Interview with Elizabeth Miles (Author of Fury)

Today, I am lucky enough to share with you an interview with Fury author, Elizabeth Miles. If you read my Fury review, then you know I loved it for its realistic characters and chilling storyline!

Author Bio: Elizabeth Miles grew up in Chappaqua, New York, not far from New York City. She graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2004, worked for several years at the Boston Phoenix, and now writes for the Portland Phoenix, an alternative weekly newspaper. She has won several awards from the New England Press Association and was nominated for an Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Award. Elizabeth serves on the board of trustees of Portland Players, a community theater and second home. She loves pizza; she can often be found running around on stage while scantily clad; and a cold winter night in Maine is one of the creepiest and most beautiful things she can think of. Fury is Elizabeth’s first novel.

What was your inspiration for writing Fury?

My inspirations were varied: an interest in mythology, folklore, and fables; a love-hate relationship with horror movies (I love them but I hate how scared they make me!); a long-term devotion to YA literature; and some, ah, personal experience with the concepts of karma and whether “what goes around comes around.”

For those who don't know, who are the Furies?

The Furies are beautiful, mysterious creatures who are hell-bent on revenge. They’re based on creatures in Greek mythology, who, once summoned to mete out their often disproportionate and violent brand of vengeance, would not leave until they felt justice had been served. In my book, the Furies show up in Ascension and wreak havoc in the lives of some flawed (i.e., normal) teenagers.

Fury is told from two different perspectives, Em and Chase. Whose perspective did you enjoy writing from more?

I loved writing both characters. However, I have to admit that it was fun—and, weirdly, a bit liberating!—to write from Chase’s male perspective. Without wanting to get too much into gender roles and stereotypes, I did find that Chase’s thought processes were, on the surface, more rational and somewhat colder. That was a different thing for me, and I enjoyed it.

Your t-shirt design for Fury bears the phrase, "Revenge is Sweet." Em and Chase both do some pretty awful things to be chosen by the Furies, but did you take any pleasure in writing the scenes where the Furies get their revenge?

The revenge scenes are some of my favorites. Not because I necessarily agree with what the Furies are doing, but because they were creatively challenging to write.

Without giving away any major spoilers for anyone who hasn't read Fury yet, what can we expect from the sequel, Envy?

Envy, the second book in the Fury series, will follow some of the same characters and introduce some new ones. (I *love* one of the new characters!) We’ll learn more about the Furies—and find out if anything can be done to get rid of them.

Thank you so much to Elizabeth Miles for answering my questions and to Michelle for setting up this interview!

Interested in winning a copy of Fury and a Revenge is Sweet T-shirt? Check out Paper Lantern Lit's Blog for your chance to win!

Author Links:
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