Thursday, August 13, 2015

Star Craving Mad - Promo & Giveaway

      
Maddy Braverman, thirty and single, has taught first grade at an uber-elite private school in Greenwich Village for the past six years, a hip downtown school lauded as much for its progressive pedagogy as its priveleged progeny̵and its multitude of sex-crazed staff̵including the headmaster, AKA the Head Molester. Angry at herself for not moving on, Maddy gets distracted from her pity party with a new student̵Lola Magdalena, daughter of A-list celebrities Nic and Shelby Seabolt̵a last-minute addition to her class roster. 

When tragedy strikes Lola, Maddy has the chance to meet with Nic in his TriBeCa apartment. Maddy’s sexy celebrity fantasies turn to reality, leaving her breathless and spellbound. But from her front-row vantage point, Maddy learns the hard way that celebrity is not all it seems, and gets dealt a devastating blow that could leave her jobless, loveless and alone. If she could just see things clearly she could save herself from going Star Craving Mad.


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1.  What was your biggest inspiration while writing your book?

Working at an elite private school in NYC AND suffering a way-too-long celebrity obsession. You could say that writing this book was an exorcism of really masochistic tendencies.

2.  Which character in your book is most like yourself?

So far I am always my protagonist. In Star Craving Mad, it’s Maddy Braverman. (Narcissm. Check. Self-investigation. Check. Desire to be a superstar. Checkarooney).

3.  What do you think is your lead character’s best trait?

Maddy is full of wonder, always questioning everything around her but most of all herself. She’s what I like to call a cynical optimist. And she’s honest—not full of shit or pretentious like some other characters (Rachel Tepper).

4.  What is your favorite scene in your novel?

One of my favorite scenes was not in the first generation of this novel. It’s toward the end when Maddy has her final wake-up call regarding her chosen false idols. I don’t want to give too much away, but the new scene makes my skin crawl. In the best of ways.

5.  What is your writing process?

Agonize, write something shitty, come up with a great idea, write five pages of it, lose interest, binge-watch House of Cards, take a nap, repeat until two or three personally important issues resonate deeply enough within me that I can stand to be married to them for at least three years, countless rewrites and a personality change that only slightly annoys my family.

6.  Where is your favorite place to write?

I have no special place. I don’t like to make anything into a ritual that becomes so precious it strangles the creative and productive impulse right out of you. I guess where I am right now at the kitchen counter, with my son pestering me, the dog scratching at my ankles and my protein shake sweating on the laminate countertop. It’s as good a place as any.

About the Author:
Elise A. Miller discovered her talent and passion for writing by accident, during a short-lived but rigorous acting pursuit in the late 1990s. She immediately began studying writing in earnest at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City, and hasn’t looked back since. Elise completed courses in advanced fiction, memoir, novel writing, stand-up comedy and screenwriting. In 2000, she published her first piece in The Sun Magazine, and in 2002 she was one of the founding members of Little Red Writing Group in Brooklyn.

Elise lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two teeny rescue dogs. She blogs about everything and anything here, about her personal fitness journey at bodyenta.com and about creative writing coaching at beechwoodwriters.com.

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BookSparks is giving one lucky winner a print copy of
Star Craving Mad by Elise A Miller
US only
a Rafflecopter giveaway