The Roads I’ve Traveled
By Elissa Daye
Reading started me down
the path to writing. I was an avid reader from the moment I could read my first
words. I read everything I could get my hands on. I loved reading and escaping
into other worlds. My favorite books when I was a child were written by C.S.
Lewis, Judy Blume, and Jean Craighead George. I very much wanted to live on my
own and survive in the forest.
As a writer, I started
early. In second grade I remember getting a notebook as a prize from a teacher
and I started writing poetry where every line had to rhyme. Something like “The
little kitten lay, fast asleep in the hay.” In Middle School I constantly
entered the Young Authors contests with my poetry. I remember when my mom
attended a parent teacher conference for 8th grade. My English
teacher told her how impressed she was with my writing and told her that I
wrote like a 20 year old. It was the best compliment I had ever received at the
time and it made me want to do even better.
When I entered high
school I started writing short stories, mostly for school assignments. By the
time I was a junior in high school, my English teacher encouraged me to enter
for a chance to attend the Illinois Summer School for the Arts. At that point
in time I had already been writing longer short stories, one of them being a
ghost story, which I entered as an example of my writing. I won a scholarship
to attend the two week summer camp and had the time of my life. That summer allowed
a whole new door to open for me, and while my journey through that portal has
not been without challenge, it has certainly been worth it.
The Destined Series started after I had
completed my first two books, and while it was not the first completed, it had
been in my head for many years. First it was a series of scenes that I thought
would work well together. Then I discovered that there really were no
limitations for what I wanted to do. A story with magic? Absolutely, no problem.
Add some werewolves? Ok, why not? A steamy love story? Of course, what other
kind is there? When I let go of all my preconceived notions of what should and
could be involved in a romance novel, writing it was easy. It was passionate,
it was uplifting, and it was freeing.
In Flames is the first
in the series, and perhaps the easiest to write, for the beginning is just a
starting point in the world. Connecting each story and growing the world in
each has been more of a challenge. Each book has to be able to build on the
other and stand on its own. With book one, I introduce Lysandra, who enters the
story with pretty much the worst case scenario thrown at her from the
beginning. She channels the power of love through her journey and becomes quite
a striking heroine. Aiden is our love interest, a man who really has no
interest in love at all. He lives with the curse of his people, a curse that
becomes a blessing in disguise.
In Flames is just the
first leg of the journey. My goal is to create a diverse series that shows the
empowerment of women, and how the world could work in balance. I hope that my
readers will appreciate these stories and get a break from their world, if only
for a moment.
Links where I can be found?
Twitter @daenira
The Roads I’ve Traveled By Elissa Daye is a book of adventure, very nice book to read just like The Bald Eagle Who Wanted to Fly the American Flag a bald eagle who wanted his dream to become true.
ReplyDeleteThe Roads I’ve Traveled By Elissa Daye is one of my favorite author, I always read her books. Speciallly childrens book
ReplyDeleteReadersMagnet Review: Children’s Books on Seasons her books is the most awaited books to read for me.