Elizabeth Miles FURY interview and giveaway

I was so excited to chat with Elizabeth Miles, author of FURY, a wonderfully dark book with scandal, intrigue, and whispered secrets. The second book in the series, ENVY, will be available 9/4.

After the interview leave a comment for a chance to win FURY. And if you Tweet or Facebook this link, you'll get another entry. Just say which you did. Contest ends on midnight, May 10th.

Without further adieu, please meet Elizabeth Miles.

1. What is your favorite scene in your book FURY?

I really enjoyed writing the action-packed scene that takes place in Boston. Most of the book takes place in Ascension, a moody, made-up town in Southern Maine. Having lived in Boston (and Cambridge, and Somerville) myself, it was fun to explore a different setting -- and to give my protagonists a new place to play. Plus, that chapter gives us a glimpse into Em and JD's chemistry...and I'm a sucker for romance.

2. Weirdest idea for a novel?

On my Facebook feed earlier, someone was talking about the anthropomorphization of objects -- a boy who was turned into a button, for example, and told his story from the button-perspective. How about a novel narrated by a STOP sign? Would love to hear your readers' ideas in the comments. (I bet the stop sign near my touristy rental home in Maine has some amazing stories to tell. I think it's a great idea!)

3. Favorite TV show?

This is hard. I really love a lot of TV shows (in fact, I far prefer TV series' to movies!). Recent faves include Game of Thrones and Friday Night Lights; all-time obsessions include Deadwood, Veronica Mars, and....yes, I'll admit it: Beverly Hills, 90210!

4. Do you find reading as enjoyable as you did before you became a writer?

As an only child who grew up surrounded by books, I will always love to read. I'll admit that the demon voices of comparison occasionally ruin my reading experience ("how does this writer make it look so easy??" "why didn't I think of this wonderful and gripping plot??" blah blah blah), but in general I do find reading as enjoyable, relaxing, transformative, and illuminating as ever.

5. What do you and fellow author Lauren Oliver chat about when you think no one is listening?

Boys. Well, these days we are both seriously involved with *men*, so I guess the subject matter has shifted slightly. But our conversations at 29 are similar to the ones we had at 15 -- they often veer toward the complicated relationship stuff, the ugly and beautiful parts of being in love. That or food. We both really love cooking, eating, and talking about food.

6. What writing advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time five years?

How about three pieces of advice?

1) Read. Read so much, of all different genres. Absorb. Dissect. Learn.

2) Be okay with feeling terrible -- sometimes. You will write crap. That's okay. Trust yourself (and your editors/crit group/beta readers) enough to know that a first draft is just a starting point.

3) Start writing NOW. Don't be scared. Stop putting things off.

(I wrote some more writing tips at my blog last year: http://www.elizabethmilesbooks.com/2011/11/top-five-writing-tips-or-out-list.html.)

Thank you for joining us today, Elizabeth! It has been an honor.

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