Interview with an Author

I would like to present to you a good friend of mine and a great critique partner - Eliza Tilton!  She has agreed to an interview here and to give away a copy of her eBook to a lucky commentor (yes, I love make up new words if they fit the context).  All you need to do is leave a comment, but make sure it includes your email address so we can contact you.  

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Eliza Tilton is the author of the YA Fantasy, Broken Forest, published by Curiosity Quills Press. You can find her blogging about video games and writing on her blog and doing bi-weekly posts on author media over at YAStands.

She graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull.

Twitter / Tumblr / Website  / Pinterest / Facebook

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / KOBO Goodreads

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Onward to the questions...

Kissed by Literature: What do you want the audience to know about you as an author?

Eliza Tilton: I’m a proud nerd who plays too many video games and still thinks tabletop Dungeons and Dragons is the best party game. Writing gives me a chance to explore all those fantasy themes and more.

KBL: What do you want the world to know about your books?

ET: Broken Forest is a high fantasy told with three alternating POVS: the hero, the kidnapped girl and the enchanting lord who may or may not be human. It’s a redemptive tale that blends adventure and romance into a fast paced read with deep emotion--a story of siblings, loss, love and strength.

KBL: When did you decide to become an author?

ET: I’ve always wanted to be an author, but didn’t get serious about it until 2008 when I took a long distance course called Writing for Children. While the course taught me the basics, it didn’t give me the encouragement and drive to keep moving forward. The writing community, especially Query Tracker, taught me a lot about publishing, how to write a query, and connected me with other great writers, like you!

KBL: What has your process into the world of writing been like?

ET: I did a long detailed post on my blog about my journey. You can read it here. It was a mix of timing, YALitchat and great writing.

KBL: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

ET: Be patient. I’m always in a rush. Mostly because I’m afraid someone will steal my ideas…I know…paranoid. BECAUSE I had zero patience, I queried too early and made too many mistakes. Don’t be in a rush. Take the time to think about your words and your goals.

KBL: What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

ET: I went to a local writing guild and someone was giving a girl a critique on her work. He said she should read about screenwriting. In screenwriting, every scene has one focal point. In each chapter, you should do the same. The advice made a lot of sense and I try and always put it into use when writing.

KBL: Tell us about your book cover.

ET: My publisher decided to do a cover change. They received feedback from readers that the original cover resembled manga. I did my own digging and came to the same conclusion. When I thought about the cover, an image of Jeslyn sitting in the forest came to mind. I explained what I envisioned and the cover artist nailed it. If you look closely, you can see the forest draining her aura.

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Hopeless he'll never be more than the boy who didn't save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables.

And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.

His shape-shifting brethren feed off the auras of humans, and Jeslyn's golden hue is exactly what Lucino needs to increase his power. The longer it takes Avikar to reach her, the more entranced she becomes with Lucino's world, and     the harder it will be for Avikar to set her free.

He failed his family once. He won't fail again.

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Thank you, Eliza, for the wonderful interview!  For those of you who would like the chance to win the eBook, you need to comment by September 30th.  Good luck!