Interview with Author Ella James and Giveaway

Meet Ella James, author of Taming Cross.

I'm a Denver, Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. I am happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together we are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone's parents go to war over the placement of a comma. My books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Amazon Top 100 and the Amazon Movers & Shakers List; two were listed among Amazon's Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012. To find out more about my projects and win prizes and swag, find me on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage. Questions or comments? Tweet me at author_ellaj or e-mail me at ella_f_james@ymail.com.

Places to find Ella:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you? 
I'm a married mom of a two-year-old son, with a daughter coming in November. I'm in my late 20s. My family recently moved to Denver, Colorado, from Alabama. I was a journalist before I wrote fiction. I've been a fulltime fiction writer for more than a year. My husband is my editor and is also a writer, so we both work from home. ;)

Did you always want to be a writer? 
Yep, pretty much. It always came easily to me, and I was always crazy about reading, so it just fit.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter? 
I'm really a pantser, but I need at least a vague idea of where I'm going when I start. It would be easier, as a professional writer, to be a plotter, because that's faster, I think, and you have a better idea what kind of product you'll end up with. But you can't help what you are!

Where do your ideas come from? 
I don't know! :) I just have them. I guess they're usually grounded in some kind of “real” event or thing that I've heard about, and then I attach characters to the idea and it just makes itself into a book.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Um, can I get my publicist to do this? LOL. I'm terrible at this kind of thing, but here's my best shot: New adult romance with plenty of suspense and steam!

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I usually like to read what I like to write. My favorite book in the last few months is Left Drowning by Jessica Park. It was really amazing.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
For a long time I really liked Evening by Susan Minot. It's really tragic. I also love Wuthering Heights. One that I re-read every year is a YA romance called The Only Alien on the Planet.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write? 
Scenes with a lot of detail are annoying. All I want to do is have the characters interacting and be writing dialogue and feelings, but books have to have some scaffolding and a setting... that kind of thing! ;) I also really hate scenes where the characters are in a situation I just CANNOT relate to. Scenes were people are kidnapped tend to be pretty hard to me, as do any scenes where the characters are kind of in shock. How can you write that with any accuracy? It's such a cerebreal expereince, you know? And no one remembers what it's like to be in shock once it's over, so you can't even draw on your own experiences!

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Oh, man. I'm really not sure. I've met so many authors that I really love. I adored the book The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, so I'm going to pick her as one. Also I now have an author crush on Jessica Park...so her, too. And maybe also Nora Roberts. I'd love to talk to a long-time romance author just to see what it's like to go that far.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Oh yes! Always! :) I'm very busy between now and when my daughter is born, in November. I'll be re-editing and releasing Trapped, the second book in my Here Trilogy; writing and releasing Unmaking Marchant, Love Inc. #3; and writing something super secret, too – which happens to be a full-length novel.

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Check out the Love Inc series:

Click for info.

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 iPad Mini loaded with all of Ella's books
• 1 signed set of Love Inc series 

To Enter: 

• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to the Ella James & Inkslinger PR for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway!

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