Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a
series?
The Dark In-Between is a
standalone YA paranormal novel with fierce female friendships, adorable love
interests, and lots of mythical angel lore. It focuses on seventeen-year-old
Casey Everett who finds herself tugged into Limbo, the space between the living
and the dead after a near-death drowning experience. She loses her best friend,
Liddy, in this accident and is plagued by strange, living nightmares of a dark
in-between world. With the help of Red, a fallen angel that’s come to earth to
regain his wings, Casey must learn to walk the dangerous paths of Limbo in
order to save Liddy from something even worse than death.
Do you have a favorite character?
Red is definitely my favourite
character in the book. He’s an angel, first of all, and super powerful (some of
the time). But he’s also recently fallen to earth, quite literally, and on a
mission to somehow regain his wings. He’s lived a lot of lives, loved and lost,
and introduces Casey to the war that’s existed between angels and demons for
centuries. If I was ever going to expand the story in The Dark In-Between, it
would be to explore Red’s past some more. I also have a soft spot for Casey’s
friend Evan because he’s just a sassy, sarcastic dork.
Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that
change the direction of the novel at all?
In the book, Casey has two best
friends, Liddy, whose soul she’s trying to save, and Evan. I knew when I set
out to write the story that Evan would play a significant role, one of which
was the romantic interest. But in the original draft I wrote and submitted to
Swoon Reads, Casey couldn’t bring herself to tell Evan about all the strange,
paranormal things that were happening to her. Because of this, he sort of got
cut out of most of the story until the very end of the book where she revealed
everything. I think it was during the second round of edits with Swoon Reads
when I realized that things in the book weren’t working simply because Casey
hadn’t told Evan the truth. So, I made a big change, introduced Evan to the
paranormal world much earlier, and he became an integral part of the plot as
well as Casey’s emotional journey. In a way, I’d always set out to write Evan
as a major character, but it took several rounds of edits for him to actually
evolve from a minor one.
How long before you got your offer of representation/your first
contract? Was it for your first novel?
The Dark In-Between wasn’t the
first thing I’d ever written, but it was the first work that I’d taken
seriously enough to consider trying to publish. I actually wrote the first
draft during an incredibly busy time in my life. I’d literally just finished
university, I was in the middle of studying for the national nursing licensing
exam (which you need to pass in order to be a practicing nurse), and I also
decided that it was a great time to get my driver’s license. For some reason,
that’s when inspiration struck. So, in between study sessions and driving
practice, I penned this story. I hadn’t heard of Swoon Reads at that point. I’m
actually not even sure how I found out about it, but as I was preparing to move
across the country that summer for a nursing job, I remember finding the site
and something just seemed right. Then I put my story up on the Swoon Reads site
and, I hate to say this, forgot about it for a while. Moving and starting a new
job and essentially a new life was so time consuming. At that point, I don’t
think I even had that much time to dedicate to writing. But all of a sudden it
was November and I got an email from Swoon Reads that said they wanted to talk!
From there things just snowballed into a real published book. So, long story
short, I want to say it was probably about five to six months from penning the
story to my offer from Swoon Reads.
What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like
silence?
In the same way a lot of people
find music or other noises distracting when they’re trying to focus and write,
I actually find silence super
distracting. Without some sort of background noise, I have a really hard time
sitting down at my laptop and writing. (Even sitting down to write this now, I’ve
opened my living room window and there’s the constant sound of the street and
cars and horns honking and sirens and voices to keep me focused.) I really
favour my local coffee shops for this reason as well. There is usually enough
activity going on with people coming and going to create a comfortable kind of
atmosphere for writing. Without it, I totally lose focus. So, music definitely
plays a huge role in my writing and I rely on it to feed my muse. Sometimes I’ll
listen to music for inspiration before I write and other times I’ll let it play
in the background during a writing sprint. I listen to a lot of instrumental
music tracks when I’m writing. I find that words can sometimes distract me and
I’ll sooner start singing along than actually paying attention to what’s
happening on the page. I also keep a YouTube playlist of writing music to get
me through any bouts of writer's block.
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
Whenever I start writing a new
project, it usually begins smack-dab in the middle with a random scene or a bit
of detailed dialogue that I have absolutely no reference for. The plot is
unknown. The characters are only grainy versions of who they might become.
There are tons and tons of details I won’t even have on my radar for thousands
and thousands of words still. This is mostly because I’m a terrible plotter and
definitely more of what the writing world calls a panster. I ‘fly by the seat
of my pants’ and sort of let the characters run off and make up the story as
they go. Sometimes this works out really well and other times the characters
get stuck somewhere, at which point I usually put the project aside for a
little while. For me, writing this way is all about chasing a feeling on the
page and hoping that a story emerges with it. In my own personal experience, I’ve
learned that if I manage to power through the first twenty thousand words of a
new project, I’ll usually be able to finish writing the book. If I struggle to
find those first twenty thousand words, I know that particular project isn’t
ready for me to tackle just yet.
What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you
involved with for promoting your book(s)?
My favourite marketing
platforms are definitely Twitter and Instagram. I think they are both so
accessible to authors and offer a way to interact instantly with both old and
new readers. They both offer great opportunities to build a buzz about your
book with posts or giveaways and I love that as an author I can create
different content for each one. Plus I just absolutely adore bookstagrammers
and all the amazing photos they take. Insert heart eyes here! In terms of being
a YA author, I think these two platforms are a great way to reach that target
audience as well. But I’ve also been involved in lots of other marketing for
THE DARK IN-BETWEEN. I know there was a Goodreads giveaway that happened. I’ve
done various blog posts and interviews about the book, some for the Swoon Reads
site (my publisher!) specifically as well as for other book bloggers, and I’ve
also posted about it on Facebook. I think having a dedicated team of people to
champion your work is also super important when it comes to marketing. The team
at Swoon Reads is absolutely amazing with this as well as all the other Swoon
Reads authors. I’ve never worked with a more dedicated or encouraging group of
people who are always ready with a like
or a retweet when you need it!
Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
I really love anything
creative. Growing up, I was totally focused in the opposite direction. I was
very scholarly. I studied a lot of science in high school and then pursued a
nursing degree. But as I got older and sort of branched out on my own, I
discovered a love of music. So now I play several instruments (poorly),
including piano, guitar, and the flute. I also adore musical theater and you
can usually find me in the audience of a local theater production. It’s still
considered writing, but I’ve recently discovered that I actually really enjoy
screenwriting and I’ve been pursuing opportunities that way. And I also love to
garden. I live on the twentieth floor of an apartment building, so my
green-space is sort of lacking, but I have dozens of plants potted around my
living room.
Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate
or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
Dogs or cats? Oh, this is so
difficult. I literally can’t decide and want to say both. Logistically, living
in an apartment and working twelve hour shifts as a nurse really favours a cat
more because they’re sort of independent. My sister and I had a cat while we
were both in university and I loved her. She was a great study buddy during
exams and adored being dramatic. But I also love dogs. I grew up with dogs in
my family and maybe someday down the line there will be another. Chocolate or
vanilla? Chocolate, hands down. There isn’t even a question about it. Coffee or
Tea? I managed my entire university career without ever drinking coffee, but
tea was definitely my sweet spot and still is. It’s like that quintessential
cozy writer’s drink! Talk or Text? I’d much rather talk any day of the week.
Right now I live pretty far from my family and a lot of my friends, so, I’ve
gotten very good at keeping up with them through video chats and phone calls.
There really is no substitute for being able to see someone or hear their
voice. Day or Night? I’m definitely more of a night owl and would rather stay
up super late than be forced out of bed in the morning. I even have the
blackout curtains to prove it!
What’s next for you?
I totally don’t know. I mean,
writing was something I realized I wanted to do after high school, and I am
absolutely amazed that I can now say I’m a published author, but I also pursued
other passions and got my nursing degree. So, it’s really a balance between
pursuing both careers for now. I think that’s the amazing thing about writing.
You can absolutely be a writer and work another day job and I know a lot of
writers that do exactly that. In terms of what I’m working on next
specifically, I’ve started a few screenplays that I’m excited for. I have a YA
sci-fi Pinocchio retelling in the works, a YA contemporary paranormal rom-com
that I’m working on, and a dark YA gothic-witchy fantasy thing that I’ve
literally just started that I am loving. So, we’ll see what happens next!
The Dark In-Between
Elizabeth Hrib
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: May 5th 2020
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Action-packed and emotionally powerful like big- and small-screen hits such as The Sixth Sense and Supernatural, The Dark In-Between by Elizabeth Hrib is sure to stay with you long after the lights go out.
Something lurks in the shadows between life and death.
A terrible accident brings sixteen-year-old Casey Everett’s life to a halt—literally. Pulled from the water, Casey is rushed to the hospital and miraculously revived. But her sudden return to the living is shadowed by the drowning of her best friend, Liddy.
Overcome with grief, Casey returns home for the summer only to find the memories of the accident won’t let her go. Shadow-drenched nightmares. Whispers in the back of her mind. Her friend’s screams. Casey thinks she’s losing it… until she watches a boy fall from the sky.
Red—an angel fallen to earth to regain his wings—takes her to Limbo, a place that exists somewhere between the living and the dead.
Now, in order to save her best friend, Casey must learn to walk these mysterious and dangerous paths or else risk losing Liddy’s trapped soul to something worse than death.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Hrib was born and raised in London, Ontario where she studied nursing at Western University. She now calls the East Coast home, where she works as a nurse in Halifax. When she’s not working or writing, she can be found at the piano, planning her next Netflix binge, or attempting to keep her small, windowsill garden alive.
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDelete