The sky is the limit for Elisa Lorello...plus a book giveaway

We're glad to have Elisa Lorello back at CLC to feature her latest novel, Big Skye Littleton. She has one copy for a lucky reader!

Elisa hasn't always been a novelist, but she has been a writer and teacher throughout her life. To date, she has written and published eight novels, a memoir about her lifelong love for the band Duran Duran, and The Writer’s Habit, which inspired a blog and website, and courses. In addition to writing, Elisa teaches the craft of storytelling, writing process, and rhetoric, and approaches each with enthusiasm and humor.

In addition to Long Island and Massachusetts, Elisa has also lived in North Carolina. In 2016, she moved to Montana to be with Craig Lancaster (also a best-selling novelist), whom she married in October of the same year.

Some of Elisa's favorite things include reading, walking, spending time with friends and/or family, eating Nutella and baked goods, her cat, and going to the beach.

Visit Elisa online:
Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter

Synopsis:
Skye Littleton said goodbye to her job, her best friend, and her home in Rhode Island to start over in Billings, Montana, with Vance Sandler, a gorgeous guy she met online. On her cross-country flight, Skye shares her happy story with her seatmate, Harvey Wright, a Billings resident who knows Vance—and his reputation for heartbreak. Harvey’s infuriating advice to Skye? Go home.

When Skye arrives, she discovers that Vance has changed his mind and wants nothing to do with her. Despite the setback, Skye is determined to rebuild her life and begin a new chapter in Montana’s largest city, which sometimes feels like a small town. With Harvey’s help, Skye finds a job—and a passion for organizing closets and clearing out clutter. But as she grows closer to Harvey, she finds herself homesick for her former life. Could Harvey be her future, or is she his chance at revenge? Can Skye finally trust her own heart enough to let it show her the way home? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is the inspiration behind Big Skye Littleton?
My husband (a novelist who’s been living in Billings, Montana, for a little over ten years) and I began first as a long-distance friendship, then as a long-distance romance, and then during the first week of 2016, I moved to Billings to be with him full time. I was immediately welcomed and embraced by his community and wide circle of friends when I moved. I wanted to write a story set in my adopted city, but I wanted to flip my experience on its head—a woman who moves across the country to be with her long-distance lover, and arrives to no friends, no community, and no lover, either.

What was the most challenging part of writing Big Skye Littleton? Most rewarding?
I had quite a few challenges—not only did I move across the country, but we bought a house and moved yet again months later. Add to that wedding planning (long distance—we got married in New York!), and promoting two other novels that came out within months of each other (Pasta Wars and The Second First Time)… I was pretty overloaded.

I’d also had trouble making the story work at first. I had wanted Skye to have a dramatic transformation, but in the early drafts I’d gone too far to the extreme, to the point where she wasn’t very likable. There were a couple of plot problems too. Frustrated, I was days away from my deadline when I printed out the manuscript to read it and make notes. By page ten, the light went on and I knew exactly how to fix the story. I begged for an extension, and then I completely overhauled the first half of the manuscript. Made a lot of changes to the second half too, including the ending.

The most rewarding part has been how much positive feedback the book has been getting. So far just about everyone who’s read it has loved it, using words like “feel-good” and “warm and fuzzy.” I think we could all use some of that these days!

Describe your writing in three words.
Smart. Authentic. Crafted.

If Big Skye Littleton were to become a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
I'm always terrible at this sort of thing! In the book I described Harvey to look at little like Robert Downey, Jr., so I would probably cast him (although Harvey is younger). As for Skye… Melissa McCarthy could probably pull it off; not only because of her size, but more because I’d love to see her in a role that doesn’t have so much silly physical comedy (and I loved her as Sookie on Gilmore Girls).

With school starting back up, what extracurricular activities did you participate in during your high school years?
I had a hard time throughout my high school years so I didn’t get involved in much. I was the editor of our literary art magazine called Xanadu, contributing both drawings and writing. It won back-to-back First Place awards in the district. I also won Best Artist in my senior year. Other than that, like just about every other teenage girl in the 80s, I hung out with my friends at the mall, went to every movie John Hughes made, and was devoted to Duran Duran!

What are you looking forward to this fall?
My husband and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary in October. We’re planning a weekend getaway to Mt. Rushmore. Fall is my favorite season. We honeymooned throughout New England at the peak of the foliage, and I love all the fall comfort food, not to mention the wardrobe!

Thanks to Elisa for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends September 5th at midnight EST.