Read about Featured Author Elyse Salpeter on Day 4 of February's Fantastical Reads Event!
Author Elyse Salpeter - Bio
Elyse Salpeter is the author of seven novels and a host of short stories. What she loves doing is mixing "the real with the fantastic" in her books. She loves taking different scenarios and suddenly creating worlds where things just aren't what they appear to be.
Her Dark Fantasy Series, THE WORLD OF KAROV and THE RUBY AMULET take us to other realms filled with magic and evil... THE HUNT FOR XANADU is about a young girl on a mission to avenge her parents, murdered in their quest to find the mystical land of Xanadu.
Her two YA novels, FLYING TO THE LIGHT and FLYING TO THE FIRE are represented by Peter Riva from International Transactions. These books are about a young deaf boy who knows what happens to you when you die and now people are after him for the answers. The books are fast paced thrillers that keeps the reader on their toes, never quite knowing who, and who not, to trust.
When she's not writing, she's cooking, working out, running after her twins and crazy ferret and gardening - you just can't have enough flowers!
I am so glad to have you here, Elyse.
Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?
A: I actually alternately wanted to be a doctor, an astronaut, an architect, and an anthropologist. Oh, and I loved to write, but I never thought I was any good. One day in my twenties, I just decided to write a book that had been shuffling around in my head. It was a really bad first draft, but I got the bug and haven’t stopped since.
Q: Do you listen to music when you write? If so what do you like to listen to?
A: “Silence is golden.” That is my motto – I love to be in my room, it’s quiet and it’s just me and my laptop.
Q: Can you tell us about your writing process?
A: I’m part plotter and part panster. I have a beginning to my books firmly in my mind, a direction that I want to go, and usually an ending. How I get to the ending is something I can’t tell you. I’m like that right now, 75% into a sequel. I have no idea how I’m tying everything up yet! So for me, I put the book down and kind of mull it around for a bit, waiting for my muse to make a decision. She usually comes around in a week or two for a really sticky problem.
Q: What made you decide to go indie?
A. I had been published by a small publishing company that went out of business. The two young adult books with that company were picked up by a literary agent who is now representing them, but I had other books in my portfolio that he didn’t want to take on. Instead of doing the arduous process of submitting to agents, waiting the excruciatingly long lengths of time to hear back, the rejections and simply the entire grueling, heart-wrenching process, I decided to learn this industry and publish them myself. I still have those two YA books with the agent, but I’m on my third indie published work and used these books to learn about social media.
Q: How long did it take before you felt like you'd "made it" as a "real" author?
A: It took two full years after having the first book published to be able to tell someone “yes, I’m an author.” Before that, I kind of felt like a “hack.” I’m not able to do it full time yet, but after publishing multiple books, and learning the process, I finally can accept that I am far from being a hack.
Q: If your book were made into a major motion picture, what actors would you like to play the major characters in your book?
A: I picture the actress Serinda Swan as Kelsey Porter. As I wrote the book, I created a 26 page character file with photos and bios of each character and then I took the photos and some other details and created a pinterest board. You can see it here: http://www.pinterest.com/elysesalpeter/the-hunt-for-xanadu/
Q: If you could meet one of your characters for lunch, who would you want to hang out with and what would you want to talk about?
A: I would absolutely love to hang out with my female lead protagonist, Kelsey Porter. She is this strong, brilliant, tough girl, but underneath is so vulnerable. I’d love to talk to her about her time in Tibet studying with the monks and some of the missions she’s gone on that the book does not discuss.
Q: What’s the best advice on writing that you’ve ever been given?
A: To stop worrying about what other people think and just write. Fear stalls writers so many times. Thinking that they will be judged, but the fact is, we will be judged. Putting anything creative in the field is a very brave step and the advice was that “you won’t please everyone, but if you can find one person that enjoys your work, you’re a success.”
Q: What are some of your favorite curse words?
A: Phnops. My mom made it up. Pronounce it Fuh-nops. It can be used in place of any curse. Drop a can on your foot? PHNOPS! See?
Thank you so much for allowing me this interview, Elyse.
About the Featured Novel-
The
Hunt for Xanadu- Fantasy Thriller
Twenty-two
year old Kelsey Porter has dedicated her life to avenging the death of her
parents,
murdered
in their quest to find the mystical land of Xanadu. Before she can locate the
murderers,
she
has to discover their motives for the brutal crime and finds herself at the
epicenter of a Buddhist
mystery
as old as time. With the help of her companion, Detective Desmond Gisborne, she
hunts the
killers
across the globe and discovers a darkness in her spiritual past that tests the
very limits of her soul.
Soon
she realizes that it is not she who is doing the hunting, but the one being
hunted. Kelsey must find
a
way to survive, while ancient demons attempt to destroy her.
Link: http://amzn.to/MslDH3
Reviews-
5 stars Great fantasy story
By ChristophFischerBooks “Chris”
(Top 500 Reviewers)
This review is from: The Hunt for Xanadu (The Kelsey Porter
Series) (Kindle Edition)
"The
Hunt for Xanadu" by Elyse Salpeter is a fast paced thriller in which a
young woman, Kelsey, pursues the killers of her parents.
Her parents were murdered while trying to find the mythical land of Xanadu and the story's fantasy elements owe much to mythology rather than vampires and werewolves.
Accompanied by Detective and love interest Desmond her quest for revenge turns into something more profound. The personal development of a young woman with a horrid past, confronted with Buddhist beliefs and ancient demons makes for some great reading. I loved the character depth while the action part of the story also never lets you go.
The book is well written with a good storyline, strong narrative and interesting characters.
Her parents were murdered while trying to find the mythical land of Xanadu and the story's fantasy elements owe much to mythology rather than vampires and werewolves.
Accompanied by Detective and love interest Desmond her quest for revenge turns into something more profound. The personal development of a young woman with a horrid past, confronted with Buddhist beliefs and ancient demons makes for some great reading. I loved the character depth while the action part of the story also never lets you go.
The book is well written with a good storyline, strong narrative and interesting characters.
Other Amazon reviews-
“Don't
make any plans for a few hours once you pick up this book! Salpeter takes you
on a fast - paced ride in "The Hunt for Xanadu." This novel is a
smartly written action/fantasy as the story weaves between both this world and
Buddhist mythology. Heroine Kelsey Porter is a powerhouse with feet of clay,
which I found to be endearing. Very well done! I'm looking forward to another
adventure with Kelsey Porter”
“All
I can say is prepare yourself for an intense ride thru a realm of real life
peppered with fantasy. This is one book you just can't put down. Kelsey will
take you thru the gambit of intrigue and fantasy will some real life romance
thrown in for good measure.
You will enjoy this read for sure. Bravo Elyse Salpeter, Bravo!”
You will enjoy this read for sure. Bravo Elyse Salpeter, Bravo!”
Book
Trailer Video-
http://www.elysesalpeter.com
http://www.facebook.com/elysesalpeterauthor
http://www.twitter.com/elysesalpeter @elysesalpeter
http://www.elysesalpeter.wordpress.com
Thank you so much for the great write-up! Really appreciate it. :)
ReplyDelete