Interview with Author E.L.Li

1) What is your Author name; use your Pen name if you have one.

E.L. Li

2) What is your genre and what drew you to it?

My genre is YA Fantasy Sci-Fi. I grew up reading fantasy, playing fantasy games, watching fantasy shows and movies.

3) How far along are you on your current work-in-progress?

I’m in the beta-reading stages of the sequel to my debut novel, Realm of Hope!

4) Which character of yours is your favorite and why?

Skye is my favorite from Realm of Hope. She’s got so much going for her backstory and development and I think her character is very unique. She’s a tragic character who was set up to be a mentor, but is also a protagonist at the same time due to unforeseen circumstances.

5) How did you come up with your cover design?

I’ve always loved covers that have an object or an aesthetic background. Especially covers with mystical-looking swords. The sword on the cover, Excalibur, plays a role in the story and having it on the cover helps hint at what’s coming in the book.

6) Was there a pivotal point or experience that impacted your decision to take writing seriously?

I always knew I was born to write. Ideas would always come to my head and I need them written down in some form, whether it’s in a short story or a book. I live and breathe words and ideas onto the pages.

7) What is your favorite part about being a writer?

My favorite part is coming up with ideas and brainstorming. I love getting inspired by my travels, media that I love, or just coming up with ideas in the shower.

8) What is the one thing you wish you knew at the beginning of your writing journey?

I wish I knew more about the editing process. Editing is my least favorite part of the process of creating a book as I often fall into the cycle of revising and fixing.

9) Which book, other than your own, would you like to see turned into a movie or T.V. show?

I’d love to see Renegades by Marissa Meyer turned into a T.V. show.

10) Where is your favorite place to read?

I often move around when it comes to reading. Sometimes I’ll read at my desk, in my bed, or on the couch.

11) Which book villain would be the hardest to defeat?

Hmm, I’d say Kronos from Percy Jackson in his full form.

12) Name one book that you have reread several times.

The original Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan is my go-to!

13) If you had to write in any other genre, what would that be and why?

I’d pick contemporary romance. It’s completely different from my usual genre and would be a refreshing break. I’ve written romance on and off throughout my writing journey and it’s something I’ve considered branching into.

14) What is the name of your book/series?

Tell me a little bit about them. Realm of Hope is my debut trilogy. Dark forces are on the rise, threatening the Mortal Realm. Warriors from powerful bloodlines, called Agents must find a way to save the Realm and who is behind it all.

15) Do you have a website? If so, what is it?

Yes! It’s authorelli.com

16) Where can we find and follow you? (Name your social media platforms.)

You can find me on:

Instagram @author_elli

Tiktok @author_elli

Twitter @author_elli

17) If there anything important that you would want my readers to know about you?

I am a huge fan of video games, having grown up with them. I work in the game industry currently and I originally wrote Realm of Hope in the form of a screenplay for an RPG game when I was in high school. I wrote five others all taking place in the same universe but in different time periods.

Eventually, I decided to rewrite those screenplays into book trilogies, so each book is planned in advance and takes place in the same universe. You will find references to other books and main characters to those books as more books get published. Each book also has video game influence!