Ask the Author: Elizabeth Salo
Answered Questions (6)
Elizabeth Salo
I am an absolutely insatiable reader, which makes this question harder to answer than you'd think. I've read over a hundred books so far this year, and it's only October. I often finish one book and immediately start the next one. Which means, TBR lists for me don't really work in the traditional sense. I'm almost exclusively an e-book reader these days, so when I see that my Kindle app only has a few unread new books, I go out and download a bunch all at once, spanning the various genres I tend to read (paranormal romance, contemporary romance, sports romance, LGBT romance). That way when I finish one book, I have a wide variety of options and subgenres to choose from for my next book. These days I read a lot more indie authors than mainstream, but I'll definitely do both if the book calls for it.
Elizabeth Salo
This is going to sound super cliche, but my advice is to write and to read voraciously. You can only get better at something by practicing it. Over and over and over again. Reading (in the genre you intend to write in) gives you a good sense of what the reader expects, how stories in that genre tend to develop, and gives you a starting point for your own story. And when you do write, don't be afraid to pound away at the keyboard writing a terrible story and then toss it away and start another one. Not everything you write needs to be or should be published. Some stories are just for you and writing them is a great learning experience but that doesn't mean they need to see the light of day. Writing is a muscle, and if you use it enough, you will get stronger.
Elizabeth Salo
And they worked 9-5 until they died.
Elizabeth Salo
The best thing about being a writer is the creativity. I can basically do whatever I want. I've never been a huge fan of most literary fiction. It always came across to me as something you were "supposed to" read. I read for fun, and I want to write books that people want to read. Books that are fun, and romantic, and full of adventure. When I'm at the wheel, my characters can do whatever I want them to and have whatever cool powers I think would be awesome. I may not be a witch or a superhero or have a dragon, but I can write about people who do live that life.
Elizabeth Salo
The inspiration for this series was the Wonder Woman moving staring Gal Gadot. I saw it in theaters and just knew I had to write a strong female character like her.
Elizabeth Salo
Amazon in Exile (my recently released debut novel) is the first in a series. The current plan is for it to be a trilogy (though if people like it, it could definitely be more than three books!). Book two in the series is currently off with the beta readers and I'll be doing edits on it in the coming months. While that's happening I'm happily working away on book three.
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