Friday, February 10, 2012

Author Interview: Elisa Ludwig!!

Book: Pretty Crooked
Author: Elisa Ludwig
Series: Pretty Crooked #1
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

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I'm absolutely ecstatic to have the AMAZING author Elisa Ludwig on my blog today! Her debut novel, Pretty Crooked, was a hilarious, heartwarming, and completely entertaining book that made my favouites list immediately.You can read my 5 star review here.

Pretty Crooked revolves around a girl named Willa Fox who moves to an elite prep school and tries to even out the wealth between the rich and the poor. You can think of her as a spunky, fun, and female Robin Hood! :)



Let's meet Elisa!

1. What's the worst piece of advice you've ever received? The best? 
The worst piece of advice was "don't think about your readers when writing." It sounds very pure and lovely but I'm not one of those people who writes only for myself—and if I don't think about my readers how can I possibly entertain them? The best was probably "you should write YA," which the wonderful author Julia Glass told me about six years ago when I took her writing workshop. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here!

2. What gave you the idea to write a book that's inspired lightly by Robin Hood?
My editor was the one who suggested it to me but we were both also thinking a lot about the Barefoot Bandit because he was big on the news and still on the run when I started writing.

3. Would you ever do what Willa did (stealing from the rich and giving to the poor)?
Probably not. It's fun to think about, though.

4. I adored every single character in Pretty Crooked! Were any of them inspired by people you know in real life? 
You know, usually I do draw from people I know at least somewhat but in this case, these were just people in my head. I honestly wish Tre was a real person. I have to admit that he's my favorite character.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing? 
I love to cook, do Crossfit, yoga, watch films, read (of course), travel, look at art and go flea marketing (I'm way more low-budg than Willa!).

6. What are some of your favourite books? Favourite authors? 
In the YA world, I love Sarah Dessen, John Green, Sara Zarr, E. Lockhart, A.S. King and M.T. Anderson. In the wider scheme of things I love Kurt Vonnegut, T.C. Boyle, Alice Munro, George Saunders, Junot Diaz, Tessa Hadley... I better stop before I fill the page.

7. Do you feel like being a writer has changed you at all?
I've always been a writer of *something* whether it was poetry (high school), short stories (college), or newspaper features (my twenties), so being a writer is just part of my life. But being published by HarperCollins? Yeah, that's kind of a dream come true. I don't necessarily feel like my essential self has changed, but it has taken over my daily life and my identity in a deeper way. I used to be afraid to tell people I was writing fiction because I felt like a poseur and now I really own it. I'm an author! (Still feels crazy to type it out.) And being part of this wonderful community of other authors, book lovers, and bloggers has been incredibly rewarding.

8. Can you give us a hint about the sequel, Pretty Sly? ;)
All of the original characters come back but it doesn't take place at Valley Prep. How's that??

 Now for a quickfire round!

1. Chocolate or Vanilla? 
OMG, do we even have to ask? Chocolate. 

2. Bad boys or good boys? 
Essentially good boys with a little streak of bad to keep it interesting. 

3. Best friend or soul mate? 
Soul mate. 

4. E-books or hard copies? 
Hard copies, though I am loving my NOOK. 

5. Vampires or werewolves? 
Neither. Minimally hairy, non-biting humans, please.


Thank you so much for dropping by, Elisa!

You can find her on her website, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook. Pretty Crooked hits the shelves on March 13, 2012, and let me just say that if you haven't already added Elisa's book to your TBR pile, you're totally missing out! ;)

-Mimi


21 comments:

  1. Fabulous interview, Mimi<3 I'm SOOOO excited to read Pretty Crooked! it sounds absolutely AMAZING! :DD hahaaa I totally agree with no.3! Soulmate over best friend;) LOL 'Minimally hairy, non-biting humans' HAHAHAHAHAHA I'm seriously laughing my head off here! Ohhhh that's a FANTASTIC answer! Eeeeee! I LOVE Sarah Dessen as well! But I feel like I'm so clueless since I haven't heard of half the other authors :S eeeepp! Looks like I must read more :S Loved this interview Mimi<3

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  2. Love this interview, Mimi!! I remember how much you love Pretty Crooked and am very excited to read the book. I love reading about authors' favorite books and influences, as well as all the trivia stuff, too. :)

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  3. Bahaha minimally hairy! I <3 Elisa. I have this one off Netgalley and really looking forward to reading it soon. I read her other book June of Rock and it was really fun. It must be a hell of a feeling to get picked up by such a big publisher! Aweome post Mimi <3

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  4. "Neither. Minimally hairy, non-biting humans, please."

    LOVE IT! That made me giggle:) And I'm with Elisa on the chocolate, I'm actually craving some right now since she mentioned it. Chocolate's good for breakfast right? And I was totally unaware there was a sequel, so glad to know we'll get more from these characters!

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  5. This book sounds awesome! Love the interview, Mimi! I think I'll also pick chocolate over vanilla. Are we talking about white chocolate here? <3 It's AMAZING that you post the trailer along the interview! Love love love the trailer, can't wait to read this book! :)

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  6. Fun interview Mimi. I always love the quick fire rounds. I have this book in my TBR ans should be getting to it soon. I am looking forward to it even more now! Have a great weekend!

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  7. A female robin hood, interesting concept. And that is odd advice for someone to give a writer. Especially if they aspire to have someone read their work. I'm glad she ignored it because it seems she has a winner of a book on her hands. Great interview. Thanks for putting this book and author on my radar.

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  8. Great interview! I'm really intrigued by Elisa's little hint about the sequel. I had no idea it wouldn't be taking place at Valley Prep but I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out now! :D I always enjoy finding out more about the authors of my favourite books, so thanks for this! :)

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  9. Ha! I was under the impression that people who like Kurt Vonnegut don't actually admit it. LOL

    Awesome interview. I'd probably never be brave enough to steal from the rich and give to the poor, but you're right, it is fun to think about.
    P.S. I love visiting flea markets too! :)

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  10. This is a really great interview ! I saw the trailer for this book on facebook and it looks really good. I need to buy it :).

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  11. Thank God I decided to wait until now to place my newest book order -- I just pre-ordered this one!! (: I remember reading your amazing review for Pretty Crooked and wanting to read it so bad, but between all the other books I want to read, I almost forgot about this one! Thanks a gajillion for reminding me, Mimi!

    Really sweet interview!! Elisa is definitely rocking the author title and I'm super glad to hear it~~ I'm only a blogger and I already agree that the book world is a wonderful community too! (: <33333333

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  12. I haven't read the book but thank you so much for the interview it's always so interesting!

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  13. It makes perfect sense for you to do this interview because you're the one who made me REALLY want to read Pretty Crooked, haha. I love these questions, especially the first one because you don't hear "worst advice" too often. Also, minimally hairy made me laugh. What a fun interview, Mimi! x

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  14. Ha ha, I loved her answer to the last quick round question. I love Sarah Dessen's books too and with everyone raving about The Fault in Our Stars, I think it's about time that I read a book by John Green. Great interview, Mimi!

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  15. Oooh I love the title of the sequel, I hadn't heard it before! And I love her answer to good boy/bad boy. That is a recipe for DELICIOUS :D I LOVE this interview, such fantastic questions and equally fantastic answers!! So much fun and it's made me even MORE eager to get my greedy mitts on a copy of Pretty Crooked. Hmmm, may possibly have to bribe Willa into stealing one for me. I mean, it's all for a good cause, right?

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  16. I'm glad that you're excited for Richelle Mead new series :D ! I really can't wait ! If you like Richelle Mead's books you should try her other adult series especially her succubus series i'm currently reading it and loving it :).

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  17. Amazing interview, Mimi! I don't think I'd ever heard of this before, but it really sounds like something I'd love. The concept sounds incredibly interesting. Thank you, sweetie! :) (Also, my tbr hates you ;))

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  18. Great interview, Mimi! This sounds like a great book that I have to read! I hope you are having a great week darling! :)
    -Katie @ Magic is in Words

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  19. Lol, on the minimal hair, no biting human one! I love this interview and it makes me even more excited to finally get to pick her book up! :D Aaah, can't wait.

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  20. What a great interview! Fun questions, Mimi. :) I'm a lifelong Robin Hood fangirl, so I'm intrigued by that element of Pretty Crooked. Will have to check it out further...

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  21. Yay!! Loved this interview!! :D I loved her answer: "Neither. Minimally hairy, non-biting humans, please." Agreed! ;)

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Thanks so much for leaving your thoughts! I love hearing what you have to say, and I always try to comment on one of your blog posts in return! :)

It's really nice to meet you!