Q & A with Elle Field

Today I am very happy to welcome Elle Field on Sky's Book Corner, she has a new book and and asked her a few questions about it. 

1.     Did you always dream of being a writer?

Yes! Ever since I can remember I've scribbled down tall tales of magical adventures and damsels in distress. When I got a bit older, I moved on to the adult equivalent of these.

2.     How did your writing career develop?

Between my third and fourth year at uni, when I should have been writing my dissertation, I wrote my first proper book but never did anything with it. After I graduated I had a year out to continue writing, and got nowhere. Finally, three years ago, after a long wait, my first book was published - 2016 sees the publication of my fourth and fifth books!

3.     Your newest novel is called B-Side, what is it about?

B-Side is the spin-off to Lost and tells those events from the perspective of Etta, Felicity’s goddaughter. Etta has an amazing voice and a real passion for jazz, but she hasn’t made her musical dream come true... yet. But, when Etta does get the chance to record a demo with a top producer, this coincides with Felicity’s health rapidly deteriorating, and she tries to blot out her sadness by indulging in drugs... B-Side is definitely grittier than the previous two books in the series!

4.     What was your inspiration for the book?

When I started writing Found, a character kept whispering in my ear... so, I ignored Arielle’s voice and started writing Etta’s story! Arielle really vilifies Etta in Lost, but because the story is told in first-person we never have that balanced view. I loved the idea of rectifying this with Etta's spin-off!

5.     Can you tell us more about the main character(s)?

Etta is sweary, colourful and passionate with a not-so-legal recreational habit(!), a love of jazz music, but she’s actually really vulnerable and fragile. She's had a tough time in life, and when her mum and sister were killed, she formed a strong bond with her godmother, Felicity. Lately though, she feels like she is being replaced by Arielle, her godmother's new business partner, and she's struggling to stay in control...

6.     The book is part of a series, can you tell more about the other books in that series?

Kept begins the Arielle Lockley series and we are first introduced to Arielle when she lives a life of luxury, all paid by her boyfriend, Piers... But, Arielle soon finds herself single, unemployed, and living back at home with her parents - not ideal!

Kept and Lost, the second book in the series, follow Arielle on her journey to get back on the straight and narrow and make her fashion dreams happen. The series concludes with Found, which will be out later in the summer.

7.     Where and when do you write your stories?

I favour writing in the afternoon in my kitchen, which is a real sunspot. I do have a spare bedroom which I meant to set up as a writing room/office, but it just doesn't get that sunshine!

8.     What do you do and enjoy when you’re not writing?

I love reading, playing tourist in London and exploring new countries. I'm a real foodie, and try and cook at least one new recipe a week, and I'm also a big musical theatre fan.

9.     If you could switch places with a character from a book, who would it be and why?

Ooh, I'd switch places with Jessie Jefferson from Paige Toon's Jessie Jefferson series. I'd pick Jessie because who wouldn't want to hang out in L.A. with a rock star dad and cute boys? I imagine it would be a lot of fun!

10.  What books have most influenced your life most?

That summer I wrote my first book, I read Maggie Alderson's Cents and Sensibility which I absolutely adored. On the surface the book comes across as fluffy; dig deeper and you'll find it's clever and captivating writing - that's the type of book I knew I wanted to write. 

I've also been influenced by the books I read as a child because they gave me a love of reading - books by Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, Lois Lowry, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling and many more authors!

11.   What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently editing the final book in the Arielle Lockley series, Found, which will be out later this summer.

12.  What do you enjoy most about writing?

I much prefer the editing stage than writing the first draft because at that point you have the bare bones of the story and it's much easier to put it all together.

13.   Pick three authors you want to have dinner with and tell us why.

I'd go for dinner with Sophie Kinsella, Sara Shepard and George R.R. Martin. We'd talk shopping, Pretty Little Liars, and I'd get George to give us an exact date when the next Game of Thrones book is going to be out!

14.   Imagine B-Side would be turned into a movie, who would you cast for the main characters?

I've said before that I could see Emily Blunt playing Arielle, but for Etta I would cast Nina Dobrev.

15.   Another book you published is Geli Voyante's Hot or Not, can you tell us more about it?

Set in wintry London and sunny South Africa, Geli Voyante's Hot or Not is full of twists and turns, glamour and glitz, and frolics and fashion. Geli, short for Angelica, writes a hot or not column for a national newspaper. As well as scoring plenty of freebies, her job also has the added bonus that she gets to sit next to Theo, the very hot political columnist.

When her arch-nemesis Tiggy Boodles gets engaged, Geli finally tries to convince Theo that she's not as shallow as her light-hearted column suggests and, more importantly, she's the one for him. She soon realises though that there are two sides to people, just like there are two sides to every story... 

16.  Coffee or tea? Tea

17.  Paperback or e-reader? E-reader

18.  Mountains or the sea? Sea

19.  Summer or winter? Summer

20.  Sweet or salty? Sweet

Author profile:

Elle Field writes romantic comedies, and is the author of the Arielle Lockley series and Geli Voyante's Hot or Not. She grew up in Yorkshire, then moved to Scotland to study International Relations and Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews. Elle now lives in London with her boyfriend and their cat. She's a massive fan of sunshine, giraffes, The Killers, Audrey Hepburn movies, playing Scrabble and tea. Oh, and reading, of course!

You can buy Elle's books here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00CHIC1GE

Visit her website: http://www.ellefield.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellefie

Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellefieldauthor