It’s time for our Christmas interview. It’s a special choice, because all holidays are full with love. Ella Maise released her new book To Love Jason Thorn on December 3.

Merry Christmas to everyone

– Ella, what is your book To Love Jason Thorn about?
– To Love Jason Thorn is about an ordinary girl who falls in love with her brother’s best friend when she is only six-years-old and knows nothing about love. Sure, back then it is nothing more than a harmless crush, but even though years passes by and he breaks her heart—unknowingly—before he leaves the city for good, it does nothing to kill the love she feels in her heart for him. And isn’t that the best kind of love. First love.
Then life happens, more years passes by and Olive only gets to see Jason through the big screen since he has become a famous actor. When she is about to graduate from college, she publishes the first novel she ever wrote—which is loosely inspired by the love she felt for a boy…for Jason—and it becomes the number one bestseller. While everyone is talking about her book, a well-known production company gets in touch with her to option the movie rights. Coincidentally, they already have an actor they have in mind for the role and they want her to meet with him, thinking it’ll make it easier for her to accept their offer. And when Jason Thorn is the one who walks through the door…everything changes for Olive in that moment. The very last time she’d seen him, he had broken her heart, but as they slowly become friends again and Jason slowly starts to fall for the girl who had always been his…well, then the story only gets better. 🙂

– How did you decide to write the story?
– Normally, at least with the other books I’ve written, I’ve always had to sit down and really think about my characters—what they wanted from each other, for themselves, what would they do in certain situation, etc… But with Jason and Olive…their story was just complete, every scene was just ready for me to write down. So, there was no decision really, they decided for me and I simply had to write about them.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– As I mentioned earlier, in a way it was extremely easy to write about Jason and Olive because I could practically close my eyes and see their lives unfold. I have no idea if I’m making any sense, but everything about the story was just right from the very beginning. At least for me. So, the biggest challenge for me was to actually stop writing about them. The limit I’d given my editor was 85k words, but the novel ended up being close to 110k words and that is only because I had to force myself to stop.
– Tell us something more about your main characters Olive and Jason? Are they close to someone from your real life?
– Hmmm… Unfortunately, no. I wish they were more than just fictional characters.
– What the readers will find in Alexander & Maya series?
– The duet of Alexander and Maya is very different from To Love Jason Thorn. Where To Love Jason Thorn is a Romantic Comedy and hopefully will put a big smile on your face, Alexander and Maya is almost the opposite. Yes, their love story is just as powerful, but they are more likely to make you cry than laugh. However, they do get their HEA at the end so it’s all good. Sometimes we all need a good cry, and when it comes in a good love story…nothing better than that if you ask me 🙂
I think it took me about one and half month to write the story and then one month for the editing process and the last read through before I published. It was a pretty quick process this time around.
– How much time did you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– Usually it takes me more time to write the first draft.
– Who are you (Would you describe yourself with few sentences)?
– I’m a new writer. A happy one at that. And I love saying that out loud. Maybe I’m a little crazy too, a little shy…all in all I’m an ordinary girl who loves to smile and knows to take pleasure in the small things.
– What are your writing habits?
– I don’t have specific habits, but I definitely have to have quiet. Which is why I usually write at night. Oh, and before I start writing, I like to clear my mind and think about my characters so I can get back in their head and give voice to them. Sometimes that takes only a few minutes or I don’t even need to do it, but sometimes it takes a lot longer than that which is really frustrating when all you want to do is sit down and write.
– Are you satisfied by the interest and pre-sales of your book?
– Since I’m a fairly new writer, and not the best promoter, I didn’t have that many pre-sales, at least nothing compared to the sales after my release date. But, I did get messages and emails from a few of the bigger book blogs—expressing their interest for an ARC of my book so that was priceless for me.
– What are you doing to promote your book by the best possible way?
– I’m not the best promoter at all. Did I already mention that? I practically suck at it 🙂 The whole process of promoting a book…I don’t like that part at all. I believe To Love Jason Thorn managed to get into the top 100 mostly because word of mouth. I get messages from readers saying how much they loved my book and they are telling everyone they know to read it too. That…I think is the best message any writer would want to get from their readers.
– When we will see your next novel and would you unveil something more about it?
– Lucy. My next novel will be about Lucy’s HEA and I will most likely publish it in the beginning of April 2016. She was the best friend of Olive in To Love Jason Thorn and I loved her when I was writing Olive’s story. Thankfully, everyone seems to share my feelings on that and want to read her story.
– Tell us more about the plotting of sex scenes in your books? What are the most important details that are making them as real as possible?
– The sex scenes… Well, the only thing I know is that I can’t force the characters to have sex. That is when it ruins the story for me. In Jason and Olive’s story, they don’t even share their first kiss until the %60 mark. Which drove me crazy, actually. I wanted them to have at least that, earlier in the story. However, I have to let it happen when the characters are ready for it, otherwise no matter how good it is written—sex scene or not—I think it takes away something from the story when it should actually add something to it. So, plotting the sex scenes is not my thing. If it doesn’t feel right, if it feels rushed or meaningless, I think readers can spot that a mile away. And a bad sex scene…as a reader that definitely turns me off.
– Do you remember the moment when you decide to write your first novel?
– Yep. It was actually kind of a joke. I was talking to a friend I’d made through Goodreads, and I told her how much I wanted to write a book. It was a secret wish I hadn’t shared with anyone. I didn’t have to publish, but I just wanted to see if I could. If it was something I could do. Then she told me that she actually started on a novel but never finished it. That night I scribbled a few paragraphs down and sent it to her before I could change my mind about it. When she said it wasn’t actually that bad…I kept going with the story and finished my first book. Going back and making a ton of changes along the way, of course. A few months later, before I could second guess myself, I published it…
– If you may ask yourself one question in the interview what it will be?
– If I had to ask one question it would be… Why do you write? Because it makes me extremely happy when I’m writing. And it’s the best feeling in the world. Because I feel like this is the right thing for me. I don’t even see it as work, this is just what I do, or more accurately who I am. I write simply because I can’t stop. I love giving voice to new characters. Love getting to know them, laughing with them, falling in love with them, crying with them. I love every aspect of writing, and I’m so very happy that more than a few people seem to think I’m not that bad at it. 🙂

To learn more about Ella Maise check out her Website
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Take a look at her books
To Love Jason Thorn
I’m Yours
The Alexander & Maya Duet: Lost Heartbeats