Today we’d like to introduce you to Audra McElyea.
Hi Audra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Well, I’m a wife, and mom to two energetic little boys, and my background is as a corporate buyer for clothing and jewelry, so I haven’t always been a writer. I could probably write another novel about the difficult road to my debut novel coming out. Haha. But I won’t, don’t worry.
In short, I felt like God was calling me to be a writer about eleven years ago, and I kept saying no by doing everything *except* learning to be a writer. But after a year or so of everything else blowing up in my face (I can laugh about it now) I finally said okay, and he blessed me with many mentors who helped me learn what to do/what not to do during my years spent working on my first novel, WHEN LILIES BLOOM.
That novel eventually got shelved, but I learned so much through that experience, and I can honestly say I absolutely love writing more than any other job I’ve ever had. I didn’t get my agent or publisher until I started shopping ONE LITTLE WORD around many years later. All it takes is ten years of perseverance to get published…no big deal, right? Haha.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Many people don’t realize the hurdles you have to jump through to get published traditionally. First, you need to find a literary agent to represent you and shop your book around to publishers for purchase because authors cannot submit their books to most publishers on their own. You must go through an agent, and finding said agent can take years. The publishing industry is oversaturated, and everyone wants to be chosen, so the competition is unreal. Plus, since the market is oversaturated, it’s difficult to stand out in a crowd this large even when you do get published, that’s why it’s so important for readers to leave reviews when they love a book and share it on social media. You have no idea how much those little things help your favorite authors and we appreciate you taking the time to write reviews and share our work with your friends so much.
Being able to handle a ton of rejection and respond well to constructive criticism is a must for authors, and those characteristics can take time to build. It’s definitely not as simple being an author as it may appear to be. Half of the time you’re in introvert mode writing your book. Then, at the flip of a switch, you have to be the extrovert version of yourself for marketing, interviews, social media, and book club appearances. You’re basically being your own public relations team as well as a writer. It’s running your own business and becoming a brand as a person while also writing and being creative.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
ONE LITTLE WORD actually came to me in a dream played out like a movie in its entirety and is the only book I’ve written to do so. I woke up and jotted the main plot down and thanked the Lord because I knew I didn’t come up with that crazy plot myself. I was so excited that I wrote the first draft in one month. I’ve never written any book as quickly as I did ONE LITTLE WORD to this day (I’ve written three others). ONE LITTLE WORD is fun for locals to read because it’s like KNIVES OUT set in Knoxville and includes many real locations they will recognize and be able to picture in their heads as they try to figure out “whodunit”.
For all my other books, I’ve just been inspired by compilations of movies and books I’ve seen and loved throughout my life. As a kid, I was obsessed with Nancy Drew, Scooby-Doo, and later everything Alfred Hitchcock. So, I’ve always loved to solve a good mystery, and I also like to come up with my own. I’m a huge movie buff in addition to loving to read, so I like to come up with characteristics from films and novels I admire and combine them when I’m planning out a new book. If my book idea doesn’t have a jaw-dropping twist, then I simply don’t write it.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I’ve always been creative and a worrier. Choreographing dance and baton routines, writing movies and plays and making my friends act them out, writing songs, all of the typical artsy things were usually running through my mind at all times for as long as I can remember.
There are so many ways to “tell a story.” And my anxiety, while not great for my mental health at times, makes it easy for me to come up with really intriguing worst-case scenarios for suspense/thriller novels. You have to play to your strengths I guess, even if sometimes they’re also your weaknesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: AudraMcElyea.com
- Social Media Links: https://www.canva.com/
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