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! :)

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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.

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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