We’re delighted to welcome New York Times bestselling author Elle Casey to e-Books India, whom we recently interviewed. We quizzed Elle about several things, including how she became a writer and about the types of books she writes. Read on to learn about Elle who also told us about her most recent story entitled Wrong Place, Write Time.
Please tell us about you. Where are you from?
I am originally from the United States. I have lived in many states there, including New York, California, Idaho, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. I spent the most time in New York, California, and Florida. My relatives are mainly now in south Florida, though. They prefer the tropical weather. Six years ago, I moved with my husband and children to France, and we’ve been here ever since. I really love it.
What is your professional background and how did you become an author?
I have held many jobs in my lifetime, from waitress to business owner to stockbroker to attorney… I also taught legal English in the university system in France, but I have been a full-time writer for the last four years. I started writing when I was still working as a teacher, after reading an article in the newspaper about Amanda Hocking and all the books she was writing for the Kindle. Her success story and the story about Darcie Chan’s success also motivated me to try and write my first book, which was Wrecked, a young adult action/adventure novel. I had enough sales in the first two months that I imagined I could actually accomplish something as a writer, so I just kept going! For four years, I put out an average of one full novel per month.
What types of books do you write?
I write in several genres, which is not typical, obviously. But I like to write what I like to read, and I read all over the place! I write romance, urban fantasy, dystopian, action adventure, thriller and suspense, and space opera science fiction. Most of my work consists of full-length novels, but I have also written some short stories by participating in anthologies.
Could you please tell us about your most recent book, its overall plot, and the main characters in it?
My most recently published a book is a romance called Wrong Place, Right Time, and is part 2 of the Bourbon Street Boys series. The 3-book series is about a group of people who work in a private security firm and are often hired by the local police department to assist in law enforcement. The romance comes about with different members of the team and outsiders they interact with. But right now I’m working on Book 9 of my War of the Fae series, which is an urban fantasy novel featuring a very bold teenaged girl named Jayne. It has lots of supernatural and magical elements to it, and is so much fun to write. It has a pretty big fan-following in both the English-speaking market and also the Brazilian Portuguese market.
Are you working on any other books(s)? If so, can you please tell us what we can expect to see from you in the future?
I’m always working on another book! J For now, my focus is on finishing the last two books in the War of the Fae series. After that, I’ll be writing a television pilot based on my dystopian series called Apocalypsis. There are several other projects in the pipeline too, and they’re all listed on my website www.ElleCasey.com on the page called “Publishing Schedule”. The list of projects changes as new ideas crop up.
Can you please tell us about your approach to writing? For example, do you follow structures and writing rules? Or do you write in a free flow way? Do you have any particular time of the day you like to write? Or any specific environment you prefer to sit down and write in?
I think I pretty much break every writing rule there is. I never took a writing class or did a writing workshop or even read a book about how to write books, so I just did what came naturally to me. I do not use an outline. I have tried many times, but it never works for me. I will stray from an outline within two paragraphs, mostly because I feel as though I’m just taking dictation from the characters who themselves are writing the book for me. I have to wait and listen to their voices to know what’s going to happen. I prefer to write first thing in the morning and be finished by lunchtime. That’s my perfect situation, but it doesn’t always work out that way. I do my best work when I have a goal of a certain number of words I must write each day (“word-count goal”). If I leave it up to chance, I will more often be lazy and get very little done. I do most of my writing sitting in bed with the laptop in my lap. I am not nearly as comfortable sitting at a desk. I also edit as I go, always editing in the morning the work I did in the day before.
Do you have any favourite authors? If so, who are they and what do you like about their work?
I have read hundreds of books in my lifetime and loved many of them, so it’s really hard for me to pick a favorite author. Probably the most impactful authors in my life were the ones who captivated my interest as a child. And I admire different authors for different reasons. For example, Madeleine L’Engle’s stories took me away to fantastic places when I was a little kid. Stephen King’s writing always amazes me with how it draws me in and makes me chuckle out loud. Not many people do characterization as well as he does. But these are just two examples of many, many authors I think are amazingly talented. I hesitate now to name names because I have many author friends and I don’t want to leave anyone out! Suffice to say, I have a very open mind when it comes to reading, I read to be entertained and amazed, and there are plenty of great books out there to choose from these days, more than ever before. I usually don’t go for award winning books, though. I find them boring and stuffy usually.
What other things do you like to get up to when you’re not writing?
I love to spend time with my family and my animals. I have 3 horses, a pony, and 3 dogs. I’m outside most of the time, even when it’s raining. Trail riding is one of my favorite things to do J. Living in France also gives me a great place from which to travel. I’ve gone all over France and Europe. The villages here are magical.
How can people find out more about you?
Visit my website or my social media spaces. www.ElleCasey.com; www.facebook.com/ellecaseytheauthor; www.twitter.com/ellecasey; www.instagram.com/ellecaseyauthor
Getting copies of Elle’s books for free!
We would like to say a big thank you to Elle for answering our questions. If you would like to take a read of some of Elle’s work before buying any of her books, her following titles are available for free as ebooks:
The Changelings (War of the Fae Book 1) on Amazon US and Amazon India
Kahayatle (Apocalypsis Book 1) on Amazon US and Amazon India
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]