Author Interview + Giveaway: Elle Strauss, author of Clockwise

Elle Strauss, the author of Clockwise, drops by The Fairytale Nerd for an author interview and an eBook giveaway! She's also going to talk about why writing about history is cool. By the way, the print copy of Clockwise will be out on November 21st!

I write time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. I'm a married mom of four, and live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, famous for beaches and vineyards. I'm fond of Lindt's sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. My YA rom/com time-travel CLOCKWISE is now available on Amazon, B&N and other sites!

Stalk her here: Twitter Facebook Blog

Welcome to The Fairytale Nerd! how are you today?
I love my job, so I'm great!

Tell me about your book.
CLOCKWISE is about a teen time traveler who accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.

What is the message (from your books) that you want to convey to your readers?
Well, interwoven in all the fun and frivolity is a message about equality. There's actually a strong social issues theme surrounding race.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I sit on a memory foam travel neck pillow to ease butt pain. :)

What scares you the most?
About writing? or life? I'm really not a fearful person, but I guess my deep fear right now is not succeeding at my career goals.

Who is your hero in real life? What about in books?
In real life I would say my Canadian friends Mark and Coreen Biech who have served the poor in Romania for several years. In books, non-fiction my hero is Jesus from the Bible, and in fiction Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.

The one who loves you or the one you love?
The one I love.

Batman or Superman?
Batman

Apartment or dorm?
Apartment

Viral epidemic or nuclear explosion?
Nuclear explosion.

Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia?
The Chronicles of Narnia

Fantasy or reality?
Reality

Blind or deaf?
Blind

Christmas or Halloween?
Christmas

What is your next project?
I'm releasing my second book this December, called PLAYING WITH MATCHES. It's about a boy who grows up in Hitler Youth but begins to reject the propaganda.

Now let's hear what Elle has to say about writing...

Why Writing History Is Cool.

I suppose it's fair to say that the older I got the more interested in history I became. It's the ultimate study in human nature, how man/womankind responds to stressful, unpleasant or unusual situations and circumstances. I think this is why there is such a huge fascination with WW2. How could human beings behave that way? Some to become monsters with the desire for ethnic cleansing, and others prompted to push science to its limits by splitting the atom.

Recent history and ancient history are both fascinating to me and as a writer, delving into historical aspects for research is more than just fact finding. It's about discovering the heart of my characters in the midst. Because as much as some things change over time, especially in the areas of information and technology, the basic wants and needs of people do not. No matter how far back you search, men and women have looked for meaning and purpose in life. They've struggled with greed and lust, anger, betrayal, the desire to succeed and to be loved.

Writing historical fiction has caused me to be a continuous student. I've studied in depth subjects like ancient Rome, World War 2 and Hitler Youth. Writing time travel allows me to mix contemporary characters with my love of history. For CLOCKWISE I studied up on life in the 19th century, the civil war and another era I can't say (spoiler alert). I'm working on a companion book that's taking me into the 1950's.

BUY

Clockwise

by Elle Strauss

Boy watching with her best friend would be enough excitement for fifteen year old Casey Donavan. She doesn't even mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn’t have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century!

When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, the unthinkable happens--she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just ‘brotherly’ protectiveness?

When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate practically the flag flying from the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.

Interested in this book? 
Fill out the form for a chance to win a eBook of Clockwise!