no breaks her heart. After all, just because the Folk have never been seen in the city doesn’t mean they’re not around …
Cinderella meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this cozy fantasy romance from debut author Elisabeth Aimee Brown. Pick up your copy and whirl away into a whimsical story of glittering gaslamps, frisky Folk, and huggable hogs.
Lady Agatha Speaks Her Mind
If anyone else had been her fairy godmother, Lady Agatha’s birthday party would have gone swimmingly.
It really wasn’t Agatha’s fault that she insulted all those guests. After preparing for years to receive a select list of suitors for her charming, fairy-blessed hand, the last thing she wanted to do was alienate the lot of them … but her godmother’s final gift was, well, difficult to control. Now her father doesn’t care that she didn’t mean to call the visiting foreign prince a pathetic little fungus—the damage has been done.
Prince Limplemoyne would’ve been more offended if he was actually attending the party to court Agatha, but that’s not what brought him to these backwoods, fairy-infested mountains. He just wants to find a godmother powerful enough to free him from the royal life he never asked for. But when a mischievous fairy answers his plea in an unexpected way, he finds himself suddenly stuck with the beautiful, sharp-tongued Lady Agatha. Fairies can’t help them get out of this unwanted alliance—they’ll have to stop bickering long enough to figure it out on their own.
Lady Agatha Speaks Her Mind is a no-spice, standalone reimagining of King Thrushbeard, perfect for readers who like both whimsy and comedy in their mutually-annoyed-strangers-to-lovers romance.
