Every Monday, I’m going to give you a chance to get to know one of the other Carina Press team members, to give you a sense of the faces of Carina besides me. This is your chance to ask them anything you want about Carina, themselves or the books (questions about what it’s like to work with me are off-limits ) The interviews are informal, some of the questions are sometimes a little kooky and the pictures were mostly taken with the subject’s great reluctance.

I’m kicking things off with the force behind the Carina Press website and ebookstore, Eleanor Elliott. One of the things I admire and think is wonderful about Eleanor is her ability to get to the heart of an issue, whether it’s marketing, website, commerce or an acquisition. Her comments are always insightful and targeted. Seriously. Amazing!

Eleanor Elliot

AJ: To start, tell us your job title as well as what you do for Harlequin and Carina.

EE: My title is Director, Harlequin Digital Properties & Social Media. In a nutshell, I’m responsible for engaging current and potential readers with Harlequin (including Carina Press) through our websites, blogs, email, and social media. Basically, spreading the digital love! I work with a team of talented people who market and sell our products on eHarlequin.com and CarinaPress.com, create amazing content (blogs, videos, podcasts, online reads), and talk to readers and authors through our community, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

For Carina Press specifically, I get to do things that I don’t do for Harlequin – and that’s participating on the submissions team, writing cover copy, evaluating covers…all that fun stuff.

AJ: You’re driving in to work (or riding in on the bus or by other means), what’s on your radio or mp3 player during the drive this week?

I have a long commute (2+ hours per day in the car), so I’m a big audio book fan. In the morning, I usually wait for the traffic report on the radio – fellow commuters will know how important that is! – and then I’ll switch over to an audio book. On the way home, if I’ve had a particularly insane day, I have to listen to some music first. If I have too much going on in my head, I lose my place in the book. I have pretty wide musical tastes, but two bands that I never ‘skip’ on my mp3 player are The Smiths and Everclear.

AJ: What was the last book you purchased to give as a gift?

Eleanor's Desk (that book was there for a month!)

Good Eats: The Early Years by Alton Brown, for my husband. My husband is a stay-at-home Dad, and has discovered a passion for cooking and baking. Alton Brown takes a scientific, yet whimsical, approach to cooking, which I knew would be perfect for my husband. (I’ve had her husband’s baking. Yum!)

The last fiction book I gifted was Lamb by Christopher Moore. I sent it to a friend in Australia. It’s one of my favourite books….it’s a satirical telling of the Gospel by ‘Biff, Christ’s childhood pal’. I think you either love Moore’s work, or you hate it. I love it. (I’ve heard this book mentioned a lot this past month. I must read it)

AJ:  If you could do one other job for one day, anywhere, what would it be?
For just one day? Hmmmm.  Ben Affleck’s secret paramour. Is that a job? (Not one your husband would approve of) No. Oh. Then, I suppose I’d be a judge on Top Chef. That would be a great gig.
AJ: What are you reading right now? What was the last Harlequin or Carina book you read?

Oh, now I have to reveal my secret shame. I’m a polygamous reader! I read multiple books at once. Right now I’m reading The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Confession by John Grisham, and Dance of the Moon by Dan Furst (nonfiction).

View from outside Eleanor's cubicle

The last Harlequin/Carina books I read were (not including Carina Press submissions): Society’s Most Disreputable Gentleman by Julia Justiss [Harlequin Historical]
Dark & Disorderly by Bernita Harris [Carina Press]

6.    Dark, milk or white chocolate? Or no chocolate?

No chocolate? What do you mean by that statement? It does not compute. (I know, the people who say they don’t like chocolate worry me) The only chocolate I don’t like, is the kind with fruit in it….like chocolate covered cherries or chocolate dipped strawberries. No, just no. But, otherwise, any kind of chocolate works for me.

AJ: You can follow Eleanor on Twitter at @el_el

Thanks, Eleanor! Anyone else wonder how people can possibly not like chocolate? And how can you not like chocolate covered strawberries, Eleanor?

Tags: Behind the Scenes, Carina team, interviews, pictures, staff

This entry was posted on Monday, January 24th, 2011 at 10:00 am and is filed under Carina Press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.