Dear Reader,

 

If you follow me for some months/weeks now you must know that I love interviewing authors. I’m fascinated by the writing process and can’t ever know enough about how the author’s genius minds work.

 

When I contacted the famous Alessandra Torre I had not great expectations. I did not think she would agree to play the interview game. Why? Essentially because she’s been crazy busy with the filming of Hollywood Dirt, the launch of her latest book Trophy Wife AND launching her very own group AlessandraTorreInk. But to my great astonishment and utter delight, she agreed immediately!

 

I can’t thank her enough for giving me some of her precious time.

 

I also encourage you strongly to go visit this group as it gathers (aspiring) authors to help them write better and share experiences. Alessandra gives incredible tips and advices!

 

So now Dear Reader, for your eyes only, here comes  ♥ Alessandra Torre ♥

 

 

  • Let us know you better somehow first: what’s your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is definitely going to bed early – around 8 or 9. When I travel, I’m turning down the air and crawling into bed as soon as I’m done eating. How boring is that?! When I splurge, it’s on massages or shoes – those both make me smile.

 

  • How was little Alessandra like? Did you always know you would write books one day?

I was a horse/book nerd until I was about 14. Then I started running, and I was a fairly successful athlete during high school. I always loved to read, and dreamed about being an editor, but it was never a serious aspiration. I expected to work in hotels. Becoming an author was sort of a summer project (writing a book) that grew legs and became something much larger.

 

  • Your first published work (that I know of) Blindfolded Innocence was a huge hit. How do you explain your success? 

Blindfolded Innocence was successful because it was the right place, at the right time, and it had one hell of a scandalous cover. That cover ended up getting it kicked off Amazon, but not before it wracked up crazy sales, and landed me a print deal. Here’s the original cover >> http://www.alessandratorre.com/blog/the-evolution-of-blindfolded-innocences-cover

 

  • About your first work again: how long was it brewing inside your pretty head before publishing?

It sort of came from nowhere. I sat down and the story of how my husband and I met – that story just flowed out of me. I was overly confident about it. I finished the book, read it over a few times, sort of just shrugged, and hit ‘publish’. Part of my lack of concern was the fact that I was publishing under a pseudonym and did no advance marketing. So, if it was terrible, no one would know it was me. The most difficult part of it was the learning curve, once I did hit publish. I didn’t know anything about the business, or how to market my book, or what to write next.

 

  • You wrote very different stories so far and they’ve been huge success in general. How do you get your ideas for the plot and for the characters? What’s your writing process? And how do you make them (your characters) real?

*laughing* The ‘magic’ has no rhyme or reason. Book ideas come from nowhere, and some of them are duds that you never see, and others flow out of me like water. Typically, I have the characters first, then they sort of take the plot and run. I try to outline, or do a rough sketch of one, just so I know where I’m going. And for me, the characters are real. I can hear their thoughts, can picture their actions. But I very very very rarely ever see their faces. And that’s one of the reasons why I don’t use a lot of descriptions in my writing. I like to let the readers imagine things for themselves.

 

Now let’s have a look at some of your books.

 

  • Black Lies was the first I’ve read. Now you really played with my mind and it was brilliant. How did you come with that idea? And was it easy to stay true to the plot and never mix something up?

Black Lies … originally I planned on one man and two women. I would write the book from the woman(s) POV. But as I was thinking through it, I found it so much more interesting to think about how the other party would feel. I’m being so vague here but trying not to give spoilers. It was very easy to stay true to the plot because that book had so many pieces, and they all needed to behave in order for it to work. 😉

 

 

  • About the Innocence series I just have to ask: was Brad De Luca your fantasy boyfriend?  Why did you choose to write a story that would take many readers out of their comfort zone and shake their beliefs? What was the genesis of this series?

Brad DeLuca is based on my husband. Not the sexual fetish side of it, but his personality is 100% my husband. So he was very very easy to write, because I had a living, breathing example to go by. The fetish – I didn’t want to do a BDSM book. Fifty Shades of Grey was going nuts and EVERYONE was doing a BDSM book. So I started researching other fetishes. I ended up on a private website, and was able to interview 3 couples who swing. They gave me really great insights into that world, and the motivations and technicalities of it all. I had always been so creeped out by swingers, and I wanted to paint a better – and more accurate – picture of that genre, and one that would make it more approachable to readers.

 

 

  • Moonshot: are you a baseball fan and were dying to write something about it? What’s the story behind the book?  Who inspired you to write Chase? Some “real” player or was it 100% imagination?

I am a baseball fan, but the story was mostly inspired by stories of my husband’s days as a bat boy for the Minnesota Twins. Chase Stern was total imagination, but built from lots of time in baseball stands, and watching players interact and flirt with women.  

 

 

  • Now about Hollywood Dirt : had you some actor in mind writing about Cole? And how did you get the “southern spirit” so well? I adored Summer and her sass, her dignity and her “Southern Belle “stance. She gave Cole a run for his money. The rooster’s idea was genius what’s inspired you?   What’s your involvement in the making of the film?  Do you have a tight hand and a say about many decisions (cast for example) or is it a quite distant collaboration? What have you learned about filming so far that you had no idea before? Or is making a film as you believed it would be? 

Hollywood Dirt – the Southern spirit is in me – I’m a small-town Georgian girl at heart! So it was very easy to write that novel – I just channeled all of my memories from growing up. The movie has wrapped, and is in edits now. It was fascinating to see the movie-making process, and to meet all of the people involved in its production. The studio (PassionFlix) was amazing, in terms of keeping me involved in all aspects of it, and asking for feedback along the way.

 


  • Among your characters, who would you choose to:

-have a baby with? – Cole Masten (Hollywood Dirt)

-fix your car? – Carter (Love Chloe)

-play between the sheets? Nathan Dumont (Trophy Wife)

-marry? – Brad DeLuca (Innocence Series)

-get drunk with? – Vic (Love Chloe)

-read a book and debate about it? Brant (Black Lies)

 

 

 What books inspired you or moved you or..? What and/or who would you recommend us to read? Why?

 I loved The Siren by Tiffany Reisz. I love all of her books, but that series, and that book, really spoke to me.

 

 

  • Now, for people not already on Alessandra Torre Ink, could you give us just one advice for aspiring writers?

Whew – AlessandraTorreInk.com is finally live! And one piece of advice … don’t second guess yourself. Write because you are madly and passionately in love with your story. Don’t publish it for sales, or for money, or for any reason other than it is your child and you want it to experience the world (and the world to experience it!)

If anyone is interested in writing their first book, I strongly urge them to check out my online course, How to Write Your First Book here.

 

 

  • Do you have besties in the book world? Other writers you’re friends with? Would dream to collaborate with? Would like to be when you’ll grow up?

My book bestie is my PA, Tricia Crouch. I’m friends with a lot of authors, but writing is a fairly solitary activity. I want to be Kristen Ashley when I grow up. J I’d love to collaborate with Gillian Flynn.

 


  • Last parting words: What is your biggest dream? Would you do anything else besides writing? If you had to begin writing again what would you change or do differently?

My biggest dream is for Deanna Madden to have her own show or movie (she’s my character from the Girl in 6E trilogy). If I wasn’t a writer, I’d love to be a songwriter or a dog walker. If I began writing again, I would have a marketing platform (website, social media, etc) in place FIRST. And I’d do a better job of editing my first novels, before I published them. 

Thank you Alessandra!

You can find Alessandra Torre at:

Facebook page: ->https://www.facebook.com/AlessandraTorre0/

Facebook group AlessandraTorreInk: -> https://www.facebook.com/AlessandraTorreInk/

Site: http://www.alessandratorre.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReadAlessandra

Go show her some love!!

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