(D: Dianna A: Allie)

D: Welcome to Finding Elara, safe space where authors artists and creatives share their worldbuilding style and mindful strategies. Brought you by Bushland Castle Productions Aussie Tales Told.

Welcome to the show. My name is Dianna and this is episode 3 of the 2025 season in the first 2 episodes I spoke to JA Duxbury about the worlds she has created and some of her mindfulness strategies.

It was really good to get back into the swing of recording and working with a team for editing competitions and promo. The last season, I was a solo podcaster, so having this support is a gamechanger. In the last week, the majority of my focus has been on getting this podcast up and going and putting together the website.

Julz was can't enough to donate her trilogy entitled clans in conflict that is dark dimensions part 1 and 2 and dark reign to our Treasury chest and provided the keyword to unlock access. This is the first time we are doing a group give way, but I'm elated, that there will be multiple winners in the end, I've been setting up the landing page on the website, so all the info is in one spot.

One of our sponsors Bushland Castle Productions are currently looking for authors tho are interested in participating in a fantasy novella series called otherworldly emergence. This is your invitation to imagine the unimaginable bring creatures into the light show how humanity rises, falls or changes. Surprise us with your creativity. This could be your first book or your 15th. There are more details in the show notes or head over to Bushland castle productions.com board/emergence, where you will find the theme brief, submission information and pitch details. I'm really excited to hear some of the story ideas that will come through in this series and meet like-minded Authors. That have a passion for fantasy.

There will be a different theme every year and I'm looking forward to doing a story about witches. So I'm going to put my pitch together and see what the team thinks.

My guest today has been on the show twice before and is always a pleasure to interview Allie has achieved so much in my break. When I first met her in 2018, I came on as a Beta reader for her Gift of Jacinth book and I've continued to enjoy her stories, keeping a keen eye for each new release, many are set in the same world and it's comforting to return to a familiar world every now and then.

Allie McCormack is a disabled military veteran who has transformed her lifelong dream of writing, into a reality. Having lived across the United States and spent memorable years in both Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student and Saudi Arabia working at hospital in Riyadh. Allie, now crafts her stories from beautiful California wine country she calls home, accompanied by her family and 2 rescue cats. When not weaving towers of romance and adventure Allie explores the intersection of art and technology through AI generated artwork, finding new ways to express her creativity. Her passion for storytelling drives everything she does. Bringing to life the countless characters and Worlds that populate her imagination whether through words or images, Allie believes in creating works that touch hearts and spark joy.

D: Hello, Allie, I'm really, really happy to have you back on the show.

A: I am really thrilled that you asked me to come back.

D: We've already gone through your bio for the third time, cause the third time you've come on as a guest, can you tell us a little bit about your journey onto the creative path?

A: I've always been making up stories in my head. I remember reading underneath the covers when I was in third grade. I know we were in, it was third grade because that's when we lived in a brick house okay, so we moved a lot! So I always know it was because of where I was. I would write underneath the covers with a Flashlight in pencil on a black and white composition notebook. My mom would bring me. At that point It was bambi fan fic. But not bambi, not the Disney bambi. We actually had the actual unabridged novel by Felix Sultan and that’s what I was reading and doing then, I was always writing, always, always, always writing. I think I had like 123 stories. I’ve still got them. In the file cabinet drawer over there in pencil on yellow line paper that is so faded you can’t read it and I don't want to because it’s like really bad.

A: But then in 1999. I watched you've got mail. Back then you could get on an AOL with a free trial because they had all the CD’s. So I went on to AOL because I wanted to hear my computer tell me if you've got mail when I had mail. That was a reason that I signed on for a free trial of AOL, I'm honestly it was. Just call me shallow, it’s ok.

A: Once I was on AOL I discovered the writing community there. They had published authors, they had complete rank newbies like me and everything between. They had workshops, they had classes. It Just, I had never been around any kind of community like that, and so I started going to the workshops I started taking classes on writing. I had never actually even thought of trying to finish a book because I just knew that was not something that I could do. I mean, my mom was always saying you should write a book and I was like yeah yeah.

A: I started to feel like maybe I could. That was how it's started. A got introduced to romance writers of America, and joined and a lot of the chapters in RWA have contests as part of their fundraising, and it's pretty minimal, you know 10 or 15 or $25 to enter a contest and I looked for a contest where you got feedback from your judges and I entered one just because, I wasn't trying to like win or anything, what I wanted was to see if see what the feedback said. So I would know, can I write, is this worth my pursuing, or should I just keep on what I’ve been doing, which I was pretty happy with anyway. So I took a chance and I did it and here came the envelope, ♪dadadada. And I opened it ready to you know, see the feedback and it's said congratulations in big red letters.

D: Wow!

A: I’d won the contest.

D: Congratulations back then.

A: Yeah, right, well, the winning prize, which I hadn’t even known, because I wasn’t looking a that. I wasn't looking at the prize, I didn't expect to win. I entered it for feedback from the judges, but the winning prize was that the winning manuscript's got to be read by a senior acquiring editor at silhoette, which was then the American branch of harlequin.

D: Okay

A: I was just so, and it gave a phone number and of course even then I knew you don’t call agents and editors, you send them a letter but they gave me a phone number. So I called her and she said, Oh yes Allie McCormack I have your chapter right here and I was like, oh my God she knew my name and so she asks, you know, how much do you have. Well all I had was the first chapter and the synopsis. Which I had thrown together to enter the contest. So I said you know I'm not done yet. And she said, well that’s ok send me what you have. I said well I have three chapters. Totally lying okay, I had three chapters and she said, okay, we'll send those so I sat down and pounded out 3 chapters. And I sent it off and then I sat back going ooooh, okay that was exciting. So I kept going to workshops and to classes and stuff. Then I got the letter back. You know, she wanted the full manuscript. This doesn't happens, you do not get a request for a partial, the first time out you did not get a request for a full manuscript, the first time out that’s not how it works. So I hadn't written any more than the 3 chapters. So I finished the book and then I was like, Oh My God I finished the book so I wrote the next book in 3 weeks. So anyhow, so that’s how. Yeah, long story but it was wow.

D: That’s pretty much the dream getting in there, was that for truck stop?

A: That was Truck stop yes. Now they did wind up, not taking; they wanted it, but at the time, the heroine, when they had a love scene, she wasn't eighteen yet and we actually sat with the editor called me up to brainstorm, to see if there was any other way to make it because he was on the run from her abusive father, she had to be underage. And that was crucial to the plot, and we couldn't figure out, years later, I did figure out how to make it that way. But at the time We couldn't so they wound up passing on it, but still they didn't buy it but they wanted it. But that stuck with me, you know ever since, all through the rejection processes. You know submitting to agents submitting to, they wanted it. They had wanted it. Enough to call and see if there wasn't some way we could work it.

D: That’s amazing

A: You just can't ask for better, you know?

D: Start

A: Yeah

D: So you are now an Indie author did you end up going through other publishes before you chose the indie path?

A: I did, I queried and submitted to agents and editors for a long time. Then I read back in 2018. I decided now, you know you Indi publishing, Amazon is a thing back in 2000 none of this was. Ebooks, we're only just beginning to gain some respect, they're really just gearing up, but now we had Amazon and thought, take truck stop, which no publisher is gonna buy anyway because it’s already been published. And I did rewrite it so that she was 18 when they had the first love scene and so I did a second edition and then I was still querying for the other books and then I read a book called being indie by Eva Lancaster. When I read that book I was like, okay, that's it. I have you know, I'm not on the fence anymore what I'm gonna do it. So I went out and I found a professional cover designer who specifically does romance genre. I’m still with her she does all my covers and I got somebody to do the Editing and formatting and started looking for Beta readers and I, here I am 16 books. 15 .16 tomorrow.

D: 16 tomorrow. Amazing.

A: I got another one coming out Tommorrow.

D: Well by the time this comes out, that would have been out for a couple of weeks.

A: Okay see, 16 books.

D: We'll have to keep an eye on your socials. So, I do have any cultural consideration, that you think impacts the art that you’ve been creating?

A: Yes absolutely. I spent a year in Cairo Egypt as an exchange student through my university. Then I spent a year in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia working at a hospital and I was inadvertently there during Desert storm. Less than Fun. I took classes at college in Arabic art and architecture and Islamic art and architecture. In ancient egyptian, art and architecture. They took us on field trips out to the city to see old mosques from you know 1000 years ago, like to 6-700 ad common era. It made a huge impression on me. The culture made a huge impression on me. The clothing in Saudi Arabia made a really huge on, and in Egypt the bedouin gowns and shirts and so forth and Scarves and shawls it just the whole thing. Plus I also studied belly dancing for years before I went. So the music and it's just always and you'll find that in all my book in some measures that well I mean I’ve got Genies right?

D: You do. So you were raised in America?

A: Yeah

D: It was this time over in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and all that jazz that has the impacted your writing more than anything.

A: Yeah, that was the link mid 20’s early 30’s.

D: I think that's quite a pivotal age. I think for your development, because you're not with your family anymore your finding your independence in that point?

A: Absolutely

D: So you know, this episode is about mindfulness.

A: Yep

D: And now we know who you are as a whole person and thank you for sharing all of that, what does mindfulness mean to you? And how do you find mindful moments in your day?

S: To me mindfulness about creating a balance which is not natural to my personality. To me I am go, go, go. If I'm doing something, I'm doing it. I'm all in and I will write every waking minute of the day. And then I burn out. So for me, mindfulness means not doing one thing, every waking minute, but having several things to do and space them out so that I'm not burning the candle at both ends, no matter how much I enjoy the lovely life. And it's really taken years to train myself not to do that to find a balance. It's actually honestly only been in the last, I wanna saying 2 years that I've managed to achieve that. And I have now. It took a long time, this is just not, or hasn't been who I am. Now it is. But I had to change that.

D: It's interesting that that's your perspective of mindfulness, because everyone sees it differently, the way they manage mindfulness in their work and how they incorporate it into their lives. So the last time you're on the show, your daughter was just about to have a baby.

A: Yeah she’s 5 years now, and she’s in Pre K.

D: Wow! Do you think family impacts the way you work and your strategies that you use for mindfulness?

A: Yeah, We all live together, and this happened after I was on the podcast last, COVID happened there, all the daycares shut down the kids. Their jobs were remote, but they had no one to watch the baby I was in Tucson and they needed a babysitter. I didn't want to be 700 miles from my daughter in the middle of a deadly pandemic. So my son-in-law said, well, let's just find a great big old house and we’ll all move in together. So that's what we did, and it's actually been working really well mostly because we're all nerds. I have, as you can see I'm here in the foyer with the loft upstairs. That’s upstairs. Downstairs, I have a mother suite downstairs I have a bathroom and bedroom and my own little hallway and upstairs they each have their own home office.

D: That’s amazing

A: So we all scatter to our own places. There’s lots of room for us to spread out so we're not like on top of each other all the time. So really it's, for this Podcast , basically you know, Let us know 15 minutes ahead, we'll get the dog inside and make sure. And it all works. when they're working. Usually, I'm also there working in the evenings they go in the living room and watch television, which I'm not into, so I’m working and, but when they all go up stairs at night and go to bed. Cause I’ll go down or go up to do things like, you know, computer stuff upstairs. That's my time, that's when I get away from the computer. That's when I go into the living room, the whole house is dark and quiet. It's just my light there next to my recliner. My recliner and my cat and I open the back door we live semi-rural and in Wine country. So the air is like really sweet from all the flowers and stuff, so I had the door open I get this breeze in I got my cats I got my kindle, having that time set aside when I get open the morning, I get up charged and ready to get to my computer and write. I'm not exhausted because I spent all day and all night writing.

D: Yup

S: The night before, so it really has made a difference when I started doing that on a regular Basis.

D: That sounds like, it's pretty much the perfect home situation. You're close enough to family but you're not in each other's faces and you’ve got your own space.

A: Exactly.

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D: Because you've had a lot of books come out. How do you handle a lot of the reviews that come through when it's good or bad or either/either

A: Well, the good review I love! It gives me happy happy joy joy. Now bad reviews and rejection. So years ago, there was this book came out. It was call the horse whisperer. And everybody went mad for the horse whisperer and they made it into a movie and everybody it was the big thing that everyone was talking about. I hated that book. I mean, I hated it I despised that book. You can't please all the people all the time, you can’t please all the people some of the time. You can’t please some of the people all of the time. You can please some of the people, some of the time and that includes books. And Reading books is very personalised. We give 3 people the same book. And they're all gonna have different takes on it. Oh my God, you should hear our living room go when we start talking about lord of the rings.

D: Oh

A: My goodness. Okay. So I keep that in my mind all the time, and it's gonna happen. It's a fact and I didn't like the horse whisperer. So this person didn't like my book, it's fair. yeah, and most of my reviews are peak, are good. People tend to really like my books. Um, you know, I might get the occasional negative review. But it's not very often. So not like I’m constantly getting them in my face in my face, in my face, not like their quality concern. So I’ve seen so many and it’s like, oh my God as a reader. So yeah, so that that's what I do I it's a practical viewpoint that allows me to not be, you know, knocked off my stride if I do get a negative review. I could just say, okay, that you know this is not a person who enjoys my storytelling and I go on. ‘Cause I’m story telling for the people who do like my

D: So you’re just pretty much let it wash over you?

A: Yeah, let it wash.

D: That’s a good way to handle it. So have you ever tried to write in a different genre away for the Paranormal and the romance, have you ever tried to thriller or horror or something along those lines?

A: No no no no. Never never never. I, romance has always been like, aside from the Bambi Fanfic. Okay, You know, this is my genre and I never felt the desired to stray.

D: A lot are like that, they've got their little corner that I'd like to play in and yeas

A: Now that being said. Tomorrow, I'm publishing a book of short stories in the medieval fantasy Genre.

D: It’s still fantasy though.

A: It’s still fantasy, and there’s Paranormal element, you know, and that was actually inspired by role plays that I did the Second Life back in 2009 through 2015. I looked up some of my old. favourite role plays, it was just like, oh, gosh they would be so cool if I wrote these up as short stories, so that’s what I did.

D: I remember you talking about Second Life last time and you're very passionate about it.

A: Yes I love second life.

D: Do you have any tips for setting app good writing habits for maybe someone who's just starting out.

A: No I don’t. However, that being said, I have chronic paint for 30 years, which is why don't have any tips because I don't know what it's like this to try and set up writing habit without having chronic pain. I never know when I'm going to be able to write or not be able to write. But for people in my situation, I do have tips. When you can, write. If you're not doing quite well enough to actually write, but you're well enough to be productive, go back and edit what you've already written or you do charactization work, or think about your world building because all that stuff still needs to be done, but you're not using premium writing time to do it, if you do it on an off day. And if you can't do any of those things, just close your eyes and let the scene build in your head and just visualise the scene and then stay with it, you get some ideas for when you are able to be back to the keyboard. And if you can't do that, then for gods sake, give yourself permission not to do anything knowing that you'll get back to you when you can and you can't ask anything more of yourself than that.

D: That sounds beautiful, very reasonable, making sure you understand your body and knowing what you actually need.

A: Yeah

D: Okay. Well, I'm gonna go to the last question for the mindfulness. And that's what are your goals aspirations dreams going forward.

A: For the immediate future, I've just started characterization, work on the next Paranormal romance in my magic of wishes and dream series. And I don't even know the plot! But that would be, that's my next after tomorrow, when I get joy's story book out. This is where I'm going to be putting my focus, and after that, I have 2 more of those medieval fantasy short story collections. That's my immediate future. I'm also in the process of seeing about getting my books produced as audio books so that's kind of like on the side as a side project. Over the longer term, I have some projects, I have a 4 book contemporary romance series started of which I got 2 books published and I've never gotten around to those other 2 books, the Paranormal romances keep calling me. The characters keep coming in my head. The stories keep wanting to be told. So really no idea after these next three books.

D: They don't look too far ahead, just a couple of projects away.

A: Yeah

D: One thing we didn't cover, which I really want to before we close this part of the interview.

A: Hmmhm

D: How do you stay motivated when you've got such massive projects going on?

A: Well for one thing, I have a checklist. I use asana. And if I start to get overwhelmed by the number of things to do because there's lots of author tasks that always have to be done I just create a checklist, and it's actually very motivating to go into the checklist and see all those little green checks that have already done those things. I also operate on rewards basis. When I finish a book, I get a reward. I get to buy myself something and it could be anything from the mundane to the fanciful to the really out there like my poor teeth and a gold plated, slinky.

D: Did you say gold plated slinky?

A: I said Gold plated slinky. Sitting here on my desk right now. I found it on ebay and I'm like, oh my God I’ve gotta have this.

D: What was that a reward for, which book.

A: ah, Gold Plated slinky, hold on. I got, I have a spreadsheet.

D: You spreadsheet your rewards. That's amazing I love it. I love spreadsheets.

A: I spreadsheet everything! I do I really. I’m like the speadsheet queen.

D: I think it is so important to celebrate success.

A: Okay, that was, that was when I finish when darkness falls, and that was that was worthy of the gold plated slinky, because that was a trilogy, that was three books.

D: Yes. I have read them they are amazing

A: Thank you

D: I have a few quick questions. These are called the fast five.

A: Okay.

D: I don't say them in advance because I don't want you to think too hard on the answers.

A: Uhoh.

D: And then we'll move to our buffy night segment.

A: Okay, I’m bracing myself.

D: You bracing yourself. It’s nothing to serious. Would you rather be a table or a chair?

A: Table.

D: Are you a dog person or a cat person. I already know the answer to this one.

A: Cat cat cat cat cat

D: Definitely. Who is your favourite superhero?

A: Superhero, I never really go into Superheroes.

D: Really? Yeah, there's so you know.

A: Oh my family is. Always going on about Batman

D: You just stand aside from all of that.

A: I just Read my book and roll my eyes.

D: Were to have a magical power? What would it be?

A: Oh yeah, I want to Teleport. I want to be able to teleport. Then I can go see the Taj Mahal. The Carpathian mountains, I could go back to Cairo I could go see my Mum in North Carolina. I could go to. I could go to New Orleans.

D: You’ve thought about this before.

A: Absolutely not. not thought about that.

D: Okay. So if you were to have a huge lotto win, what would you do?

A: Oh right I would hire a housekeeper and cook. And I would get lots of 100 dollar bills to carry around in my wallet and when I drive through the fast food, I can leave the person a $100 bill tip. Or in a restaurant or the bag boy at the supermarket. Leave them 100 dollar tip. I would just go round the country just to do that.

D: You’d Change people's world doing that.

A: A 100 dollars aint gonna change much, but still, you now it’s something.

D: It would have a positive impact on people's lives.

A: Yes, And they would always remember the strange lady who just left them a $100 tip and just walked ok.

D: Okay well, that's the end of the question segments.

A: OK

D: So we talked about buffy night and Buffy is the one night a week that I'm allowed to have the big tele the lounge room and I watch whatever show I want with my friend. We do once a week. Been doing it for over 22 years now. So

A: oh wow,

D: my night that I gets to just binge something. At the moment, we're on supernatural season 9. Dean’s just got his mark of cain. So I don't think it's a spoiler. I mean supernatural finished years ago. So if you were to have your own Buffy knight, what show would you choose?

A: Actually, I would choose. The Equalizer with queen Latifa.

D: I haven't seen that.

A: It is not my usual type of show. I like the crime drocedural dramas where they catch the bad guys at the end. Well, she always catches the bad guys too. But this is not usually my kind of show. I saw the trailer. And I thought well you know. I’m trying to try new things. Ok I’ll try something new. I get a gold star. For trying something new. A hypothetical gold star anyway. So I thought well It’s kind of it like Hmmm. So I was, and I was just. I didn’t even know who Queen Latifa is, and I think she was like a singer or something at the time I didn’t know who she was. But it did look kind of interesting. I thought I'll try it out. Opening scene. I was hooked. And her daughter and and I, I Just I just love these people. They are just. And she is kick ass. Her daughter, she has a teenage daughter and she's a single Mom with a teenage Daughter. and that kid is just wow, she is darling, she is charming, She is right and she’s got the attitude. They all have the attitude. And it is so much fun to watch. The family interactions are as fun to watch as the kickass scene where she's out there kicking the bad guys ass. And I really, now were in season 7 now and I'm loving it and at the end of each season, I buy the DVD. Just in case I'm ever stuck without pay per view or internet

D: What book do you think has impacted your creative writing most?

A: I think I would have to say secret Garden. By Francis Hutchison Burnett, that Book really got. I mean, besides that, I mean I love the book, it got fantasies going in my head. Pictures going creative stuff going in my head. So it just uplifted my creative side, I guess you could I don’t know how exactly to express it.

D: I know where you are coming from I read The Secret Garden when I was younger, Like every, every young little lady does and then I read.

A: Did you see?

D: It again

A: The broad way show?

D: No

A: It was AMAZING, you should atleast get the soundtrack. It is amazing. I lay on the floor and wept for 2 weeks listening to it over and over.

D: I'm a huge fan of musicals so that's definitely getting added to my list, but what I was getting at is, I read it when I was younger than I read it again when I was mid 20’s, maybe 25-26 I read it again to the kids. In my mind, I remembered how intrinsically beautiful and calming the garden was when I was a child. But when I read it again, as an adult, there wasn't as many details as I recalled. So I'd obviously I've had a vivid imagination and created this garden gate perfectly my mind as a child, but it was actually all written down, it was a lot in my mind, so I found that that amazing.

A: The BBC did a really nice adaptation of it with the Dame Maggie Smith as the housekeeper.

D: Another version to watch. It's not a musical though is it?

A: No not that one. There are several versions of the made that one just was my favourite one.

D: Okay, well, every 5 guests or 10 episodes we're going to be doing a treasure chest in this series, and I understand you're going to be putting something into the treasure chest, so what are you putting in the treasure chest?

A: I am indeed. I am putting a box set of the first 3 books of my magic of wishes and dreams Paranormal romance series. Of which there are 7, and one spin off.

D: Can you tell us a little bit more about these three books.

A: The first is wishes in a bottle. And that was my first Paranormal romance ever. And I never meant by the way to write a series, I just had this picture in my mind or this poor guy, you know, in agony. So tired of having to grant wishes and he's just tired of it all and I wanted to write his story. So I wrote his story, and then there was another in then there was another, then I had 8. So he is a mage from around fourteenth century Genoa Italy when the black plague came from cimea and all people in his village were dying and he did a big, powerful spell to be able to help people only be careful what you wish for. It backfired and he got trapped down to an a genie bottle, or Djinn bottle. Granting 3 wishes to each person until certain conditions are met. And it’s been 600 years and he’s really tire of this whole wishes gig. and then he meets this young woman a hospice worker and she winds up getting his bottle somehow, which we don't know how and they are falling in love. The second book is a gift of Jacinth. Jacinth a bonafide Genie. And she was Julian. Julian I the hero of wishes in a bottle. She was Julians mentor, assigned to him by the Djinn to help him through the process. To know the rules of the magic and so forth. To see him through all these you know, she is funny. She's charming, she’s ebullient and everybody loves Jacinth and I love Jacinth and she had to have her story written. So then I wrote her story. Ah, the hero there is a single and he’s divorced and his wife, he has custody the children. because she wasn't able to care for them, she kidnapped them, and they've been gone for 2 years, so he wishes for his children back. So then they’re found and he’s all in a panic because he hasn’t seen them for 2 years. They’re 4 years old and 6 years old, 1 day she has the kids out at a park and they see a, just gorgeous main coon tabby, sunning herself on the bench and the kids fall in love with her and she follows them home and disappears and comes back and she’s a shapeshifter and that’s cat from the next book a cat for Troy.

D: I love how they all link together.

A: Yeah they all link together

D: And how in depth you went for your genie lore and mythology in the stories I really enjoyed that too.

A: Ah, Yeah, that was a lot of fun, I did a lot of research. I actually went into the Ko-ran and read the parts about the Djinn. I did AIot of research in old pre-islamic Arabic folklore because they're around then too, and I kind of you know, did the artistic licence where I picked in chose the parts that I wanted to pull in and use for my Djinn.

D: Okay, we're meet pretty much out of time now. We've actually probably gone overtime, we'll see how this gets put together and um here, thank you very much for coming onto the mindfulness episode and I will see you in but a moment for the worldbuilding segment.

S: Okay,

D: thank you for coming in.

A: Thank you for having me.

END ROLL

I really enjoyed the interview with Allie and have been listening to The Secret Garden musical on Spotify. Even though I've spoken to Allie on the show a few times we had never covered her origin story before and it was so interesting to hear her journey and how fortunate she was to have such a fantastic opportunity and it gave her the inspiration to carry on. I think being a part of a community is so important. I am still a member of the romance writers of Australia and the Australian Fairytale society and the author coaching club. They add so much value to the writing process You meet people that you otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity to meet. Allies advice about listening to what your body needs and giving yourself permission to take a break then you need it is so beautiful also having a spreadsheet for a reward system was inspired.

If you like to carry on the conversation with ally or ask her more questions about mindfulness, you can find her in Facebook, as Allie McCormack, her artwork is on deviant art. And if you head over to Ali mccormack.com. she has all the information about her books and regular newsletter.

If you are enjoying a show and would like to show some support, consider buying us cuppa. head on over to coffee com. That's KO-FI.com/findingelara. The link is in the show notes. There is an option for you to buy a cup of tea for $2 or you join the Shadow link for 5 dollars a month to receive exclusive content and advanced information about the show. If you would like to get in touch with myself or the team are push castle productions, then I'm on Facebook as DL Nix and on Instagram and TikTok @findingelara. There's also a discord channel called finding Elara podcast.

The BCP team are on TikTok and Instagram as BCP dot creative or you can check out the website. Bushland castle productions.com. The music is brought to you about @keysofmoonmusic and is called ‘the epic hero’, if you are enjoyed listening to findingelara, have any questions or just want to share your world with us in Then please get in touch. Until next time keep up the search for your Elara.

Welcome to finding Elara, A safe space where Authors, Artists and Creatives share there Worldbuilding style and Mindfulness strategies. Brought to you by Bushland Castle Productions, Aussie Tales Told.

Hello and Welcome back. My name is Dianna and this is episode 4 of the 2025 season. Today we are going to continue our discussion with Allie McCormack. In the last episode we had a very exciting chat about how mindfulness works in her creative life. She shared her origin story and gave a few great tips about how she deals with adversity and pushes forward. I love the reward system that she has set up for herself and the fact that it is all recorded on a spreadsheet.

Our First guest, JA Duxbury was kind enough to donate her trilogy entitled Clans in Conflict to the treasure chest. That is Dark Dimensions part 1 and 2 and Dark Reign. Alli had added another Jewel to the Chest and is providing the first three books in her wishes and dreams series. They are wishes in a bottle, A gift of Jacinth and A Cat for Troy. The Key word is mentioned again in this interview which you need to enter.

When I started writing I was committed to completing NaNoWriMo unfortunately there has been a downturn on the Nano front and it looks like they are closing their doors. Fortunately, I live in Western Australia and there are a team of people in the Writing around WA group that are putting together a new event to write 45k in 30 days. They are setting this up for the month of June. Which is good because it’s the start of winter and you can cosy up next to the fire to write. I till put all of the details in the show notes. But you can register you interest on the writingaroundwa.com website if you want to start building your story through May then there are a number od plot storming sessions throughout Perth region leading up to this event. More information for those events are on Facebook and on the website experiencepossibility.com. I have registered my interest with one of the coordinators and hope to see you there.

In this world building episode Allie has allowed us to Play around in the may worlds she has created. I have all but the newest of her books and it was truly a delight to peek behind the curtains so to speak. If you have not read the series then there may be a few spoilers in the show, but as they are paranormal romances there things that I would guess you’d be able to intimate.

Allie McCormack is a disabled U.S. military veteran who has transformed her life-long dream of writing into reality. Having lived across the United States and spent memorable years in both Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student and Saudi Arabia working at a hospital in Riyadh, Allie now crafts her stories from the beautiful California wine country she calls home, accompanied by her family and two rescue cats.

When not weaving tales of romance and adventure, Allie explores the intersection of art and technology through AI-generated artwork, finding new ways to express her creativity. Her passion for storytelling drives everything she does, bringing to life the countless characters and worlds that populate her imagination. Whether through words or images, Allie believes in creating work that touches hearts and sparks joy.

Interview

D: Dianna A:Allie

D: Allie Welcome back. What does worldbuilding mean to you? And when do you generally start with your worldbuilding?

A: I had an odd start to worldbuilding because I never meant to be building a series I just was gonna have a genie, someone who was curse to be a genie granting wishes and that was it. There weren’t other paranormal elements, there wasn’t really much worldbuilding to be done outside of the genies. But then suddenly I had another book and then had suddenly I had a shapeshifter. And I was like woah actually they wound up showing up in the first book too so then I had to figure out how to incorporate the shapeshifters and the Djinn and start to puzzle piece that together. And then there wasn’t really until the third book that I had to sit down and say ok. Okay, I really gotta work with this and put the story aside in the middle of the third book, A Cat for Troy. Put the book aside and sat down with pen and paper so to speak and really started hammering out the paranormal and supernormal elements and how they meshed and merged with the real world. Then I’ve gone from there.

D: Copy that. So you started with the paranormal elements first.

A: Yeah, it was built into the story. The story as it appeared in my head was a guy laying on the beach with the sand sticking to him and the hot sun and he’s just finished three wishes for this horrible horrible lady and he’s in agony and tired of it all. That was all I had as the premise for the plot.

D: And then you just built it from there.

A: And I, yeah.

D: With your other series like truckstop and the darker vampire series was it the same, was it character first?

A: Truck Stop again was always on the plains of wyoming that’s where it started and that was because I had driven through that area not too long before I’d started writing struck stop and it really made a huge impression on me. The plains and the wind blowing and I could see in my mind so clearly the truck stop and the layout and everything. It just came all part and parcel with the story in my head. Swan song, the contemporary romances, those were set in Santa Barbara. I lived in Santa Barbara, I went to College in Santa Barbara. And I did my Greek and belly dancing at a Greek restaurant in Santa Barbara. The stories about a belly dancer in Sant Barbara and Greek restaurant and it was not based on me. It was based on the restaurant. The atmosphere and so that part of the world building was actually really easy and it was actually because I’m so familiar with Santa Barbara that it was like I was living in the story too. ‘Cause I kind of was. In fact when we had some fires about 5-6-7 years ago. The Thomas Fire that started to sweep down into northern Santa Barbara I was like, Oh my god, his home is going to be burned up, then I was like, No. There is no home. Okay, but that was how real it was to me. That I would just start getting this anxiety attacks about his house was going to be in the evacuation zone and, but it wasn’t! It was fictional. So yeah. That’s how real it was to me. And I laugh at myself.

D: It does seem so personal, the whole swan song series.

A: And the Greek restaurant there is a, every time I drive by there, okay, it’s like there’s a car wash across the street. Oh right there’s a car wash. Okay, because I, in the story. I made an apartment building across the street and Sarah lived there. The heroine lived there. But every time it’s just so clear in my head, the apartment building that I see when I think of this restaurant that when I go down there and drive past it it’s always a shock to see this carwash there.

D: You can just imagine it in a different time.

A: There you go.

D: and the vampire series?

A: oh

D: Did you start with Vampires?

A: That is the book of my heart. That was actually inspired by a second life role play. That I did,

D: Oh, okay.

A: Where I got captured by a vampire. The big bad of all the big bads. I was brand new to role play and I was scared to death. But and it was a middle easter setting the vampires lived in catacombs beneath the city. I changed that obviously. And so the world again came with the story. Story came with the world. But I did worldbuilding differently, I built the city differently so now I see it differently it’s not, you know, it’s not a carbon copy of what we had in second life. I actually went and did research on medieval fortified walled cities and to see and did a lot of researching a lot of browsing on pinterest looking for ideas and work out in my head what this city was going to look like. What the catacombs are going to look like. And where things are. The valley where the agriculture takes place. The other valley where the Jackal shifters live. The desert on either side and how it extends. Because it’s half way between the Mogul empire in India and the Saklaved* Persian empire in Persia. And it combined elements of both cultures, Arabic and Indian. Islamic and Hindu. The food the Clothing, the languages, the architecture It’s all going to be a combination of all these things. You’re going to have mosques. They’re gonna have a synagogue and a church because you’ve got the crusaders up there you’ve got Jewish. I don’t dwell on the religion. That really plays no part in the story. But it’s still there. You know.

D: Religion tends to imbue itself in society.

A: Yeah.

D: So I know that you like to create pictures with AI now. I see them always on your facebook.

A: Yeah.

D: Do you think you would have approached your worldbuilding differently if you had that capacity to do that back then?

A: No. The pictures are, they’re for my amusement and entertainment more than anything else. Trying to get, and it’s really hard to do for worldbuilding because you’re dealing with prompts. Your may not ever get what you actually are looking for, you might get something better. You might get something really horrible. And you’re never going to get the same thing twice that’s pretty much a given. So it would be hard to depend on that for your world building. For me, I just like the have the visuals.

D: I noticed that you've got a thing for mystical creatures lately I saw some unicorns and some Pegasi

A: Yeah and I’ve got griffins. I like hybrids too. I did the cutest hybrid cat birds, birds with wings, blue birds with wings and little cat ears. And it’s just the cutest thing! I put them on a calendar, I did a 12 months calendar, from Shutterfly and put my pictures on there.

D: That's pretty cool. It's a pretty clever way to use them too okay, so now we're just gonna do a deep dive into one of your worlds, which 1 are you choosing

A: Magic of wishes and dreams.

D: Alright. Can you please describe the world that we're talking about today?

A: It’s Set in the Hudson valley, about an hour's drive north of New York City, It’s right along, right along the Hudson there's a lot of semi rural and rural areas, lots of state forest, national parks. There's lots of wilderness out there in the beginning it’s set around a vet clinic, a rural vet clinic where Douglas, the hero from a gift of Jacinth who works as one of the veterinary Partners who owns the clinic in the beginning, most of the story's actually taking place not in the clinic. It's more like as the stories grow more and more the shapeshifters it’s kind of centered around the clinic. Because for many, the shifters who are the movers and shakers in the community are somehow related to the vet clinic. Cat marries one of the veterinarians, the genie is married to a veterinarian, got another veterinarian who comes who is a shapeshifter, and so it becomes kind of heart of the world, other heart of the world came in book three a cat for troy she found an old restored Victorian that had been turned into a bed and breakfast by this older black couple, who themselves

D: mysterious

A: Yesss

D: mysterious older black couple.

A: the Mysterious black couple and they’ve got very mysterious major magical mojo but nobody knows what they are including me, because if I'm leaving it that I chose the leave that way, because as soon as I put a label on them, I put boundaries on them.

D: Yeah

A: So at this point without a label, without saying they are this or they are that; I can still pick and choose what they're able to do? And I like that, and I like the keep that air of mystery. So the bed and breakfast then, so a lot of the focus in the last book has switched to the bed and breakfast from the vet clinic. Now in the foxy lady, the last book in the series looked 7 of the series shifters were exposed to the world. Now all the world knows about shifters, so now I am moving that centre of the world back to vet clinic. And that's going to be where, because it's a business that is going to be known now to have shifters involved. Which makes it a target, so that's also going to be the centre of the security efforts.

D: So it's gonna get a bit more military theme going forward?

A: No. The Wolf shifters mostly and some of the cat shifters, big cat shifters not the main coon, you know, the cougars and so forth the Bobcat. There’s a lot of Bobcats. The bobcat and wolves mostly are gonna take over, provide security for a shifter owned business. Businesses that are going to be known to be associated with shifters, one way or another. That would become targets. So the shifters and now and this is, this is cool. I have brought in some of the vampires from when darkness falls from the 16th century. They're now living, Damion's clan is now living in New York City and some of his clan some of the vampires that we know and loved from a darkest falls are now being introduced into the magic of wishes and dreams series, the vampires are going to provide night time security for those same businesses.

D: I did see those come in in foxy lady, and that it was a bit of a giggle moment I'm like, oooh. that's pretty good. I love it when an author such as yourself, incorporates all the world together, and yet it's quite inspiring.

A: It is, I’ve just been having lots of giggle fits over this. I am just delighted ‘cause I love my vampire guys, they are just Awesome. Oh yeah and Kaija is there too, the demoness.

D: Yes, She's quite an interesting character.

A: Damons Sister.

D: I don't know how to take her sometimes when she's got her screen time. So how much of this reality, as in your real world has bled into that story.

A: Not Much, I mean, I never lived there, I've never worked in hospice, I’ve never worked in a veterinary clinic. My grandfather lived in croton on Hudson. He and his second wife and brother in-law, started a music conservatory, which was a great big 3 story stone house on a huge lot with stone walls all around. And ivy growing over them, and lots of poison ivy I definitely remember the poison ivy where he died when I was 10 So my memories are from when I was like 8 years old, 9 years old it just and the trees that the whole just really stood out that’s how they came to be there, but anything else was made up I just used at it like my base memory and I just made everything else up.

D: You still have that based memory, though, and you do have a conservatory in the story.

A: I do.

D: You do

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D: How much of yourself do you think you're putting into your characters?

A: I don't know, you know people ask about that. And it's really hard for me to say. Well, okay, in a prince of the gin, that was totally me. But normally they show up in my head as their own person, I do the character work. But I have this character interview that I do, it has a whole bunch of questions, and I answer each question as if I were in the character. I go in to the characters head and become the character. So it's not me answering those questions it’s the character answering the questions, I put myself aside when I do that, except for Mandy.

D: Except for Mandy

A: Right? So, really? I mean, not much I use my experiences, I mean, I like rib eye steak so a lot of the time they will go out to a restaurant and order a rib eye steak right. I like taco’s so they go to Mexican restaurants, I use my personal experiences to enrich the story, but it’s not a basis of the story, it’s not a basis of the characters. The characters you know, if I wasn’t a writer you know they guys in the white coats would be coming for me so that characters could live in my head.

D: So because you have the shifters and you have the vampires and you have witches and you have mysterious black couple running the Inn.

A: hmmm

D: How deep did you go into the development of your lore? And were there any side quests while you were developing?

A: Not that I can really think of. I mean for the side quests. I can't think of any side quests, but as far as the development of my lore. I actually went pretty deep, I don't use it all. In my books, I don’t just sit there and write, like all the law and all the law. I use what's appropriate when it's appropriate. I mean, I know it. But I'm, I've seen books were there that’s been overdone, where so much has been focused on the lore that the story gets kind of left behind or becomes secondary. So I’m well versed in the lore and I use that to help me write the story, how’s that?

D: Yup. That makes sense. So you've got a lot of back knowledge.

A: Yeah

D: and you just keep it to yourself.

A: Some day, I might write a guide to could go along with, you know, with all those rules, but I’m like why.

D: I suppose it depends how many series you continue to write.

A: Well there you go.

D: Somebody might need a compendium to keep track of all the characters. So if you're to switch genres, so let's think of one of your characters pick 1 of the characters for your story, just one.

A: Lets say Cat

D: Okay, Cat. If we were to put cat into a horror story, how do you think that she’s react?

A: I have No idea. Literally no Idea. Well, I am trying to think of something horror that I’ve watched. Okay sooo?

D: So say, for example, you've put her in nightmare and elm street.

A: Okay,

D: The real question is with me, freeze up with you flee or your hero up.

A: She would hiss, she would change into her cat. She would fluff up, her tail would go up she would put her ears back she would hiss and she would dive under the sofa where nobody could get her. And she would scratch the living mmm out of anybody who tried.

D: Well you know it does actually get a little bit scary in her origin story. So I can see her as being quite confident and being able to deal with anything that comes away.

A: Oh yeah,

D: So where would you see her in 10 years

A: Well, I mean, I'm writing romance so in ten years she’a gonna you know she’s gonna have a couple of kids, they’re gonna have the horses you know.

D: How many kids is she going to have?

A: Ah two. I don't see you're dealing with a whole bunch of kids. I think that’s it.

D: She's a high powered professional in her human life.

S: Yeah. Now Kester and Tamera, I'd say 4 or 5, maybe maybe even 6 I mean, he would love kids, or want a bunch of kids.

D: It's easy to get them to have kids in a book, because they don't have to go through everything. We’re like, yeah they’ve got kids, magic it happened.

A: Here have a kid.

D: If you could bring something from your world, so this wishes and dream series, into our reality, what would it be, and why?

A: Can I just bring it into my reality, so I get it and not everybody gets it?

D: If that's what you want, sure.

A: I really want a genie with three wishes.

D: I don't know. I think that's a dangerous trail to blaze having a genie in real life.

A: Yeah, No, why?

D: They don't always interpret your wishes the way you intend to be interpreted.

A: Aha you weren’t paying attention. Because, okay, the genies; remember the segments about the monkeys paw,

D: Vaguely

A: They are not like money paw, okay, in my world building, the genies who grant wishes are wishbearers, but they are wishbearers because they want to do something to help.

D: Oh, yes, that was in the new book.

A: Okay, they want to help people, and so they're huh?

D: That was in the new book that I started beta reading.

A: They’re Yes. And so there they're not looking to twist the wishes is that they're actually the closer you can express to them, what it is that you want, the more Able they'll be able to realise what it is that you want, to manifest it.

D: So you don't want any genies, you want your specific type of genies to come and give you some wishes

A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

D: I thought you’d want another dimension that you'd want to go visit Qaf?

A: Oh teleporting. Oh to visit Qaf ohh. Yeah, I would definitely want to go to Qaf?

D: For the Listeners who haven’t read the books. Qaf is the genie homeland.

A: Mystical

D: Yeah, so while you've created all of these books and amazing lore and immersive stories, great characters. What lessons have you learnt while you've been creating these Worlds? Would you do anything different

A: I don't really think so. I mean I like the world that I've created if I have many regret at all is that I could have gone on with when darkness falls and just done more. It pulls at me, you know, but the story is done but as far as no I don't think I would change anything.

D: So, do you have any lessons? You would teach someone who's just starting out world building?

A: Hmmmm, You have to have rules. Okay, there have to be rules, because if you don't have rules there can be contradictions and things, you don't want contradictions, a reader is gonna throw your book across the room, saying that's nonsense Okay. I don't exactly know how to say. It right that there has to be boundaries and me, like with my magical couple. The reason I don't set a label on them is so that I can create my own boundaries within which they can operate. While yet not being out of character for what they are like my shape shifters, they can shapeshift into one form. They can't take into many forms, my vampires can change shape into rapters that can’t change into wolves or cats, or something else. They can only change into raptors. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know I just came up with it okay. At the time I was writing it. Alright, so if your ability, if you've got your world, you got a shape shifter and you've got your, you don't make that rule, okay, whichever where you want it.

D: Do you establish your rules as you're writing. So you've written something down and you think all I should probably stick that, that’s a new rule?

A: Yeah, And that's why I brought the whole thing to a screeching halt in the middle of a cat for Troy. Because at that point I was starting to have so many things that needed so many areas that needed rules that I had to stop and say, okay, now I got this, I've got this, I've got this and I needed to have a plan for each one and of course of you planning to write a series or a book that has lots of elements. It is better that you do it sooner than later. I didn't plan to write a series where the whole bunch of different elements, I only planned to write a genie book. and then shapeshifters showed up. Yeah.

D: If you could take a holiday in the wishes and dreams series world where do you think you’d want to stay. Do you want to stay at the inn or do you want to stay at Troys house?

A: OMG Yes. No, no I would soooo stay at that B&B especially if they have an elevator.

D: And I always had cookies and tea.

A: They always have cookies, tea and lemonade, and in the winter months they have hot spiced cider?

D: It sounds pretty dreamy and there’s always a fireplace clackling.

A: There’s always a fireplace crackling, oh not there in the summer. It gets reallt hot and humid in the summer in New York. I do remember that and I want a room in the turret.

D: Yes, that that seems like the only place to stay

A: absolutely

D: Okay. With that, is all about worldbuilding questions that I have for you today.

A: Okay.

D: I really enjoyed playing in the world.

A: Thank you, I enjoyed building my world. Well I don’t get much of a chance to talk about my writing and my process and all that stuff. So when I do it’s like opening up the flood gates.

D: I think that's good. I don't think a lot of writers do actually have a lot of time to just chat. I have again, just like the mindful ones, I have the fast five questions again.

A: Uhoh. Okay

D: Okay. These are obviously worldbuilding themed, you ready?

A: Yep.

D: What is your favourite colour?

A: Purple with gold?

D: What is your favourite thing to draw a Sun or a moon?

A: A Sun.

D: Would you prefer to leave me at a beach or a river?

A: River

D: What is a dream holiday destination and yes, that can include magical worlds?

A: Ummm, Oh no. No. No I know where I will go to ohare the city in when darkness falls. Oh absolutely no question about it I will go there.

D: Would you stay in the castle?

A: No, the midieval palace is actually perched on the top of the city. The city builds up from the desert floor and a very topmost tier is the palace.

D: So where would you stay?

A: In the city

D: In the city itself yeah

A: I would stay in the inn in the city.

D: And what is your favourite Fairytale?

A: Snow white in rose red. Really hard to find these days.

D: Okay, well, that is the end of the world-being questions. So we're going to move on to linking to Elara

A: Okay, alright

D: That's the last bit of a show. So linking to Elara is where I ask you a burning question that is troubling with my Elaran World. So I've been building this world for a very long time and I think you might actually answer my question while we were talking about world building, but I started my story 6 years ago I started officially writing in 6 years, I was thinking about it many years before that, and then I had to leave you know my writing behind go to full time work. Because you know, money, everyone likes that I've come back now and it's from a different perspective up. I'm pretty much a different person than I was?

A: When you started.

D: You know 6 years ago and I've done another draft of the story but I'm having trouble merging, what's old and what's new. And that I should keek. And what I should get rid of so, do you have any advice on how to put it all together?

A: Do you use scrivener

D: Yes

A: Okay, so go into Scrivener and split your screen. Split your editing screens. Pull up a particular scene that you've got two of okay. Because this happened. Because in when I was writing a prince of the gin early on, I wrote one whole chapter and later on, I wrote the chapter again not having realised I already wrote it, but I wrote it different. So I had 2 of the same chapter, but they were both good. So I know exactly what you're talking about so you put one version on each of the 2 screen you start comparing, and you bring in paragraph by paragraph go through it and see which are them and just kind of blend them that way copy and paste over from the right side into the left side. Or type it in or and just, it does take so work it does absolutely it takes some work. But you're not totally just leaving one behind, when it's got good parts in it, too.

D: Yeah, I see where you’re coming from. I was thinking more from what you're saying about having all the laws written down. I had some rules that I'd made back in but I haven't written down anywhere but I knew that was the rules of that society and as I was re-reading it, I realised that I had a whole magic system to do with the runes and everything. For the elders to use, That I'd mentioned at the start of the book, and then I just dropped it, so I disempowered, some of my characters where they would be able to control the situation and then, yeah.

A: So what I’d do is I go back and find, again, split your screen. Find wherever those powers and those rules are mentioned and copy and paste them over to your second window. Which would be blank or blank, okay, and then take that and use it to start building building your world having everything written down pulling it together there. so yeah.

D: It is going to take a bit of work.

A: It's going to take a bit of work but you can be glad you did it.

D: Definitely. I plan on opening up the question section for linking to Elara is to the people in the Facebook group, which I know that you’re a member of so no in the future. If I get you back on the show again, maybe in a couple of years, we’ll see we go and then it won't just be my questions will be my question and a question or two from the listeners which I think will be really good for the show.

A: That will yeah.

D: Thank you again so much for having me in your face.

A: Thank you for having me and letting me talk about, what I do.

D: and I understand that you're going to be putting something into our Treasure Chest, can you please let our listens knows what you're putting into the treasure chest?

A: It’s the first, It’s a box set of the first 3 books of the magic of wishes and dreams paranormal romance series. You’ve got wishes in a bottle. A gift of Jacinth and a cat for troy.

D: And you gave a little blurb of them on the mindfulness interview so if anyone wants to listen to that, they can go back and listen to that.

A: hmm

D: And the keyword for people to enter is Black Pearl. So when you're so now we have 3 books from Julz who I interviewed last week and the 3 books from you, so we're starting to build our little treasure chest, I think it’s going to be really really good. Thank you again for coming onto the show and I will see you next time.

A: I will see you next time.

End Roll

That’s it for another show and it is the end of my chat with another fantastic guest. Allie has always been such an inspiration to me and I loved the way her paranormal worlds have started to merge together, I can't wait to see where she is going to go from here. The tip she gave me for linking to Elara. Seems like a lot of work, but will be worth it in the end. And as I get into more of a routines with this show, I will commit to doing just that.

If you want to get in touch with Allie, you can find her on Facebook as Allie McCormack. Her artwork is on Deviant Art and if you head on over to AllieMcCormack.com, she has all th information about her books and a regular newsletter.

Next week out guest is Kylah Elliott, she is an emerging Australian editor who is in the process of writing her debut novel, the conversation that I had with Kylah was very enlightening and she's so passionate and inspired with everything that she does.

If you are enjoying the show and would like to show some support, consider buying us a cuppa head on over to ko-fi.com. That's KO dash FI dot com forward slash Finding Elara. The link is in the show notes. There is an option you to buy us a cup of tea for $2 or you can join the shadow lair for $5 a month to receive exclusive content and advanced information about the show. If you would like to get in touch with myself or the team at Bushland Castle Productions then I'm on facebook as DL Nix. And on Instagram and tiktok has at finding Elara.

If you would prefer to talk on discord there is also a discord channel. Finding Elara Podcast. The BCP team are on tiktok and Instagram as bcp creative, or you can check out the website at bushland castle produvtions.com.

The Music for our intro and outro was brought to you by at keys of moon music and is called the epic hero. If you enjoyed listening to Finding Elara, have any questions or just want to share your world with us, then please get in touch. Until next time, keep up the search for your Elara.