Last November, I featured CLOCKWISE by Elle Strauss. For those eager for the next book in the series, CLOCKWISER is now available in ebook format through the following sales links:

Clockwiser on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/CLOCKWISER-Book-2-Clockwise-ebook/dp/B007QGQDN4

on Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/146193

The print edition is forthcoming. Here’s more about the book, courtesy of Goodreads:

To accompany the new release, I asked Elle some questions:
Congratulations on the upcoming release of CLOCKWISER! What inspired the idea for the series and what do you want readers to take away when they’re finished reading it?

The Clockwise series idea is an offshoot of a time-travel story I’d written a long time ago. It wasn’t publishable but I still liked the seed of the idea and spun it into Clockwise. I hope readers have fun following Casey’s adventures, but I also hope they stop to think about some of social issues and how things have changed since the 19th century.

I know a lot of writers (myself included) are experimenting with time travel. What strategies have you used to keep time travel interesting?

Hmm, I don’t know. I came up with my own set of “rules” which built in some tension. I think it has to be more than just the time travel element to keep the story interesting. Conflict, character arcs, mystery–a well crafted story.

I agree–a well-crafted story is key regardless of the genre a book is written in!
How is CLOCKWISER different from the first book in the series? Are you finding that your characters are developing in ways you didn’t expect?

Well, I didn’t plan to write a sequel when I wrote the first book, so it’s not the second book of one long story. It’s a separate story involving the same characters, and some new ones. I had the idea to take Tim back to the past with the first book, but it didn’t fit in with what I had going on already. When I decided to write a sequel (with strong encouragement from my Wattpad fans–thanks!) I knew I had something I could use.

You also published a MG novel entitled IT’S A LITTLE HAYWIRE. How is writing MG different from writing YA? Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers who have a hard time categorizing their work between those two age groups?

Haywire is another one of those stories birthed from a bad early draft written many years ago. Again, I still loved the story, but I needed to work on the execution. Once I had the main character firmly in mind, it basically wrote itself. I love It’s a Little Haywire, but my focus right now is Young Adult. Haywire is just a bonus. Oh, and to answer your actual question 🙂 Middle Grade protagonists are younger than thirteen. My main character, Owen True, is eleven and eleven twelves. Though there is definite interest in the opposite sex, the romance is nothing like you’d find in a YA novel.

 Great answer, and thank you for clarifying! I know a lot of aspiring authors are curious as to  whether their novel fits a MG or YA audience.
What other projects are you currently working on?

 The third book in the Clockwise series is a companion book called Like Clockwork, featuring Adeline Savoy who travels back to 1955 Hollywood. After that, I’m releasing a merfolk book called SEAWEED and then something totally different. A YA historical fiction about a boy who grows up in Hitler Youth called PLAYING WITH MATCHES.

Thanks, Elle! Readers, keep on the lookout for CLOCKWISER when it debuts in print.

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