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Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 20
- S.E. Reed
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Hello! It's me (again). S.E. Reed, your favorite multi-genre Indie Author and volunteer at The Writer's Workout. Okay, so maybe I'm not your favorite, but I am an Indie Author who has made it her mission to help you find out more about others like me. Each of these episodes features a Q&A-style interview with an Indie Author so you can get to know more about them and their writing. In addition, some of the authors have chosen to participate in a 2nd interview on my website, Writing With Reed, which I'll link at the end.
Today's episode is with someone I happen to know through some mutual publishing experiences. The fabulous Adele Liles! I love that she is a school teacher and writes YA. What better way to know how to write to that audience then working with them day in day out. Something else I've come to learn through this interview is that I actually inspired Adele to submit her work for the first time! I love hearing stories like that. Make sure to always share what you're up to in the #writingcommunity because you never know who you might inspire.
Adele, thank you so much for taking time to meet with me today! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’ve been a high school English teacher for 26 years, and love reading books and sharing my love of books with teenagers. Like most authors, I’ve dreamed of writing and getting published since I was young, but I never made it a priority in my life until a few years ago. One day I just woke up and said the time is now!
Tell us about your writing style.
I write YA suspense/thrillers. I read thrillers more than any other genre, and I work with teens, so it seems natural for me to gravitate toward that. My students are a constant source of material. My debut Among the Whisperings is a YA dark re-imagining of The Great Gatsby inspired by a class discussion on the classic in which I turned Jay Gatsby into a manipulative and dangerous teenage girl.
Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it.
I’m proud of my debut, which came out in December from Wild Ink Publishing. I’m equally proud of my 2nd book, Eliminated, which comes out in July with Wild Ink, but you only get one debut, so Among the Whisperings will forever be my baby.
Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?
I was bitten by the anthology bug a few years ago, so I’m always working on short stories for those. My latest short project is a Sleeping Beauty retelling for an anthology of fairytale retellings. As for novels, my current WIP is another YA thriller but I’m keeping the premise pretty close to my chest!
What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?
Get involved in the writing community online. Shelby, you’re the reason I’m on the path I’m on. I randomly stumbled onto you on Twitter and you were promoting the submission call for Tenpenny Dreadfuls from Wild Ink. If I hadn’t been following you, I never would have seen that submission call. My first two published pieces are in that anthology. From there, I began interacting with more people in the writing community, and ultimately landed my publishing deal with Wild Ink as a result of relationships and networking.
Who is your favorite Indie Author?
You for one, of course, even though you’re agented now and moving on from Indie! I’m also a big fan of Jessica K. Foster, Nicky Shearsby, Jack Dane, and Niki Keith.
Where can someone find your work & social presence?
My website has links to all my socials and my work! I’m mostly on Twitter and am trying to be better at using Instagram:
If you want to learn more about Adele, hop over to my website for a 2nd interview! https://www.writingwithreed.com/post/bonus-episode-with-adele-liles
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