We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Audra McElyea. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Audra below.

Audra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I do feel like I’m doing what I’m meant to do right now, so therefore I am beyond happy and content. For years, I felt like I didn’t belong career-wise in the corporate buying world I was in, and I could never quite put my finger on why that was because I definitely didn’t hate it. But now that I’m an author, everything seems to make sense in terms of why certain things didn’t work out or weren’t a great fit for me, my personality type, and my gifts, and I now recognize that I’m well-suited to write because that’s where I was being led the whole time through my various experiences. A big part of learning something new is through trial and error, and I’ve found that many people end up doing things they may not be a great fit for because they are afraid to be bad at something or start all over. It’s scary to go to school and work hard at a career only to learn you’re supposed to be doing something else, but if that happens to you, the best advice I can give you is to not be too afraid take the leap. Being a little scared is a good thing, it means we recognize that while we have a lot to lose, we also have a lot to gain.

Audra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Audra McElyea, and I’m a thriller author. I love to write suspenseful stories that will keep you guessing until the final pages and make you think about the story, its characters, and the wild plot twists long after it’s over.

My debut thriller, ONE LITTLE WORD, cane out in 2022, and my next thriller, IF YOU SEE ME, will be out late 2023.

I plan to put a new thriller out every year and make this into a life-long career (complete with book tours and meeting readers from all over) that I can share with my family.

As for me personally, I’m a self-deprecating, anxious, introvert at heart who loves her husband, little boys, and dog more than anything. I enjoy listening to Taylor Swift and watching Marvel movies just as much as I enjoy classic noirs like Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When it comes to social media, I try to focus on being myself and letting that attract the right people. At the end of the day, it doesn’t do anyone any good to have a bunch of followers who aren’t engaged with you. It’s like having friends in real life, you’re way better off going for quality over quantity.

On the flip side, BE what you want to attract. If you want others to engage with you, engage with them. If you want to find other encouraging, kind, people, be encouraging and kind to them.

We get what we put out there, so I honestly just try to be myself, be encouraging, and give helpful advice to others I wish others had given to me or that certain people did give to me that I want to pay forward while also creating books that can entertain readers and provide a fun little escape.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I have a newsletter on AudraMcElyea.com where readers can sign up to get exclusive behind the scenes information as well as an author Facebook page, Instagram page, Twitter, TikTok, Goodreads, Bookbub etc. where I actively engage with readers and book clubs (all are linked on AudraMcElyea.com )

Contact Info:

• Website: AudraMcElyea.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/AudraMcElyeaAuthor
• Facebook: Facebook.com/AudraMcElyeaAuthor
• Twitter: Twitter.com/AudraMcElyea

Image Credits
Audra McElyea