Interview with Laura Elliott
Today I have the pleasure of getting some answers from the new Indie author, Laura Elliott. Her first book Winnemucca is now available for purchase on the virtual shelves of Amazon and in the Wounded Warriors SIGNED edition, Laura donates $1 of her proceeds to the Wounded Warriors Project in honor of her nephew who was seriously wounded in Afghanistan. To learn more, visit this television report.
Now, about Laura. I gave her a huge list of questions and asked her to pick 10 that she would like to answer for you. Here are her choices and her answers:
These are great questions, Michelle! Thanks for the interview.
1. In one short sentence, tell us about your book.
Winnemucca is about a teenage girl's enchanted road trip to her true self no matter who or what tries to stop her.
2. What inspired your story?
I'm fascinated by how the footsteps of our ancestors follow us into the present. I wanted to explore a girl whose life imitated a mother she never knew. I wanted to explore the concept of road blood––a person drawn to the road for answers––and the desperation that comes with the desire to get to the heart of the truth, no matter how far you have to go to get it.
3. If your book were to be made into a movie, who would you cast to play your main characters?
GINNY - EMMA STONE
BOBBY - ZAC EFRON
CLYDE - CHASE CRAWFORD
SUPERSTAR - EMILE HIRSCH
LIZZY - CAREY MULLIGAN
CARLOS - JAVIER BARDEM
ESPY - SHAKIRA
DOLLY - SUSAN SARANDON
EARL - TOMMY LEE JONES
FAIRY TRUCK DRIVER – THE GHOST OF JOHNNY CASH
4. When did you first begin writing?
When I had a problem so big that I didn't know how to solve it, I picked up a pen and started writing and I never stopped.
5. What has been the biggest influence to your career as a writer?
My husband and two daughters because they inspire me every day to follow my dreams.
6. What made you choose this genre?
I think my mom and dad [now 83 and 87] have a lot to do with why I write what I write. They both have had unspeakable tragedy in their lives––my father was a P.O.W. in WWII, and they always have had a beautiful way of seeing the world in spite of all that's happened to them. I hope my writing might help people discover the real magic in the world. I honestly believe in the magic of our perceptions. That's why I write magical realism.
7. What is your favorite book?
I have SOOOO many. But one of my all-time faves is THE WITCH'S HAT
by Tony Johnston, Margot Tomes. Because I used to read it aloud to my girl's when they were little and we would giggle and giggle. And, of course, it's about a witch and the unexpected.
8. Who is your favorite author and why?
This is such a hard question. I like to say that Gabriel García Márquez and Fannie Flagg are my touchstones because their writing lures me body and soul into worlds I can hardly guess at but also, their voices are like having a good friend tell me a story at my kitchen table over coffee. And that's the kind of story I get wrapped up in. I love when I read a book and feel it's speaking only to me.
9. Favorite saying?
"The worm always turns." [my mother-in-law always says this when things might not being going the way you want them too. She's very wise and a great Nanny to my girls.]
10. Why YA?
Because it is the crossroads and it's a time in life when you are trying to figure out who you are when everyone else tries to tell you what to be. There are so many firsts and so many lasts. It's horrible-wonderful and that's what I enjoy writing about. It's a time in life when everything is all in front of you. You can be anyone. Do anything. It's wide open.
Thanks for all of your support Michelle!
:Laura
Winnemucca is a young-adult small-town fairy tale about a teenage girl's enchanted road trip to her true self no matter who or what tries to stop her.
One mistake will change Ginny's life forever.
One answer will set her free.
Once upon a time Ginny's road blood ripened, the day she got wise to love. Engaged to the high school quarterback, his quarter-carat ring and enchanting smile should have been enough for her. But, she stands him up and takes a walk where every step questions her happily ever after gone-bad and the fate of the mother she never knew. The mother her father refuses to talk about. Ginny fights to untangle her big, fat, lie-of-a-life on an enchanted road trip to Winnemucca, where she believes all her answers lie. She must solve the riddle of her past and outrun everyone who wants a piece of her future, including a man determined to see she never has one. When fear's as blind as love, how far would you go to find the flesh-and-blood reality of your own happily ever after?
My review of Winnemucca is this:
Doesn't everybody want to find that magical place in life that's uniquely their own? That place that feels so right that it resonates truth somewhere deep down in our soul? Well so does Ginny, only every detail of her life has been planned by others and all with very little thought to what feels right to her.
Laura Elliott takes us on a journey of self-discovery as told through the amazingly profound introspection of a young girl as she finds wisdom, truth, and happiness in a life that's much more magical than anything she ever could've anticipated. Elliott's voice is so unique and captivating, her turn of phrase so poetic and delightful, that it makes this story seem mystical and transcendent in a way that I've not read before. I look forward to her future works to see what philosophical gems and charming use of language she might enchant me with next.
You can find Laura on her blog or her website. Go say hi!
Alright, y'all, thanks for stopping by and, as always, happy reading!
Now, about Laura. I gave her a huge list of questions and asked her to pick 10 that she would like to answer for you. Here are her choices and her answers:
These are great questions, Michelle! Thanks for the interview.
1. In one short sentence, tell us about your book.
Winnemucca is about a teenage girl's enchanted road trip to her true self no matter who or what tries to stop her.
2. What inspired your story?
I'm fascinated by how the footsteps of our ancestors follow us into the present. I wanted to explore a girl whose life imitated a mother she never knew. I wanted to explore the concept of road blood––a person drawn to the road for answers––and the desperation that comes with the desire to get to the heart of the truth, no matter how far you have to go to get it.
3. If your book were to be made into a movie, who would you cast to play your main characters?
GINNY - EMMA STONE
BOBBY - ZAC EFRON
CLYDE - CHASE CRAWFORD
SUPERSTAR - EMILE HIRSCH
LIZZY - CAREY MULLIGAN
CARLOS - JAVIER BARDEM
ESPY - SHAKIRA
DOLLY - SUSAN SARANDON
EARL - TOMMY LEE JONES
FAIRY TRUCK DRIVER – THE GHOST OF JOHNNY CASH
4. When did you first begin writing?
When I had a problem so big that I didn't know how to solve it, I picked up a pen and started writing and I never stopped.
5. What has been the biggest influence to your career as a writer?
My husband and two daughters because they inspire me every day to follow my dreams.
6. What made you choose this genre?
I think my mom and dad [now 83 and 87] have a lot to do with why I write what I write. They both have had unspeakable tragedy in their lives––my father was a P.O.W. in WWII, and they always have had a beautiful way of seeing the world in spite of all that's happened to them. I hope my writing might help people discover the real magic in the world. I honestly believe in the magic of our perceptions. That's why I write magical realism.
7. What is your favorite book?
I have SOOOO many. But one of my all-time faves is THE WITCH'S HAT
by Tony Johnston, Margot Tomes. Because I used to read it aloud to my girl's when they were little and we would giggle and giggle. And, of course, it's about a witch and the unexpected.
8. Who is your favorite author and why?
This is such a hard question. I like to say that Gabriel García Márquez and Fannie Flagg are my touchstones because their writing lures me body and soul into worlds I can hardly guess at but also, their voices are like having a good friend tell me a story at my kitchen table over coffee. And that's the kind of story I get wrapped up in. I love when I read a book and feel it's speaking only to me.
9. Favorite saying?
"The worm always turns." [my mother-in-law always says this when things might not being going the way you want them too. She's very wise and a great Nanny to my girls.]
10. Why YA?
Because it is the crossroads and it's a time in life when you are trying to figure out who you are when everyone else tries to tell you what to be. There are so many firsts and so many lasts. It's horrible-wonderful and that's what I enjoy writing about. It's a time in life when everything is all in front of you. You can be anyone. Do anything. It's wide open.
Thanks for all of your support Michelle!
:Laura
Winnemucca is a young-adult small-town fairy tale about a teenage girl's enchanted road trip to her true self no matter who or what tries to stop her.
One mistake will change Ginny's life forever.
One answer will set her free.
Once upon a time Ginny's road blood ripened, the day she got wise to love. Engaged to the high school quarterback, his quarter-carat ring and enchanting smile should have been enough for her. But, she stands him up and takes a walk where every step questions her happily ever after gone-bad and the fate of the mother she never knew. The mother her father refuses to talk about. Ginny fights to untangle her big, fat, lie-of-a-life on an enchanted road trip to Winnemucca, where she believes all her answers lie. She must solve the riddle of her past and outrun everyone who wants a piece of her future, including a man determined to see she never has one. When fear's as blind as love, how far would you go to find the flesh-and-blood reality of your own happily ever after?
My review of Winnemucca is this:
Doesn't everybody want to find that magical place in life that's uniquely their own? That place that feels so right that it resonates truth somewhere deep down in our soul? Well so does Ginny, only every detail of her life has been planned by others and all with very little thought to what feels right to her.
Laura Elliott takes us on a journey of self-discovery as told through the amazingly profound introspection of a young girl as she finds wisdom, truth, and happiness in a life that's much more magical than anything she ever could've anticipated. Elliott's voice is so unique and captivating, her turn of phrase so poetic and delightful, that it makes this story seem mystical and transcendent in a way that I've not read before. I look forward to her future works to see what philosophical gems and charming use of language she might enchant me with next.
You can find Laura on her blog or her website. Go say hi!
Alright, y'all, thanks for stopping by and, as always, happy reading!
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