Today I welcome Emily Alter to the blog to answer a few questions
for Author Interview³.
Emily Alter Author Interview³
1) Tell us 3 fun facts about your writing history
- I started writing fanfic--short stories (I was lucky if I reached the end of a page) about Xena: Warrior Princess--when I was too young to fully understand what I was watching (or to remember my age).
- I don’t mind writing with someone else in the room, but I can’t do it if a TV is on to save my life (it doesn’t matter that I don’t like 99% of what’s in it).
- I sometimes write in the middle of classes in college and so everyone thinks I’m such a dedicated A+ student because of how I won’t stop taking notes.
2) Describe your writing style in 3 words
Chatty, defiant (kind of? sometimes?) and… intimate? (at least that’s what I’d like to think?).
3) Name 3 of your literary influences
Disclaimer: This doesn’t mean that my writing resembles theirs in any way, but…
- Federico García Lorca,
- Lena Blau (or, the only book of hers I’ve read… But what a book), and…
- Harper Lee? (Although I haven’t read Go Set a Watchman yet, but… that’s a different story).
4) Share your 3 favourite books
Before I answer, can I just say I hate this question and I’m crying at the prospect of having to choose?
- This Alien Feeling by Alessandra Hazard.
- Broken by Nicola Haken.
- The Making of Us by Debbie McGowan
5) What are your 3 essential writing tools?
A blanket (if not two--yes, even in the middle of summer), water (is this when I tell kids to stay hydrated?) and… Pages (I guess? I’m kind of low maintenance).
6) Where are your 3 favourite places to write?
I either write home, at college or in the bus, but…
Starbucks (how much of a cliché does that make me?), the beach (no, it’s not practical, but I’ve always wanted to) and some high location (like the highest apartment in a skyscraper, gazing through a full length window).
7) Name 3 items on your writing wish list
- There is a plot bunny I have involving an alternate universe with angels, demons, etc., but I always get stuck and have to leave it for another time. One day, though.
- Reaching the top 10 (in my genre) … Or is that too shallow?
- Going to GRL and/or EuroPride Con… Someday.
8) What are your top 3 tips for aspiring writers?
This is weird because I would be one of the people reading this advice not so long ago but…
1. Honestly, keep writing, as much as you can, even if you delete half of it the next day.
2. Network. Talk to people in the business and have them beta read your work. Listen to what they say, and take it in consideration, but stay true to who you are as a writer.
3. Create a calendar. You’ll need to find a balance between social networking, editing, and writing.
9) Tell us 3 of your writing plans for the year ahead
- I have to finish edits on Resolve (Demands #2, aka Cole’s story) and send it to betas, proof-readers, etc.
- Finishing my current WIP: Confidence (Demands #3, aka Alexis’ story).
- Hopefully have both Resolve and Confidence published or on the way of being published by the end of the year? (And then I’d have to tackle Stability--Paige’s book--and Direction--Garrett’s).
10) Tell us about your latest release
On August 6th, I released Trust (Demands #1). It’s the story of two juniors in Psychology (because that’s what I was when I started writing it and I was in need of some catharsis) having to balance between college, a social life, perhaps a relationship, and mental health.
Mason is a twenty-one-year-old boy with generalized anxiety disorder who’s just transferred to Brooklyn College and is struggling to meet people and manage the anxiety this big change has brought with it. Elijah is twenty, pan and proud, but burnt out from college. He’s also a caretaker, and someone who’s agreed relationships aren’t for him while he has to deal with classes and his volunteer shifts at a LGBTQ+ centre. This will all clash with Mason, who (a) doesn’t want to be taken care of, and (b) wants more than a no-strings-attached relationship with Elijah.
As for the series, one way of putting it is to say that Demands follows the early twenties of a diverse, inclusive group of friends as they tackle… adulting (?)… and start new relationships in which not only love will be demanded.
Trust
Demands #1
Emily Alter
6 August 2018
71,000 words
Buy from Amazon
For a relationship to work, it is not just love which is demanded. Trust is, too.
Elijah is a student who tries too hard, who signs up for everything, and who can't always take the responsibility that comes with it. The new, anxiety-riddled guy ticks all the boxes for Elijah's inner caretaker, but not everyone wants to be taken care of.
Mason's the one who needs perfect grades and gets too anxious at the idea of missing a class. He keeps his gaze down and tries not to attract attention, while yearning for someone to reach out to him.
When Mason is accidentally shoved into Elijah's chest, there's a spark ... and one big problem. Elijah has sworn off relationships in college and Mason wants the real thing. It’s clear there’s an attraction between them, maybe even love, but can either guy learn to trust the other enough to make things work?
Trust is the 1st book of the Demands series. Although they can be read as standalones, characters from previous books will make multiple appearances throughout the series.
* Content warning: One of the MCs has to cope with the news of a (minor) background character's suicide *
About the Author
Emily Alter is a pansexual author of LGBTQ+ romance. She lives in Spain, although most of her time is spent in an imaginary world with her characters.
A hopeless romantic, and a psychology student, writing characters has always called to her. Writing romance, the kind she is represented in, seems the perfect combination of the three things she's the most passionate about.
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