Thursday, September 29, 2011

CLOCKWISE by Elle Strauss

Dude, today I'm uber-excited to have Elle Strauss here today to talk about writing, her book, and everything in between!


About THE BOOK:
The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less: A teen time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.

What else are you working on? Secrets? Inside scoops? Give us the juicy stuff!
My next book is going to be completely opposite in feel, a darker drama about a boy who grows up in Hitler Youth, tentatively called PLAYING WITH MATCHES. After that, look for another light and fun romance set in the Merfolk world called SEAWEED.

About THE AUTHOR:
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
No, I’m probably among the few who discovered my passion later in life. But it’s never too late, is it!

What made you decide to go that “extra step” and seek publication?
Well, this is an interesting story, since, though I have an agent, I’m not publishing CLOCKWISE traditionally. It is the manuscript that got me my agent, but it turns out editors were either not interested in time travel or they wanted edgier time travel. My agent encouraged me to indie-publish because she believed it should get out there and read!

Tell us something about yourself we don’t know.
I was born in Chicago to Canadian parents, so I actually have dual citizenship. I have two passports, though I’ve lived most of my life in Canada and so culturally I’m more Canadian, eh?

About WRITING:
Best writing advice?
Don’t write what you know (necessarily), write what you’d like to know. Also, the first draft will be crap— don’t fight it, just finish it.

What’s your schedule like? How do you manage the insanity of writing among your real life?
My schedule has changed dramatically this year since my youngest child now drives (!). It’s pretty fluid from day to day, what needs to be done. The “what” has changed a lot, too, since putting on a publisher’s hat.

RANDOM:
Would you kiss a frog to get a prince?
Absolutely.

Favorite board game:
Scrabble (Oooh, yes. Word games. Nice.)

Bacon or chocolate?
Chocolate (Foiled again!)

Quick! You’ve been chosen as a contestant on Survivor! What luxury item do you take?
Soap, but a toothbrush would be a close second. (Soap? Okay, I guess that's a luxury item.)

Also, CLOCKWISE is launching electronically this week and it’s only 2.99 on Amazon, £2.17 on Amazon.co.uk! To celebrate, Elle is giving away five debut books by authors that you can meet on her blog tour which is happening now.

LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden
THE CLEARING by Anne Riley
THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle
PERILOUS by Tamara Hart Heiner
THE HATING GAME by Talli Roland

How to win? Sign up for Elle’s newsletter (left side on her blog) to enter. For extra entries just comment on any blog in the tour. The more blogs you visit and comment on the more chances you have to win.

Five books, five days, five winners!

So go check that out, okay?

What's a debut you've read that you really enjoyed?


Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week at the Reading Room.

Or on their blogs:

29 comments:

Jemi Fraser said...

Great interview! I'm about 1/3 of the way through Clockwise and loving it! Casey is a terrific character! :)

Creepy Query Girl said...

great interview! Elle you don't look nearly old enough to have a child that drives! Congrats again and I'm looking forward to reading Clockwise!

Donna K. Weaver said...

Ah, but how many frogs would you kiss if that first one didn't morph into a prince? ;)

Enjoyed this interview very much. I've got this book on my to-read list, and I wish you great success with the indie publishing.

Kelly Polark said...

Congrats to Elle!
I love how she said about the first draft: don't fight it, just finish it!
I'll use that advice!

Theresa Milstein said...

Elana, thanks for hosting Elle.

I'm noticing more and more agents are encouraging their writers to indie published then the books don't get picked up. Good luck, Elle!

Glynis Peters said...

Loved the fun and interesting interview with Elle.

Shannon said...

I just finished ENTWINED by Heather Dixon and really liked it. I believe it is her debut novel.

Angela said...

Yeah Bookanistas, and congratulations Elle!

PK HREZO said...

I love that quote, Elle! "Don't fight it, just finish it."
Awesome! I'm tweeting it now....

Tess said...

this sounds right up my alley -- congrats!!!

LTM said...

Rock on! Thanks, Elana! Love me some CLOCKWISE--review's up on my blog today, and MATCHES is also fantastic. Elle's got talent~ :o) <3

Slamdunk said...

Interesting interview Elana and Elle.

I am thinking the bacon or chocolate question responses would fall clearly by gender though.

Laurel Garver said...

I love Elle's advice about not fighting the first draft. It so easy to let our fears bog us down.

Kate said...

Love the book's premise and LOVE the price. Think I'll pick it up . . .err . . download it. Great advice about writing what you want to know.

Carolyn V said...

Hee hee. I love the questions you asked. And yay for chocolate (although chocolate covered bacon would be lovely).

Congrats on the book Elle! =)

Miranda Hardy said...

Great interview. The book sounds amazing.

Heather said...

Yay for Elle! Best of luck to her with Clockwise!

There are so many great debuts that I've read recently that I really enjoyed (Possession among them of course!). I make it a point to try and read as many debut authors in a year as I can. Recently, I just finished Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes and LOVED it. It was the kind of book that made me laugh until I cried, rare and wonderful.

AMOffenwanger said...

Elle's dual citizen, eh? Friends of mine just found out that it currently takes 18 months for a US-born baby to have their Canadian citizenship processed. Wow.

Alice said...

Clockwise sounds very interesting.

Jenny S. Morris said...

This book sounds great. Just need to get an E-reader. ;0(.

Matthew MacNish said...

That is quite a twist! It sounds like a great story.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

"the first draft will be crap— don’t fight it, just finish it."

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that!! :-)

Mart Ramirez said...

Great interview! Nice to meet you.

Emily said...

Awesome price. I'm SO getting that on my kindle. Thanks for the heads up Elana!

Also like what she says about the first draft. So true!

Angela Brown said...

Great interview. And I love that the agent believed strongly in the story and encouaged indie publishing. Cool beans!!!

Janet Johnson said...

Congratulations Elle! If only I had an e-reader. But I'll have to wait for the hardcopy. Seriously sounds like a fun book!

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Great interview, Elana and Elle! I'll definitely check out Clockwise on Kindle! And Elana, have you considered chocolate-covered bacon? My husband tried some in Ocean City, NJ.

He said, "Eh."

Unknown said...

Elana, thanks so much for hosting me! *tosses gift wrapped bacon* And thanks to everyone who stopped by!!

Leslie S. Rose said...

Cool to get to know what's inside Elle's head. I love hearing about the diverse paths that different writer's lives take. Reinforces that there isn't one right way.

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