I was very blessed to be able to able to interview one of my
favorite authors Elle Casey! She is one of the most influential, and
incredible authors in my life! I had to have my first interview be with
Elle!
Me: Hi Elle! Thank you so much for
taking the time to do this interview with me! My first question is what
made you decide to become an author?
Elle: I've
been writing for about four and a half years now. I saw some articles
online about publishing books for Kindle, and I thought if other people
could do it, maybe I could do it to. People have told me all my life I
should write a book, and I figured I had nothing to lose and everything
to gain by trying, so why not? The risk of spending a month or two
writing a novel that someone might never read seemed worth the possible
reward of finding a reader who might like my work. I've been a bookworm
my whole life, and I have a huge amount of admiration for authors who
can create a world for me to get lost in. To think I could be one of
those people was very exciting for me.
Me: Where do you get your inspirations for new books and series?
Elle:
Life. My past. My future. Things I see on the street or daydream or
nightdream about. Sometimes weird stories on Yahoo.com are fodder for
good books too.
Me: What book or book series has most influenced your writing?
Elle: All
the books I read as a kid were very influential in that they showed me
the importance of creating worlds a reader can get lost in and
characters they can love, hate, or laugh along with. As an adult, I've
read hundreds of books, maybe into the thousands, but one series that
really captivated me was the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. It had
been a long, long time since I'd gotten so caught up in a group of
characters and a story like that. I think it woke up the teenager me and
let her hang around for a while, which is great for a woman of my age.
:) So I guess you could say she influenced me in that I always wanted to
write books that got people excited and she gave me something to think
about as I started my writing adventure. I'd say that Stephen King also
influenced me quite a bit. The humor in his books and the amazing
characters always get me. Not to say that I try to copy him or anything,
but I think his style really resonates with me and I find it natural to
write in the same vein.
Me: What is your favorite book or book series?
Elle:
That's impossible for me to answer properly, unfortunately. Part of the
problem is I'm always reading a new book or series and loving it for
its own plot, characters, etc. Another problem is that I often forget
books after I read them. There are very few I've cared to re-read. And
sometimes a book I loved when I was younger, I'll re-read it and wonder
why I liked it so much. Whether I will love a book is entirely dependent
on where I am in my life when I read it. I can say that I loved and
remembered elements of the Sookie Stackhouse series, the Harry Potter
series, the Mercy Thompson series, the Twilight series, many books by
authors Stephen King, Madeleine L'Engle, Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis
writing together, Nora Roberts, Julie Garwood, Janet Evanovich,
Samantha Young, and many others. The list is too long to include
everyone here. I always feel bad making a list like this because I
invariably leave off a bunch of amazing authors who deserve to be on it.
Me: What is your favorite genre you write in?
Elle:
It depends on the day. I recently wrote a science fiction space opera
after writing a string of romances and the change was nice. I write in
every single genre that interests me as a reader, so right now that
includes romance, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction,
action/adventure, thriller, and suspense. I get bored easily, so I have
to change things up to keep life interesting. When you write as many
books as I do in a year, you have to make sure the brain stays fresh. I
do that by switching genres. I really have to go to another place in my
head to write for a totally different audience, but one thing that stays
consistent no matter which genre I write in is humor. My readers say
you will always laugh out loud reading one of my books, even the ones
with sad or serious parts in them.
Me: If you were to write a book or series in a genre you have never written in before, what would it be?
Elle:
I will try mystery/thriller one of these days (I've been known to binge
on Castle re-runs). I also just read The Girl on the Train and Gone
Girl and those were very fun to think about as an author.
Me: Who is your favorite character you have written about?
Elle:
Probably Tim the pixie in the War of the Fae series. He's a blast.
Whenever I'm writing his dialogue or have him in a scene, my spirits are
soaring. It's impossible not to love that little guy.
Me: When writing a series do your characters seem to hijack your story, or are you always in control of the story?
Elle: I'm
never in control of my stories. Never ever. I just take dictation of
what I see and hear them doing/saying in my head. My stories go wherever
the characters take them. I don't use outlines to write; I'm what's
called a Pantser. . .I write by the seat of my pants.
Me: What has been your favorite series to write so far?
Elle:
They all take a piece of me to put together and they all pull from my
life or my history in one way or another. My favorite might be
Apocalypsis because I dreamed of a post-apocalyptic world often as a
teen, wondering what I'd do to survive. I also love War of the Fae a lot
because the characters are so crazy and I adore supernatural stuff.
There will always be a part of me that believes vampires, witches,
elves, and fairies exist here with us. No one will ever be able to
convince me they don't.
Me: What was the most critical thing someone wrote in a review, and how did impact your writing?
Elle:
Well, the most critical thing someone's ever said is that I'm dead
stupid and should never even think of writing another book for the rest
of my life, but that kind of garbage isn't helpful and really isn't
about me so much as it's about an angry, mentally unbalanced person with
free access to the Internet. As silly as those kinds of reviews are,
and even though I can rationally tell myself that it's just a person
blowing off steam, it still makes it difficult for me to work after
reading one. What I'll do nowadays is read all the negative reviews on a
certain day, prepare myself as best I can for the anger and vitriol,
and then take a couple days off to cry and hate myself before I get over
it and go back to work. lol. (not kidding, but lol anyway) I do,
however, get helpful writing tips from reader reviews, those that are
actually discussing the book and not me as an author: things like a
romance happening too fast, not enough description of a character to get
a good picture, cliffhangers (I ignore any complaints about those,
haha), etc. If enough people tell me something they didn't like about a
book, character, or series, I am definitely thinking about it as I write
the next book, assuming I agree with it. Sometimes I think a reader
just didn't get what I was trying to do with a certain character or
scene, so I just let it go. But if I think their gripe is legit, I work
to be better next time.
Me: What was the best advice anyone ever gave you about writing?
Elle:
Ignore the haters. Even the most amazing authors in the history of
writing have haters, and I shouldn't expect to be different or allow
them to define who I am as an author. It was my readers who gave me that
advice.
Me: Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Elle: I'm
often asked to give advice to to aspiring authors. Here are my 2 cents:
Write. Don't just dream about writing, or talk about wanting to write,
or read about writing, or do practice exercises designed to help you
learn how to write. Just write. And then keep doing that. You can't have
a career as a writer if you can't finish writing a book. Then, once
you've done that, edit over and over until it's the best you can do.
Then ask for feedback from trusted, gentle sources. If you have problems
with your writing, read a book or two on writing and edit again. You'll
never be a good writer if you don't WRITE. Also, if you don't read a
lot, you should probably read at least 50 books in your preferred genre
before you even start to write in it, because you have to know what
readers of that genre will be looking for. Reader expectations must be
met always and exceeded whenever possible. If you're not a big reader, I
don't think it's possible to be a big writer.
Elle's Biography - Click here to visit her website!
Hi. I’m Elle Casey, a full-time hybrid author (hybrid, meaning I
publish some of my books myself and some with a traditional publisher –
Montlake Romance). I published my first novel WRECKED on January 1, 2012
and have published on average a book every six weeks since. I quit my
jobs as a lawyer and teacher early in 2013 to focus full time on my
writing, and I couldn’t be happier. I love my work and even more so, my
readers!
Please be sure to
sign up for my newsletter
so you can stay current with what’s going on in my world. Here are a
few videos I’ve done answering reader and fellow-author questions; some
of them are long, so grab a snack!
Elle Casey’s Youtube channel. I’ve also started collecting my online Q&As in one place, so click
HERE to read those.
Okay,
more about me… I’ve been reading since I was 4 and have read probably
over a couple thousand books in my lifetime. I love, love, love books!! I
can’t tell you how many things I’ve
not gotten done and chores
I’ve ignored because I was too busy reading, and how many nights I’ve
stayed up until the sun began to rise, finishing up a good book. I don’t
have much time for reading these days, what with all the writing I’ve
been doing, but my favorite genres are fantasy, paranormal, sci fi,
dystopian, and romance of all types. I used to adore thriller and horror
novels; when I was younger, Stephen King was my guy. I just love his
writing style and the way he makes characters come alive on the page.
In
2010, I threw all caution to the wind, checked out of corporate life,
and moved the family to France where I now live with my husband, three
children, three dogs, and four horses — surrounded by trees, hills,
chateaux, and wonderful, warm people I am proud to call friends. I’ve
also renovated an old barn and purchased a vineyard — 2014 marked our
first harvest. My life is simply crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
So that’s me in a nutshell. Thanks for coming to my website. Don’t forget to sign up for my
newsletter to find get an email when my next book is released. You can follow me on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and check out my
Pinterest
boards of bookish and random fun stuff. And please, if you like my
books, tell your friends and family. Without you sharing my work, I
would be nowhere in this writing business.
Big hugs,
