Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Emily Shore, and I am an anti-trafficking author represented by Fuse Literary. With the blessing and permission of my agent, I’ve indie-published an anti-trafficking post-apocalyptic novella designed to educate and engage youth on the issue of sex-trafficking. A portion of the proceeds of my book goes directly back to rescue organizations fighting trafficking.
My novella features a young girl named Ruby who has been surviving on her own for four years in a crumbling futuristic city known as the Ghetto. In Ruby’s world, girls are hunted as currency, and though Ruby’s countless escapes have branded her as the Ghetto Fox, she understands she can only run and hide for so long.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve been a prominent member of the anti-trafficking movement for the past ten years and have networked with rescue organizations operating all over the world as well as earned the support of advocates, trafficking survivors, law enforcement, and politicians. When over 300,000 girls are trafficked annually in the United States, and only 1% are rescued, that figure is unacceptable to me. My goal is to educate youth on this issue and call them to action. To appeal to young adults, I sought to write a speculative fiction. My speculative fiction trilogy is currently represented by Fuse, who gave me permission to write Ruby in the Rough, a post-apocalyptic representation of prostitution. Through this book, I hope to give back to the rescue organizations (one local and one international) which have inspired and empowered me on my journey.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When you’re a mom to a 3 year old and an 8 month old, your writing habits get flushed down the drain. If conditions were ideal, I’d pack up my tablet, head to my local coffee shop, sip some hot tea, and hunker down for a six-hour haul!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve written 18 books since graduating college with my B.A. in Creative Writing. Over the years, many authors have inspired me from classics like Jane Austen and Emily Bronte to newer authors like Stephenie Meyer, Laini Taylor, and Lauren Nicolle Taylor (one of my all-time favorites). However, for the purposes of my Ruby book, speaking with the survivors of sex-trafficking and hearing their stories have impacted me the most as well as getting updates from my trafficking rescue organizations.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on the sequel to Ruby in the Rough (due to be released in May) and a quiet contemporary featuring twins who have lived in the same town all their lives but are from very different worlds.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find the best method is honestly word of mouth. I love getting the chance to network in person and speak to teens directly. I love seeing who is passionate about this subject or engaging with those who want to learn more. This month I will be speaking at a high school assembly of over 350 high school students and faculty and teachers on trafficking.
Social media: I enjoy connecting with bloggers or people engaged in the movement via my Facebook author page – facebook.com/AuthorEmilyShore
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take writing classes, get much feedback on your work, and never ever skimp on a good editor – they are worth their weight in gold! Also, get ways to make your audience care about your book. Try to relate it back to something current (if you can). I wrote a magical realism but set it in a city I’d only traveled to once in my life, but I started getting connected with the locals and seeing if they were interested in my book. That’s just one example.
When your book is fully revised and edited, then try Twitter pitch contests. They are a really great way to get agents to notice your work.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Kill the cliche! Please, no more girls who think they’re plain when they’ve got all the guys after them, no more love triangles that drag on through the entire series with the girl going back and forth, no more undeveloped worlds, no more whiny girls, no more girls who internalize everything and never show emotion, no more starting the book when the MC is waking up from a dream or on their way to school. Kill the cliche!
What are you reading now?
Laini Taylor’s Strange, the Dreamer
Lauren Nicolle Taylor’s Nora and Kettle (I reread this one often)
What’s next for you as a writer?
My anti-trafficking trilogy is currently on submission to publishers. My agent is hopeful we will get a book deal soon. If not, we will move on to another one of my titles. But I still plan on promoting Ruby in the Rough and wish to do more speaking events to high schools in the future.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (can I keep it as one?)
Nora and Kettle
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy
Author Websites and Profiles
Emily Shore Website
Emily Shore Amazon Profile
Emily Shore’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account