Meet Elizabeth Richards.

 

The Interview.

 

Welcome Elizabeth! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us a little about yourself.

Hiya Rae, thanks for having me! Here’s my official blurb:

Elizabeth Richards is an award-winning journalist, who spent her early career reviewing videogames before making the bold (or crazy) move into travel writing, despite suffering from terrible travel sickness.

In her spare time, she ran a successful lifestyle website aimed at teenage girls, where she got to interview many of her favourite bands, go to gigs and basically blag loads of free swag all in the name of ‘research’.

Elizabeth lives in Northamptonshire, England, with her husband. BLACK CITY (book #1), PHOENIX (book #2) and WINGS (book #3) formed her debut trilogy, The Black City Chronicles, published by Putnam/Penguin.

 

You can only play one video game for the rest of the year, what game do you choose?

Oooh, that’s a good question. At the start of the year, my husband and I splashed out on the PS4 VR gaming system and we’ve been playing Super Hot a lot. It’s like being in the Matrix. Although, if I had to only pick one game for the rest of the year then it would be Uncharted 4. The story line is excellent, the gameplay varied with a good mixture of puzzles and action and Nathan Drake is a charismatic hero.

 

Travel writing *dreamy sigh* so lovely. What is a place you traveled to that has stuck with you?

The moment that has most stuck with me during my travel writing days was standing on the deck of a cruise ship on a clear starry night, watching Stromboli erupt. I’ll never forget that feeling or awe and wonder. It was remarkable.

 

Has your lifestyle website aimed at teenage girls influenced your Black City novels in any way?

It made me want to ensure that my main female lead, Natalie, was strong and complex – I didn’t want her to be ‘just’ the love interest to my hero, Ash. I wanted her to be someone with agency, who had ambition, a strong mind and heart, and someone who challenged authority when she felt they were wrong, even if it meant putting herself at risk. More than anything, I wanted her to be someone who allowed herself to make mistakes and was willing to grow and change, which she does over the course of the trilogy, from a spoilt Sentry brat to the leader of a rebellion.

 

Post-apocalyptic, love story, and bloody war advertising your first novel, Black City. Was there any scenes, love or destruction wise, that you found difficult to complete?

There is a scene in the final book in the trilogy, WINGS, when Ash receives some news about his father, which completely crushed me. I won’t say anything more for fear of spoilers, but those who have read it will know the bit I mean. It was a quiet moment, but one that changes Ash’s life forever and it broke my heart. I felt so mean writing it!

 

Can you share any works in progress that you have brewing in your writing office?

At the moment I’m working on an adult thriller- it’s in its early stages, so too soon to reveal much about it, but I’m thoroughly enjoying trying my hand at a new genre and writing for an older audience. It’s a very different experience from writing my YA novels, but I’m enjoying the challenge!

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers today?

If they’d like to get in touch with me to chat about books or writing, I can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/officialelizabethrichards) or on Twitter (@theredpenofdoom). I’m always happy to answer any questions they may have about my books or publishing in general!