Interview/Giveaway: SALT by Danielle Ellison

By Jen On January 10, 2014 · 3 Comments · In Author Feature, Blog Tours, Interview

Please give a warm welcome to Danielle Ellison, author of SALT! She’s here today for an interview as part of her blog tour. Check out the book and her Q&A below, then enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!

Salt by Danielle Ellison Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find “her” demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

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Q & A with Danielle Ellison

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

Teleporting! I want it so bad.

If you weren’t human, what would you be?

A robot. A flying robot. That’d be pretty dang cool.

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose, and why?

Jared Padelecki—he’s just the funniest, sweetest guy ever and he’s nice to look at.
Robin Williams—I think he’d provide a lot of entertainment and have some great stories.
JJ Abrams—I don’t think I need to explain that one.
Blake Shelton—because he just seems like he’s fun and nice.
David Tennant—because I just want to stare at him and listen to him talk.

In summary, I’d apparently want to have really fun dinner with a bunch of celebrities for one really entertaining evening. Haha.

If you could jump into a book and live in that world, which would it be?

I want to go to Hogwarts!! Harry Potter, for sure. I’m trying to think of a second one but I’ve got nothing!

If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

So Close: The Completely True Story of the Almost But Not Really

What’s your favorite quote?

I have two that I love a lot.

“Sometimes the very things we want so bad to give us life will ultimately kill us. Sometimes what looks like failure are beautiful redirections wrapped in unrealized expectations.” –Musician, Dave Barnes

“Certainly it would be wonderful if we all knew exactly who we were. But that knowledge doesn’t come from the outside, but from the inside. ~ from Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (page 282)

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?

Trust and obedience lead to understanding.

Sometimes you don’t know where you’re going or what you’re doing, but this one means that if you trust yourself and the path set before you, and you listen and follow it, then at some point it will all make sense. (This is basically the story of my life.)

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I have had 30 addresses in my life across six different states—and I’m only twenty-six.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why?

Italy. It’s always been my dream to spend a year overseas travelling through Europe—and I want to spend at least two months just in Italy. Capri, Florence, Venice, Rome, Sicily, Naples, Sienna… I’ve wanted to do that since I was a teenager and one day I hope to be able.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I must have noise. I can’t write in silence—or with music playing. I write best in coffee shops or even the coffivity app. I also need other people around, or illusion of other people.

I usually always have a glass of water, filled up, and have one sip before I start writing…and then I get so caught up in what I’m doing that I forget about it for hours. Drinks and food while writing distracts me.

What inspired you to want to become a writer?

I have that typical story of “I’ve always been a writer” because I have. I spent my childhood perfectly content in my own world; I didn’t need other people to entertain me, and because of that I was always really creative. I loved reading, but I never said I wanted to write until college. Mostly because I didn’t know that people wrote books. I grew up in a limited town (ie. poor and small, even though it’s not that small) and I legitimately didn’t know I could be a writer until high school.

My journey here is threefold. First, in high school, I was active in theater. My teacher then really encouraged me and I spent a lot of time writing skits and plays at her encouragement. I really loved that part of my life. Second, I attribute to reading A NORTHERN LIGHT by Jennifer Donnelly because reading that book really made me think about what I wanted to create, and after reading it I signed up for writing classes. The third part started with being in the industry—as a bookseller and a blogger. This was so important because my co-worker at the bookstore got me to read YA. I read any and everything I could get my hands on, and then I started blogging. Being part of the community really pushed me toward this.

Fundamentally, writer’s have stories to tell—and I have more than I contain. At the end of the day, that’s why I’m doing this. It’s about being able to share the characters and the stories in my head. The rest of it just icing.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

If there’s anything else in the whole world that you can do instead, anything that brings you joy, fills your passion and pokes at your brain in the middle of the night—do that instead. Follow your other passion(s).

I say that because writing is hard. So hard. Harder than you think you know. It’s uncertain, exhausting, this endless harrowing of self-doubt and second-guessing, subjective, critical, and it’s slower than molasses. If you have something else in your life that you can pursue and be fulfilled by, then do that instead. It will make you happier.

It’s when you don’t have anything else, when you know this is your path, that you don’t let any of the bad things change your opinion and you give it 120% because failure isn’t option. If you have a fall back plan, another idea of what you can do with your life, then I honestly believe you should pursue that. If writing is where you’re meant to be then you’ll come back to it.

Are you working on something new? Can you tell us what’s coming next?

I’m currently working on many things! I’m drafting the sequel to SALT, working on final edits for FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS (out in October!) and halfway through that sequel as well. I also have a few projects that are ruminating and I hope to start by the spring. I have a lot of things going on, but that’s how I operate.

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Danielle Ellison is from a small town in West Virginia. She spent her childhood pretending to fly and talking to imaginary friends. When she grew up, she finally flew away (in an airplane) and started traveling the world. She hasn’t stopped yet, but someday she may decide to settle in one place. Her real life friends would definitely like that; they would probably also like if she stopped talking to her characters out loud.

SALT comes out in August 2013, and then it’s sequel. In October 2014, FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS (book one of the BOUNDLESS Trilogy) comes out. She’s got a busy few years!