Wednesday, April 3, 2013

INTERVIEW WITH KELLY ELLIOT, AUTHOR OF "WANTED" AND "SAVED"

Kelly Elliott is not just an AMAZING author, she is a good friend of mine!!! 
Many of you have read Wanted, so you probably have fallen in love with Drew "Gunner" Matthews and his best friend, Jefferson Johnson. 


SYNOPSIS:

Verbally abused by her mother for years, 18-year-old Ellie Johnson always believed she would never be loved or wanted by anyone. She focused all of her attention on her grades and getting into the University of Texas to start a new life away from her mother.

The last thing Ellie expected was to fall in love with Gunner Mathews, a starting linebacker for the University of Texas football team and not to mention, her brother's best friend.

Gunner only has two passions in life, football and his grandfather’s ranch, until he falls for his best friends little sister. He will stop at nothing to show Ellie how much he wants her, even if it means he has to move faster than she would like.

Gunner knows they are meant to be together forever, but Ellie keeps denying her feelings out of fear of being hurt again. Every time he gets close to winning her love, something pushes her away again. Will Ellie ever be able to let go of the past and let him into her heart, and will Gunner be patient enough to wait for her?




"SAVED" is the 2nd Book in the Series featuring Jeff and Ari's story.


SYNOPSIS:  Arianna and Jefferson’s love is true but will it be enough? Ari who comes from a loving home with a family who has had more than their share of difficulties, is faced with possibly losing the love of her life. All she dreams of is growing old and having children with Jeff, but a family history and a conniving Rebecca could shatter that dream.  Trying to support Jeff and cope with all the truths and possibilities of her own destiny may prove to be more than one person can handle.


Jeff’s dream is to raise horses on his ranch in Mason with the only women who has ever filled his heart and soul. But he’s running the risk of losing her by trying to be the man he knows he should be by taking on his responsibilities. He’s completely bewitched by the passionate and never outspoken Ari, but needs to do right for the child that could possibly be his.



Despite all the odds stacked against them can their relationship be…..SAVED?






First and foremost we want to thank Kelly for agreeing to this interview with Naughty and Nice Book Blog.   

Introduction:

Sometimes in life you stumble across someone who makes you feel like they genuinely care about you & what you have to say. This can happen in the most unlikely of places, in the most unlikely ways, & at the best of times.

On November 30, 2012 I read this book. Then I read it again & again.  That book was Wanted by Kelly Elliott. About a month & a half after I read Wanted for the first time I wanted to know if there was going to be a second book. This led me to sending Kelly a message telling her that I enjoyed her book & was looking forward to the next. I started watching her author page on Facebook & joined the Wanted discussion group. Then we became “friends” on our personal Facebook pages.

I began to notice how positive & upbeat she always is. Anyone who knows me knows that if not my personality. That impressed me almost as much as her creative uses of the word Fuck. The past few years had been rough for my health & my self-image. While being pregnant I had developed Gestational Diabetes. Unfortunately my numbers never went down to where they should be. I was depressed about what I felt like was the inevitable. I met a few other people through Kelly who shared a lot of the same positive outlook.

You are probably thinking why is she telling us all of this? Isn’t this interview about Kelly? Yes, it is, but what I want you to see is the Kelly behind the book that I have been fortunate enough to get to know.

Kelly is always encouraging her fans. She spends so much time responding to as many as she can while still trying to write books & more importantly being a wife, mother, sister, friend, & mentor.

How do I see Kelly Elliott? I see her as a wonderful lady who writes amazing, touching stories that connect with a reader. I see her as someone who always has the time for someone else, even when she really doesn't have the time.  I see her as a loyal friend. I see her as a source of inspiration & hope. You see, somehow following post of Facebook led to a friendship that gave me strength to not give into what I thought was the inevitable. What is Kelly to me? I’m happy to say a friend.

I can't wait to see her success continue to grow!
Liz 


1.  How did you come up with the title of your books Wanted, Saved and Faithful? 
   
I knew I was going to title the first book Wanted just because of the song. Saved and Faithful just hit me while I was writing. I knew I wanted to do a story for both Jeff and Ari and Josh and Heather.  The idea for both couples stories is what helped me come up with the titles.

2.  Who is your favorite character from your books and why? 
 
Oh I love them all and couldn’t pick a favorite. I love each one for different reasons.  I love Ellie and how she overcomes her fears, I love Ari….her spunk makes me smile.  I love Heather and how innocent she is. I love Jeff’s sense of humor. I love Gunner because he is so damn romantic and Josh…well hell….I just love that boy!

3.  How about your least favorite character and why?  
 
Rebecca……I shall remain silent on that one!

4.  If you could change ONE thing about your novel, WANTED what would it be?  Why?
 
I wouldn’t change anything about the story at all. The only thing I would do different is have it professionally edited before I published it. That is life though…we live and learn.
 

5. If you could change ONE thing about your novel, SAVED what would it be?  Why?
 
I wouldn’t change anything.  I may change things as I go along (okay I do that a lot) but I would never go back and change anything major. What is down on paper is what my mind was thinking at the time. To me that means something…..
 
6.  Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? 

There a number of things in both Wanted and Saved that is based on real life experiences. Some I would rather keep personal and some I don’t mind sharing.  A lot of what happens between Gunner/Ellie  and Jeff/Ari were taken from my life with my husband. Jeff leaning in while Ari was standing against her Jeep so he could get his tea…she thought he was going to kiss her. Darrin did almost the exact same thing to me before we started dating. Took my breath away, I will never forget it. Same holds true in Saved. I used real life experiences as well. I think as a writer you can’t help but add a bit of yourself to the story.  At least for me it is that way.

I can say that Ellie is not based off of me….I’m very similar in ways to Ellie but my mother was never verbally abusive to me.  I’m also very similar to Ari. There is a little bit of me in both.

7.  Is there a particular author or authors that have influenced you to write?
 
I’m not sure if there are any that really “influenced” me to write. I’ve always wanted to write since I can remember.  I do have a few authors who I look up to and I think are amazing talented writers.

8.  While writing Wanted or Saved did you ever experience writer’s block, and if so what did you do to get your creative juices flowing again?

I never did really experience writer’s block. There were a few times I needed to get up and walk away because of something I wrote that upset me. I usually go for a hike when I feel like I need to get the creative juices going but no; I’ve never had a moment where I just couldn’t write.  I’ve stared at the screen for a few minutes wondering what the hell just happened when I wrote something totally unexpected though!

 9.  Can you describe a day in the life of Kelly Elliott for us?
 
Umm….a day in my life? Well, I usually get up first and try to get a few things done online, while I totally neglect all house work, then I wake up Lauren. Take her to school, go to the gym and then if I’m writing I either hit a Starbucks or I go back home and write. If I’m not writing I’m running errands. If it is a day Darrin is off we try to do something together. My favorite thing to do with him is go to a state park and go hiking. It’s nice to be away from the world…just me and my cowboy.

10. When and where do you write (in your writers cave or someplace else)?

I try to write when Lauren is at school and Darrin is at work.  I usually write at my kitchen table or on my back porch.
 
11.  Have you become more guarded in your interactions with fans as your readership has increased?

Nope…..what you see if what you get.

12.  Now that you are a published author, has your life changed any?

LOL! Yes! I’m on Facebook a lot more. My life is a bit busier, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

13.  How do you balance everything? Being a wife, a mother and now a published Author?

When I figure that one out I’ll let you know!

14. Is it hard to hear the critiques of your books?

Not when it is constructive criticism, no. I take those and really try to work on it. When it is just mean plain ‘ole hatefulness….yes. It’s very hard.

15.  What is your writing process? Do you have an outline or do you fly by the seat of your pants & see what comes?

I fly by the seat of my pants. I write chapter to chapter and it just comes as I go. I do get ideas that I will write down though. I don’t always use them but they most always lead to other ideas.

16.  What has been her favorite part about writing & publishing the books Wanted and now Saved?

Meeting new people. Being able to let my creative juices flow…..it’s been very freeing in a sense.

17.   Do you still get the same thrill when you sit down to write as you did when you wrote Wanted now that people have expectations?

Yep…even more.

 18. Which scenes were the hardest to write?

The prologue for Wanted was hard. There is a few scenes in Saved that were very hard for me write as well.

19.  Do we get the answer to Jefferson's paternity question in Saved?

Yep ;-)

20.  Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book, Saved?

In this book Ari is probably more like me than people will realize. There is also a scene I wrote between Ari and Ellie that really happened between me and the real life BFF Ari.

21.  Have your goals changed from when you wrote Wanted to when you wrote Saved?

No not really. My goal as always been if the book reaches and touches just one person…I feel like I’ve accomplished something.

22. Part 1  All of your lead female characters were virgins until ending up in permanent relationships with older experienced men, was this intentional?

Yes it was.

22. Part 2 Why?
 Because to many people think all girls are sluts these days...not true. I know three girls right...two are 19 and one is 24 that are virgins....they are waiting for the right guy...it really does happen. I wanted to show that...whether people choice to believe it or not is up to them!

 23.       Have you ever or would you ever create a character to represent someone you didn't like & then give them a completely shitty time?

No never. Karma…….

24.  Is Fergie going to make an appearance in the book now that she has joined the Elliott family?

LOL!!! I didn’t think about it but maybe in Faithful she will!

25.    How do you keep your private life private while still connecting with fans on a personal level?

It’s hard but there are some things about me I want to keep for just those who are close to me. I don’t want to lose myself in all of this. It’s hard though to not share ….I love interacting with people but trust me....I’m a very private person.

That is what is so wonderful about writing though…you don’t even know it but y’all really are getting a huge piece of me in every book.

26.    I've heard that you are a great mentor & resource for aspiring writers.  

Really? Well that makes me smile hard!

27.  What advice would you have for those who are looking to follow in your path?

To write for yourself and only yourself. It’s your story to tell…..no one else’s. If they don’t like it they have the choice to set the book down and move on. Have fun with it….enjoy it. It shouldn’t be a choir and it certainly should never feel forced.

28.  What is your favorite treat?

Chocolate Mousse :)

29.   If you were stranded on an island which book could you read over & over again? 

Oh. My. God. You did not ask me to pick just one book??!!
Pride and Prejudice
 
30.  If you could take a trip right now, would you take the time to plan out every detail or would you throw a dart at the map & see where it takes you?

I could see me throwing a dart on the map. I’m easy to please…I love to travel. If you handed me plane tickets right now I wouldn’t even care where they were to. Okay…I lied…you better not send my ass somewhere cold.

31.   Describe your book in 140 characters or less.

Umm….seeing that I’m in the middle of doing  edits for Saved and my mind is blank on Wanted right now…I’m gonna pass on this one.  I might end up saying something like…...
It’s a pretty cool book…check it out……or some shit like that!

32.  What would be the most surprising thing for people to know about you?

I refuse to swim in water I cannot see through! I love the ocean…but I am deathly afraid of it.

33.   What is your favorite word?
Faith

34. Do you have any other book ideas after Faithful is done?

Yep…two other book ideas for sure.

35.  What do you do to destress?

Workout and go for hikes.

36.  If you had an opportunity to relive one part of your past, what would it be?
I wouldn’t want to. I’m the person I am because of my past…the good and the bad.

And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:

There is a lot more sex in this book…..does that count?! ;-)



As you can see, Kelly was a little vague with a few of her answers.  Stop by here next week to see what she has to say once you have had a chance to read "SAVED"....  

 





 

2 comments:

  1. Awesome interview with an awesome person and writer!! Loved it!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful interview... Kelly seems like all she is cracked up to be. I have fell in love with her stories and look forward to many more... Good luck Kelly!

    ReplyDelete