Featured Interview With Emily Grace
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an author of YA fiction from the North East of England, where I live with my parents and older sister. I’ve been writing stories for most of my life, but only recently decided to share them with the rest of the world. I’m currently working on a YA paranormal mystery series, but I also like to write YA fantasy, as I love exploring magical worlds. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, playing board games, watching murder mystery shows, hanging out with my best friend, and I have a keen interest in mathematics. My debut novel ‘The Secret of the Carter House’ was released June 2021 and is the first book in ‘The Paranormal Detectives’ series.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been fascinated with books for as long as I can remember. My favourite author when I was younger was Enid Blyton, with my favourite series being the Famous Five series. I must have started writing stories at around 8 or 9 years old. I remember sitting at the computer in the corner of the kitchen and tapping away at the keyboard, thinking I was writing a best selling novel. I recently read something I wrote around that time, and it wasn’t as good as I thought – but at least I was having fun! My dream when I was younger was to be an author, but I didn’t think it was possible. I stopped writing for a few years when school got more intense, but my love for it came back a couple of years ago, and I can’t see it ever going away again!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have many favourite authors, it’s difficult to pick just one. When I was younger, Enid Blyton was my favourite author. Now I love to read books by Amy McCulloch, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Tom and Giovanna Fletcher, and many more. I also love Harry Potter, it is definitely my all time favourite book series. My favourite genre to read is Young Adult fiction, and I normally go for fantasy books, but recently I’ve been quite into thrillers and mysteries too. I’m always inspired by other authors when I read their books, and it always pushes me to better my own writing. Carrie Hope Fletcher is definitely a big inspiration, as one of her books inspired my debut novel.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘The Secret of the Carter House’ is the first book in a YA paranormal mystery series, following two amateur ghost hunters, Mateo Jones and Charlie Parker, in a search for paranormal evidence for their YouTube channel, The Paranormal Detectives. In this book they investigate a house thought to be haunted by the ghost of Pearl Carter, who died 76 years earlier in what was believed to be a tragic accident. But does the house hold a secret proving there is more to Pearl’s death than what meets the eye?
I had the idea for this book in January 2020, and I immediately started planning and writing it. I’d had a few ideas for books in the past, but never enough to write a full novel. It had always been quite intimidating. But when I had this idea, it was like it all began to come together and form one big idea, the prospect of which was very exciting to me. Overall, it took me around a year and a half, from having the idea to publishing the book. For it being my first novel, I was very proud of myself for this!
I love writing about the characters I created to lead this series. I’ve become attached to them and their friendship. Charlie is a big believer in the supernatural, ever since a series of paranormal experiences he had in his childhood home – which you will find out more about in the first book of the series. However, his best friend, Mat, strongly believes that there is no such thing as ghosts. They start their YouTube channel, The Paranormal Detectives, as a way for them to settle the debate, by going to haunted locations and searching for paranormal evidence. Although their views on this subject are very different, Mat and Charlie are always very supportive of each other, which I really enjoy writing about. I love how wholesome their friendship is! 🙂
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