I’d like to welcome Esraa Yousry, author of In Your Absence: Emerald Lover, to my site today.

Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you

• What is your name and do you write under a pen name? My name is Esraa Yousry same name as my Pen Name 

• Where do you call home? Besides my own house? In a library but of course, my house with my beloved family and my loved ones. 

• Obviously, we know you are an author, but some writers have other jobs as well. Do you have another occupation? Do you believe you’re any good at it? Do you like what you do? I’m a designer, video editor, and screenwriter. I’m good at directing also.

• What is your family like? When I say My family is the best I mean it. Incredibly, wonderfully, talented and loving. We’d die for each other. 

• Do you have any hobbies, other than writing? What do you enjoy doing? Of course, astrology is my favorite hobby. I’m a Taurus so I love knowing more about Astrology.

• Not to pry too much, but do you remember your first love? And how can I forget? even though we are not together anymore but I still respect him to this day. That’s all.

• What is the most terrible thing that ever happened to you? That’s a hard question, many terrible things happened to me that I can’t even name one, honestly. 

• What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing? My family, that’s where it all began, they inspired me to start all of this. Professionally? for three or two years. As a hobby? maybe five years ago.

• Who is your role model? My role model is Maya Angelou for sure. 

• What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is losing my loved ones. Maybe that’s why I’m overprotecting them, that sometimes they think that I’m controlling them.

• Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? I’m more into paperbacks, hard-covers.

• Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? Maybe once? you know they always say never judge a book by its cover, but I did once and it was the worst.

• What is your favorite film based on a book? Let me be clear, I hate when books are turned into movies. It loses its identity. 

• What is your favorite book genre at the moment? Literature. 

• What books have made it onto your wish list recently? And why? I don’t have any on my wish list recently, I don’t know why or maybe It’s just me. But nothing really attracts me right now. Recently, books are cheap and that’s my own opinion maybe it’s wrong. 

• What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format? At the moment, I’m not reading any. I’m currently supervising the writing of some new books by new writers.

Let’s shift somewhat and talk about your latest story.

• What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say? The name of my most recent book is In Your Absence: Emerald Lover. It’s all about relationships, culture, beauty, love, family and pain.

• Is the above book part of a series? Yes, the book is part of the In Your Absence series.

• How did you come up with the covers? Who designed the covers of your book(s)? The cover is Inspired by my African culture and roots. The cover is designed by me.

• Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book(s)? The answer is yes. Actually, the songs I was listening to inspired me to write more of what I even expected to write in this book. 

• How did you come up with the title for your book(s)? The title is a secret, that only a few will understand but maybe if you read it you will understand why I gave it this title.

• Do you have a book trailer? If so, where can we watch it? No, I don’t have a book trailer.

• How did you come up with the idea for your latest book? My culture, my family and my own experiences.

Let’s talk now about your writing process.

• What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter? I change my mind a lot so, I’m a Pantser. I start at the beginning and let the characters and situation determine what happens next.

• Are you a self-published/Indie author or did you publish through a traditional publishing company? I’m a self-published author.

• If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route? I choose to be a self-published author so I can do whatever I want, I can control my whole writing process from writing to publishing. 

• What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing? “To pen down something isn’t a big deal. But to pen, something that has never been said or something spoke like never before takes courage and skill.”

• What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing? My advice is to ask themselves why do you want to become a writer? If you want to do it for the love of the writing itself then do it, if not for the whole process then just let it go. It’s not for you. But if you do it for the whole Idea and process of writing then just try to be professional in every way and in everything that you do, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make mistakes. Of course not, you’ll fail many times but it makes you more educated. Write on a regular basis and know who you are writing for. 

• Where can your readers follow you?

FACEBOOK       INSTAGRAM       WEBSITE GOODREADS

Also by Esraa Yousry:

MADRE: Three kids realize they’re stuck in the basement of a psychopath old woman who claims to be their mom, and forces them to call her “Mommy”, can they escape this nightmare?

If you have questions for Esraa, please comment below and she will answer them as they come in.