About the Book
About the Book
Cinder and Ella by Kelly Oram
Genre: YA Contemporary/Retelling
Synopsis
What would you do if your anonymous Internet best friend turned out to be Hollywood’s hottest celebrity?
Cinder458: Your blogaversary is coming up, right?
EllaTheRealHero: Do all those Hollywood friends of yours know you use words like blogaversary?
Cinder458: Of course not. I need your address. Got you a blogaversary present.
Cinder got me a gift? My heart flipped. Not that I was in love with my Internet best friend or anything. That would be utterly ridiculous. The boy was cocky and stubborn and argued with everything I said just to be infuriating. He also had lots of money, dated models—which meant he had to be hot—and was a closet book nerd. Funny, rich, hot, confident, book lover. Definitely not my type. Nope. Not at all.
It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.…
" I wrote fan fiction for years before I started writing actual novels. My first novel was a fanfiction about my best friend and me meeting the Backstreet Boys. Oh, yes I did. And it was laughably awful!"
An Interview with author Kelly Oram
Give us the scoop on Kelly Oram.
I wrote my first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about my favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which my family and friends still tease me. I’m obsessed with reading, talk way too much, and like to eat frosting by the spoonful. I live outside of Phoenix, Arizona with my husband, four children, and my cat, Mr. Darcy. And we named his litter box Pemberly because it’s where he makes ten thousand (poops) a year!
When did you develop an interest in writing?
I think I was born this way. I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember—as soon as I knew how to read and write. My mother says that even before that I would draw pictures and the pictures would tell stories. I had a wild imagination as a kid and writing was a great outlet for it. I’m also a bit of an insomniac and writing stories was something to do during my sleepless nights.
Tell us about your route to success – how/when did you decide to self-publish? Did you query an agent first? How did you handle the editing, proofreading, cover design, etc?
I did query 3 or 4 agents at first, but I didn’t even wait to hear back from them before I decided to self-publish. My husband just really wanted to try it, so I let him. It’s worked out well for us. I have a couple of different beta readers and a wonderful critique group that I give my manuscripts to that give me feedback and help me with story editing. Then I outsource my copyediting. It’s taken me several tries to find an editor I like, but I finally found one who is great. If any other indie writers out there are looking for a freelance editor, email me and I’ll give you Jen’s info. Other than that, my husband does all my formatting and cover designs. The man has mad skills. I wouldn’t have tried to self publish if I didn’t have him to help me with everything. We’ve had to smooth out the kinks over the years but now we’ve got a system down that works really well for us.
What do you like to read?
I read mostly YA and about 85% of the books I read are paranormal or fantasy. Give me magic, monsters and romance!! But on the flip side, I need a great contemporary read, or historical romance every now and then to keep me grounded.
Who are some of your favorite book characters?
Mr. Darcy is a classic. I love him so much I named my cat after him. I also love Phillip from Julianne Donaldson’s Edenbrooke, Daemon from Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series, Suze Simon from Meg Cabot’s Mediator series, Beka Cooper from Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper series… this list could also go on forever.
Share with us one thing most people do not know about you?
Umm… like I mentioned about in the fun facts, I modeled a little bit as a teenager and once competed in the Miss Michigan Teen USA pageant. Neither modeling, nor the pageant circuit was really my thing and I quit both pretty quickly. But it was an experience I’m glad I had. I got to do something that not many get the chance to do. I also learned that I belong behind the spotlight, not in it. LOL.
Connect with Kelly
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