Interview with Elizabeth Aston

www.elizabeth-aston.com

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

When I was at school.

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

I was lucky, because I’d worked in publishing, and my ex-boss put me in touch with an ex-editor who was just setting up as an agent. He gave me some brilliant advice: he looked at the chapters I sent him, ringed a page, and said, ‘There, that’s your voice. Write like that, and you’ll be a published author.’

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

WRITING JANE AUSTEN is a book about writing a book, and it’s a book about a young woman discovering Jane Austen. It’s a contemporary romantic comedy, intended to make you laugh.

After reading this book, if you’ve never read Jane Austen, you’ll want to; if you have, you’ll dive straight back into PRIDE & PREJUDICE – and you’ll never feel bad about procrastinating again

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

All the writers I’ve read since I could read. Jane Austen, of course, but others too numerous to mention, from ancient Greeks to modern authors.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

There’s my husband, who doesn’t get to read my books until it’s too late for me to take any notice of his comments, a son (who’s also a writer – he writes fantasy) and a daughter who’s my chief beta reader. And two great cats, Basil and Mefisto.

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

Chocolate! Need you ask?

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

Apart from yawn, stretch and put my feet on the floor? Look at the sea, to check out what mood it’s in, make coffee, and flip through overnight RSS feeds and the news.

If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

Dead computers. I’m a long-time techno-freak, which is something most people don’t expect writers to be.

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

Purple, because I love amethysts, and it’s a color that glows with life.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Bart Simpson.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

I’d like to think it was Emily Strange. Lots of pizzazz!

If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

Rome, March 15 44BC. The day of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Mind you, that’s a dangerous place to be!

Why there and then? Because it’s a key moment in history, and because I adore Rome, and would love to see it as it was then.

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

I listen to Baroque music when I’m writing, it’s supposed to help the brain waves, and I find it really works.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

Oldies like Friends and The West Wing. And now, Glee.

A film I often watch is Legally Blonde - perfect after a hard day’s work. With a square of chocolate at hand, of course.

The last movie I saw was Alice in Wonderland. I’m a huge Tim Burton fan, and it’s a great film.

You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

If you want to be a writer, read and read and read. And if you don’t, read just the same – it’s one of the great pleasures of life.

One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

I’m working on a new rom com, this time set in Italy with a few excursions into the past.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!