Author Elisa Dane!

About Elisa:


Elisa Dane is a self-proclaimed book junkie. A lover of handbags, chocolate, and reality television, she's a proud mother to three All- Star cheerleaders. Writing is her absolute passion, and it's her mission to create stories that will not only take you on a romantic journey that will warm your heart, but help you find a new respect and interest in the sport of All-Star cheerleading. 

Elisa is no stranger to the publishing world. She writes steamy paranormal romance under her real name, Lisa Sanchez. Her adult works include the Hanford Park series (Eve Of Samhain, Pleasures Untold, and Faythe Reclaimed), Obsessed (an erotic suspense), and a paranormal novella, Cursing Athena. Elisa lives in Northern California with her husband, three daughters, and a feisty Chihuahua who stubbornly believes she's human. 

You can connect with Elisa at the following places on the web:
Facebook - Elisa Dane, and Lisa Sanchez Romance Author
Twitter - @ElisaDane, and @LisaSanchez3
Website - elisadane.com, and LisaSanchezRomanceAuthor.com

So I have been looking for awhile to do an interview with an author and it's finally happened! yay aha!
Elisa Dane is a YA Romance author of Ex-Factor, the first book in the Diamond Girls series, (the review of the story will be on my blog in a few days)
She's a talented author and super friendly and so lovely, especially because she let me interview her!

1. What made you want to become an author?
I've always loved reading and writing. When I was a kid I used to spend my summers writing silly stories and reading them aloud to my poor mother. Thankfully, she fostered my creative side and encouraged me to continue writing. It took me a while, but I eventually made time once my children started school and made my childhood dream a reality.

2. What inspired your novel Ex-Factor? 
My oldest daughter graduated in 2012. She was lucky enough to be chosen as the student coordinator for the Every 15 Minutes program that year. I attended the mock crash and assembly and was incredibly moved by what I'd witnessed. The program is powerful on its own, but I think what tipped the scales was the fact her class had been rocked by the loss of one of their own due to drinking and driving just a few months before the program. Listening to a father cry in front of a room full of hundreds of people, begging them to talk to their children about drinking and driving sparked something inside of me. I was moved to tears and knew I needed to write a story about what I'd seen.

3. What strategies do you use if you get stuck with writers block? 
I don't push myself or beat myself up if I don't get any words in on any particular day. When I'm working on a project, I generally try to write one thousand words a day. If I hit my goal, great. If not, I try not to worry about it. Listening to music helps, as does watching movies. To be honest, though, my best ideas always come in the shower, while I'm drying my hair, or when I'm driving. 

4. Who are some of your favourite authors?
Oh, good Lord! I've got quite a few, lol. I'm really loving Wendy Higgins right now. She wrote the Sweet Evil trilogy which I absolutely loved. I'm also really digging the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin. And it would be a crime if I didn't mention Colleen Hoover. She's amazing!

5. I really love the cover of the book, who designed it for you?
Swoon has a very talented staff of cover artists. I'm a huge fan of all of their covers :)

6. Do you have any advice for people who want to become an author?
Persistence is key. Never give up. Don't write to trend, write the story that's in your heart. Oh! And get yourself a good critique partner. They make all the difference in the world :)


The Diamond Girls series!

You can buy book 1 Ex-Factor here! -about the book- Nevaeh Evan’s life is uprooted after her father’s death, when she moves in with her aunt and cousin, Livvie. Her plan to lay low at her new high school isn’t working. Her friend’s jerky boyfriend keeps asking her out, the guy she likes treats her like garbage, and the thought of tumbling again makes her want to hurl. So when her aunt pushes her into joining the elite X-FACTOR cheer leading squad, Navaeh goes along with it. But Nev feels she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Not after what happened the night her father died. Bodie Scott knows about grief all too well. Critically injured in an alcohol related accident the year before, Bodie struggles with the fact that he’ll never play football again, and he’s so far behind in credits he can’t see straight. That is, until he meets Nev. Haunted by their bloody pasts and wary of a shared future, Nev and Bodie turn to one another for comfort and support, and realize they’re not so alone after all. And when the party scene at school threatens the life of a loved one, the two stop at nothing to keep the past from repeating itself. 

Buy book 2 Unbreakable here! -about the book- Perception is everything to sixteen-year-old Olivia Brown. With her freakishly hot boyfriend, volunteer work at the local animal shelter, successful beauty channel on YouTube, and well-earned spot on X Factor Cheer's elite level five Diamond Girl team, Livvie's the girl every other girl wants to be. At least, that's the illusion she's aiming for. But Livvie's seemingly perfect life is anything but. Lying about the bruises her boyfriend gives her, and cowering beneath his raging temper becomes a regular way of life until she unwittingly witnesses her drunken neighbor beating his step-son, the town bad boy, Reid Tate. For Reid, vulnerability is the enemy. Opening up, and letting people in gives them the power to disappoint. Growing up with a co-dependent mother and an abusive alcoholic father, Reid has endured all the disappointment he can stomach. But when his pretty, do-good neighbor witnesses his step-dad beat him to within an inch of his life, and not only call the cops, but keeps quiet at school about what she saw, Reid wonders if maybe, just maybe, he's found someone he can finally trust. 

Beth :)