Book info:
Title: Elemental Lies
Author: Elle Middaugh
Series: The Essential Elements #2
Publication date: July 24th, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Valerie Moore is an Elemental, a person who commands one of the classical elements of wind, water, fire, or earth. She’s special, though. She controls two—fire and water—though sometimes it seems like they control her.
After the accidental exposure of Elementals to humanity, Valerie finds herself—and all of her kind—struggling to attain equality. Three different groups fight to secure leadership, and with all of their hidden agendas, she doesn’t know which side to choose. The balance between peaceful cohabitation and all-out war is precarious, at best.
When a chance meeting brings Val and earth Elemental Cade Landston back together, everything changes. She realizes what she knew in the beginning—that he’s the one she wants. Her desire to win him over draws her closer to him, and his vengeful mission to hunt down her murderous grandfather brings them both closer to trouble.
From mysterious doppelgangers to reckless rescue missions, scapegoat bombings, and evolving Elemental powers, Valerie strains to keep up.
All she knows is she must stop her grandfather at all costs. To do so, she has to figure out the truth, but how can she do so when almost everyone she knows has been telling lies?
Sequel to:
Author Interview:
1. What does
your writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start?
Or do you just start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)?
If you plan it out, how do you do that? Outline, notecards,
post-it-notes, etc.?
Let’s
see... I used to start with an idea and just roll with it, totally pantsing the
whole thing! But I’ve recently discovered the art of plotting lol While I’m no
expert on it, it definitely seems to have helped me create a tighter story
overall. When I plotted, I filled out a worksheet by K.M. Weiland that went
along with her Outlining Your Novel book. Then, I printed off a vertical
timeline of acts, and put post-it notes beside all of the important points.
It’s actually incredibly helpful to have that visual.
2. How do
you come up with your ideas for your stories?
Totally
randomly. Sometimes they’re seeds of a dream, sometimes they’re off-the-wall
thoughts that pop into my head, and sometimes they’re almost like scenes from a
movie that I’m watching for the first time in my head. Sometimes it’s no more
than a random quote I think up. Either way, most of my ideas involve either
magic, romance, assassins, immortality, royalty, or a combination of them!
3. How long
have you been writing?
Hmm...
I started writing for pleasure in middle school (maybe 6th or 7th
grade). So, like, sixteen-ish years ago? OMG! That makes me sound so old!
4. What tips
do you have for aspiring writers?
The
best advice I got was to hire a professional editor and a professional cover
designer. I have a little bit of art experience, so I actually did my own
covers, but the editor part was a suggestion I definitely followed. Even the
tiniest of errors distract the reader and question the author’s competence.
Also,
and this is the most important advice (I think), if writing is something you
are truly passionate about, if it’s what you want to do with your life and make
a career out of, then don’t give up on it. Study the craft, read successful
books by successful authors, and write your own stories as often as you can.
Someone
once said that if you want writing to be your job, then you need to treat it
like your job; as in, you need to show up on time and do the work necessary to
improve.
5. Some
favorites:
Books/authors/genres
I
like to read what I like to write: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Romance, etc.
Some
of my favorite books and authors are: An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch
Against the Night (by Sabaa Tahir), the Archers of Avalon trilogy (by Chelsea
Fine), the Throne of Glass series (by Sarah J. Maas), the Riley Jenson Guardian
series (by Keri Arthur), the Hunger Games series (by Suzanne Collins), the
Twilight series (by Stephenie Meyer), the Shade of Vampire series (by Bella
Forrest), etc.
But
I also enjoy rom-coms! Like the Allure series (by R.S. Grey). And
sports-related rom-coms like: the Pucked series (by Helena Hunting).
Movies/TV Shows
Game
of Thrones! True Blood! Inception, Shutter Island, Now you see me, Nerve,
Pineapple Express, Cruel Intentions, Underworld, the Matrix, Deadpool, etc.
Music
Mostly
I like EDM (electronic dance music), dubstep remixes, indie pop. Odesza is a
great example. I also really like M83, Phantogram, The XX, and Purity Ring.
Food/Writing snack
What
do I munch on while writing... Idk! Probably chocolate lol
I
DO know that I always have a drink: either sweet iced tea, hot tea or French
vanilla cappuccino, a nice glass of sweet red wine, or bottled water.
Social Media Site
I
LOVE connecting with people on social media! (I think Twitter is my favorite,
though).
Website
>>> www.ellemiddaugh.com
Facebook
>>> www.facebook.com/ellemiddaugh
Twitter
>>> www.twitter.com/ellemiddaugh
Tumblr
>>> www.ellemiddaugh.tumblr.com
Author Bio:
Elle Middaugh lives in the Allegheny Mountains outside of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with her wonderful husband and three beautiful children. Most of her time is spent raising kids, writing stories, playing video games, reading, and attempting to keep a clean house.
She’s a proud Navy wife, a frazzle-brained mother, a fan of health and fitness, a lover of hot tea and iced tea, and a believer in happily ever afters.
GIVEAWAY!
