Misadventures in Bookland: Interview: Elisabeth Grace

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Interview: Elisabeth Grace

Today I have with me New Adult author Elisabeth Grace. She is the author of the AMAZING book Rumor Has It and the upcoming sequel, Picture Perfect.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I've always liked to write. When I was in public school if the teacher asked for a 2 page story I wrote 20 pages. She'd call my parents and ask them to talk to me about staying within the guidelines. At eight I was writing articles to send to Reader's Digest to be published. LOL I had high hopes apparently but at that age you have no fear of rejection.

How did you get into romance? New Adult?

I got into romance books when I was pregnant with my daughter and devoured the Twilight series. Edward Cullen made my heart go pitter patter and I went out in search of more book boyfriends to do the same. I write contemporary romance as well (but have yet to publish it) and fell in love with New Adult when it came into the scene. For me it filled a void that was missing between the young love of YA books and the more mature romances of the usual contemporary romance.

Tell us a little about the book?

The book blurb can probably do that better than I can so here you are! ;)

All publicity is good publicity, right? Unless you’re recent college grad Ellie Wagner and an embarrassing video of you and your boyfriend goes viral. Every man in your life abandons you, but who knew a one-minute clip of your latest doomed relationship would brand you a slut, prevent you from getting your perfect job, and force you to keep doing the one thing you swore you’d never do again…live with your mother.

But staying with mom and her latest boy-toy (is this husband number four or five?) until your life turns around might not be all bad. Especially when you fall – literally – at the feet of a sexy, green-eyed stranger who offers you freedom and a life of luxury on a gold-rimmed platter.

There’s only one little problem – the man of your dreams is none other than Mason Nash, the latest hip-hop star busting up the music charts. Fame and fortune are his calling cards and he’s vying to steal the show on a new reality TV series that will catapult him into mainstream stardom. Hello spotlight.

The man behind the famous persona is perfect for Ellie in every way, but can she overcome the ugly pitfalls that come with Mason’s celebrity status? Or will she be forced to choose between the man she loves and the independent life she longs for? After all, fame and fortune aren’t always what they seem and not all publicity is good publicity…

What were your struggles with writing your protagonists and antagonists?

Honestly, these characters just flowed out of me. Some books are a struggle to get every word on the page and others just come from somewhere within. I was fortunate that Rumor Has It was one of the later. My biggest struggle was probably with Troy. He needed to be the antagonist to Ellie and her relationship with Mason, but I still needed the reader to see and understand why Mason would work with someone like him.

Where did the idea for this book come from?

Originally the concept for the series started when a friend of mine got divorced and went back into the dating world. I realized how things had changed since I dated in my early 20's. Social media was a game changer. That thought led me to think about how transparent today's society is with social media, celebrity culture, smart phones, YouTube, etc. It really changed the dynamic of relationships and I wanted to explore that over the series as a whole.

What is your writing method?

Get the kids to bed as early as possible and get my hands on the keyboard. LOL As a serious answer I'd say I plot the book and pants the scenes.

Why did you decide to go with self publishing?

I liked the idea of having the freedom to write what I want and write a book to the length that the story needed to be. Maybe I'm a little bit of a control freak but I wanted to decide for myself the little things like the cover, release date, editor, etc. It's turned out to be a lot of work but I've met so many amazing people in the process that I don't regret it a bit.

Is there anything you want your readers to get out of your books?

I think there is a different theme to every book I have planned in the series, but for Rumor Has It I think overall it's that things aren't always what they seem on the outside and not to sit in judgment of others. Everyone has their struggles and we shouldn't assume that we know what someone is about at first glance. That, and of course some entertainment value and perhaps a new book boyfriend. ;)

Tell me a bit about yourself.

I live outside Toronto, ON Canada with my husband and two small children. We have a killer cat spawned by the devil. I have bite marks on my wrist as I type this to prove it! Life is busy as I have a full time job and my husband's work keeps him busy a lot of evenings and weekends, but I'm blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful group of family and friends. I have an addiction to chocolate, reality TV and David Gandy but beyond that I'm a regular well adjusted person! ;)

Where can the reader find you books?