Author Interview with Elise Kova

Hi guys! I'm ending this week with an awesome author interview with one of my favorite authors, Elise Kova! We chat about the spin-off series she's currently working on, the importance of book covers, and more, so make sure to keep reading! 

Elise Kova is the USA Today bestselling author of fantasy stories filled with magic and romance.

In her past lives, she has graduated from an MBA program, lived in Japan for a bit, and worked for a Fortune 500 technology company. However, she finds herself much happier in her current reincarnation as full-time author. When not writing, she can usually be found playing video games, drawing, watching anime, or talking with readers on social media. She's happy to call Saint Petersburg, Florida, her home, but is always looking forward to her next trip.

Her debut series was Air Awakens. Since then she's penned the dark fantasy, the Loom Saga. As well as a co-authored paranormal romance, the Wish Quartet.

What's your favorite thing about your Hogwarts house?

As a Ravenclaw, I think the obvious answer is that I get to be surrounded by books and people who love books. But I also love that most Ravenclaws are all about getting to the facts of the matter and stripping away emotion to make sensible decisions and conduct educated debate... And there are few things I love more than a good debate! 

You're currently working on a spin-off series to Air Awakens. Would you say it's easier or harder to write Vortex Chronicles compared to the original series?

Equally hard in different ways... Air Awakens was my debut series. I pantsed the original drafts (meaning I didn't work from an outline and flew by the seat of my pants) which led to a LOT of work to be done in editing. It was also the first books in that world, so I got to set up a lot.

With Vortex Chronicles, I'm now working in that framework I set up. I have to make sure the books feel right in the world and don't have continuity errors. I also have to make good on some of the foreshadowing I set up. So it's a lot more balls to juggle. 

But, I'm a better author now than I was 7 years ago when I was first writing the Air Awakens series, so these challenges are much less daunting.

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but I think we can all admit to have done so at some point. How important is the cover to you as an author?

Incredibly important. Really, for the exact reason you state. Everyone does judge a book by its cover... and I'd say more often than not.

As an author, the cover is the most important aspect of marketing. It needs to say to the right type of reader "buy me, you'll like this" and reflect the story within. One way to think of it is like a billboard for your book.

What's your favorite love story (book or movie)?

I think it's a tossup between Romeo & Juliet (I love the 1996 version with DiCaprio and Danes), Pride & Prejudice, and The Princess Bride. 

It's not a book or movie... but I also always loved the myth of the lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as Psyche and Eros.

Are all these cliche? Yes, likely. But ask an honest question and get an honest answer.

Do you have any quirky reading or writing habits?

I have 3 devices I can write on: A big all in one PC that never leaves my desk, a laptop, and an iPad. I find that once I begin to find my stride on a manuscript on one of these devices I have to finish the manuscript on that same device.

So if I start really getting a bunch of words written on my iPad, I have to finish writing that book on my iPad. There's some mental block if I try to switch to my laptop or PC.

Don't ask, I don't know why I am the way I am!

How do you pick names for your characters? Do any of them have any special meaning?

Sometimes it's SO HARD because I feel like I've thought of every name. (Clearly, I have not thought of every name. But in the moment, the blinking cursor tells me otherwise.)

When I first started writing I just went with names that felt right or sounded good, but as I've continued I've tried to be more sensible in having a convention for my names so they're consistent to the worlds they belong to.

As far as special meaning... Powell from my Loom Saga holds a really special place in my heart. Not because of the name Powell. But because of what I'd named the character in my original draft.... Though, the details of that become personal. ;)

Chosen Champion (Vortex Chronicles #2)
by Elise Kova
Publication date: 
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

A princess on the run, with enemies on all sides...

Vi Solaris is on the eve of getting everything she’s ever wanted—her family, her home, her throne—and to save the world she’s going to have to give it all up.

The Empire sees her as their Crown Princess, returning at long last. But Vi only sees visions of fate guiding her to the world’s gruesome end. Across the sea is a man who holds the keys to deciphering her premonitions and thwarting the ancient evil ravaging their world. But to get to him, Vi will have to contend with enemies of the crown, romance she didn’t expect, sorcerer pirates, and a betrayal she never saw coming.

She will learn the hard way that some evils never die... They only bide their time...

Return to Solaris in the second book of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles, a young adult epic fantasy filled with even more magic, adventure, and romance. Get ready for twists you never saw coming that will keep you up all night reading!

Buy the book!

Buy Vortex Visions!