Ask the Author: Emily Littlejohn
Answered Questions (10)
Emily Littlejohn
Riley Sager - In the Middle of the Night
Chris Bohjalian - The Princess of Las Vegas
Geraldine DeRuiter - If You Can't Stand the Heat
Chris Bohjalian - The Princess of Las Vegas
Geraldine DeRuiter - If You Can't Stand the Heat
Emily Littlejohn
Growing up, we had a lovely piano in our house. My mother inherited it from a distant relative who was gunned down on the steps of a courthouse in the '70s in Texas. The assailants were never caught though there was a suspected Mafia connection. Fast forward to the late '90s (by which point we'd had the piano for years) and a piano tuner announced that we in fact had a rare edition of a player piano! Total surprise. I've always thought there was a story there, between the tragic murder and a mysterious piano.
Emily Littlejohn
Hi! November 6th!
Emily Littlejohn
This is a tough question but I'll go with Marie (Carrie Fisher) and Jess (Bruno Kirby) from "When Harry Met Sally." Harry and Sally are the stars of the show, of course; they bring the drama, the "will they or won't they." They are the couple you follow as the movie unfolds.
But Marie and Jess...from the moment they meet, it's magic. They "get" each other. And even better, they are so appreciative of the fact that with all the millions of people in the world, they've found each other. They've found their person. Sadly, both Fisher and Kirby died much too young, but their portrayal of Marie and Jess will live on for countless generations.
But Marie and Jess...from the moment they meet, it's magic. They "get" each other. And even better, they are so appreciative of the fact that with all the millions of people in the world, they've found each other. They've found their person. Sadly, both Fisher and Kirby died much too young, but their portrayal of Marie and Jess will live on for countless generations.
Emily Littlejohn
Inherit the Bones was inspired by first, a vision I had of a dead clown, in full face paint, and the question of, 'Who was the man behind the mask?'. The second thing that came to me was the fact that the person investigating this murder was a woman, and she was pregnant. After that, the pieces of the story fell into place one by one: Cedar Valley, the McKenzie boys, the Bellington twins.
Emily Littlejohn
I love to entertain people. What inspires me is the thought of a reader - someone I've never met - finishing my book and feeling as though their time was well spent. If they've been scared, happy, nervous, thrilled . . . if they've felt something from the story, then I've done my job. So when I'm stuck in a scene, I ask myself - what's going to get a reaction here?
Emily Littlejohn
Get your butt in the seat and start. There's no time like the presence. There's a great quote that reads something like, 'Today is the future you dreamed about three years ago. What are you doing today to create the future you want to see in three years?". You can always start small. Aim for a thousand words a day . . . in a month, you'll have 1/3 of a first draft done. Do five hundred words a day and six months later, voila! And that first draft really is the hardest part (at least for me).
Emily Littlejohn
The very best thing is that there are never any mistakes! It might kill you, it might make you insane, but ultimately if something's not working in the story, you can hit that delete button and completely change the world you've created, just like that! A character is going down a rabbit hole? Delete it! Not sure you're loving your villain? Change it! We get very few do-overs in life but every sentence is a chance for a do-over in writing.
Emily Littlejohn
I haven't experienced writer's block but I do fall victim to writer's distractions. The Internet, my pets, that unread novel on my bedside stand . . . they all conspire to keep me away from writing. I've found that once I'm in the story, it's easier to ride that wave of creating, but it can definitely be a challenge to get to that point!
Emily Littlejohn
I'm currently working on Book 2 in the Gemma Monroe series. This story picks up about three months after the events in Inherit the Bones. In Book 2, tentatively titled A Season to Lie, Gemma and Finn hunt a vicious killer as Cedar Valley is pummeled by a series of blizzards and snow storms.
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