Author Interview & Giveaway: Emmalee Aple

Today we have Emmalee Aple, author of Neophyte, on At Random. She was nice enough to answer some questions and she is offering some goodies for a giveaway! Keep reading to find out more :)

At Random (AR): Was there a certain moment you knew you wanted to be a writer or have you always known?  

Emmalee Aple (EA): I have always just written for fun. In grade school I started writing a story with one of my friends, we would pass a notebook back and forth. Then in highschool, I rewrote the same story, with another friend. Then when I was in college, I fell back into the same story, but without anyone’s help.   And finally after probably rewriting the same story 15 or so times, I changed it, and that was how Neophyte was formed, and when I was a few chapters in, I was like… maybe I should just do this and see what happens when I try to publish.  And so I did. That was about 4 years ago.

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AR: Can you tell us in one sentence what makes your book stand out in the growing sea of paranormal books?  

EA: Because I wrote it, and I am awesome, so in turn it’s awesome.   Okay, no seriously… um… Neophyte is not like any other angel books out there, the main character is the Angel, and you see the world through her eyes.

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AR: Who is your favorite character in Addi’s Link? 

EA: Either Hunter or Graham. I know shocker, I didn’t say Greysan.  But I really like how Graham has developed in my head… and who doesn’t love Hunter?

AR: I like them all but I think Hunter is my fav too!

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AR: Did you enjoy writing one character more than the others? 

EA: Yeah, I really really hate writing for bad guys, because they always seem to come out cheesy to me.  I needed a lot of help when writing Farran to get him in the right voice.

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AR: You have a certain unexpected twist in your book, did you know that was going to happen from the beginning or was it something that just happened as you were writing. I know that’s such a vague question but I’m dying to know!   

EA: I actually wrote the scene after the twist first. So I knew all along that was going to happen. But it has to, because it is what drives Addisyn to make the hard decision at the end.

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AR: It’s becoming more common for people to associate books and music. Have you come across any songs that remind you of Neophyte?  

EA: I can’t write without music. I put my ear buds in and just write. There are a lot of songs that I would say make up the Neophyte soundtrack.  
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AR: Do you get ideas from music when you're writing. Like hearing something in a song and thinking that would make a great scene?

EA: Yes I do... there is an entire scene in Rogue written with inspiration from 'We are Young' by Fun, there is also a few songs by Secondhand Serenade inspired some of the Addi and Greysan moments.

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AR: I know you’re working on releasing Neophyte in print; do you have a date set at this point?  

EA: I do not have a date set yet, I am still hoping one of the small publishers or literary agents that I submitted my manuscript to will be like “WOW this is the greatest thing we have ever read! Let’s sign her up! “  And so I am currently holding off on self paper publishing. 

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AR: What is your favorite line/quote in Neophyte? 

EA: So many people ask me this… It’s hard to pick one… I am sure it would be one of Addisyn’s snarky comments… like “I am not some mail order bride!”  OR  ‘Everything was panning out to be an uneventful, peaceful evening, finally I could lie back and pretend I was just a normal human teenage girl, instead of feeling like Addisyn White and the five angelic dorks: Bossy, Crabby, Hottie, Cocky, and Rebel.’

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AR: What is the first book you can remember reading?  

EA: Probably a Babysitters Club or an RL Stine’s Goosebumps

AR: I love Goosebumps as a kid!!

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AR: What book can you read over and over and never get tired of? 

EA: I am not really one to read books over and over, but now that I have a nook, it’s a lot easier.  Divergent was the most recent one I have reread, but I don’t really have one I can read over and over. At least not that I can think up right now.

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AR: Salty snacks or sweet treats?  

EA: Both. I like to mix the two together… like chocolate covered potato chips..   But I really can not live without sprees and chips and salsa. 

AR: I’ve heard of chocolate drizzled popcorn (yums) but never chocolate covered potato chips! I think I will be hunting for some in the near future!

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EA: Thanks Jen for letting me take over your blog for a day or two!  I really did a happy dance when you said you liked it!!!  Can’t wait to be able to send you an ARC of my secret book and Rogue.  Hope you will have me back when they come out!

AR: Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview. It was great having you here and I am very excited to get my hands on your ‘secret book’ and Rogue when they’re available! I would, of course, love to have you back with your next release!

If you’d like to stalk Emmalee a little you can find her at the below places:

Emmalee’s Website

Emmalee on Goodreads

Neophyte on Amazon

Neophyte on Barnes & Nobles

My review of Neophyte

And now for the giveaway! 

UPDATE-Giveaway has ended

There will be two winners

1st place winner will receive an ebook of Neophyte (from smashwords.com) and a signed bookmark!

2nd place winner will receive a signed bookmark!

To Enter:

• Fill out the below form
• Contest is open internationally
• Enter by 11:59pm on June 22nd
• Winner will be selected via random.org on June 23rd

Thank you Emmalee for providing the wonderful prizes!