By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she toils away the hours bringing her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.
Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.
1. Your books are filled with humor and tongue in cheek satire, what is your inspiration?
Life. My husband is the funniest man I know – he’s also lethally sarcastic, so I think his vibe finds its way into all my male characters. My children are also spirited and quick witted – there’s a lot of laughter in our house every day.
2. Some of your characters are larger than life. Did you model them after someone you know? Or use your imagination?
For the most part, it’s my imagination. But parts of their personalities are inspired by people I know, or people I wish I knew.
3. How do you decide physical features, names, etc. for your characters?
Before I start writing, I really see these characters in my head, so the physical features just come from how I see them. For instance, I knew Stanton would be blond with golden, tan skin from all the years on the farm. I knew Jake would have grey eyes – because they can be cold or tumultuous or comforting depending on his mood.
Names take a little more work. I want my characters to have unique names – but not too “romantic hero” sounding. I usually make a list, try and think of names that represent their personalities, and eliminate until I find a good name that fits.
4. Do you find yourself identifying with some of your characters? If so, which character ones?
I typically always identify with the female leads in my books – which is so odd because I very rarely write from their POV. Maybe that’s why I don’t. Maybe I’m too self-conscious in that way and it’s easier to be irreverent in the male POV – because I know they’re doing and saying things I never would. In the Tangled Series I identified with Kate, in Overruled with Sofia and in Sustained definitely with Chelsea. All of those ladies have certain personality traits similar to my own.
5. Is there a novel that you've written that you consider your best work? Which one is it?
I love all of my stories for a variety of reasons, but overall I think Tangled and Sustained are my best works. The characters are refreshing and the stories are quick and sexy, funny and yet heartwarming at the same time.
6. Who is your favorite author? What book by that author is your favorite?
Johanna Lindsey. Gentle Rogue. This is the book that made me fall in love with a hero who was equal parts lovable and slappable.
7. Did this author influence your writing? In what way?
Even though Johanna Lindsey writes historical romances and I don’t, I think her writing does influence my own, in that her dialogue is snappy and witty, the story is entertaining but not so heavy that it can’t be read in one sitting, and the characters are lively and memorable. Those are the kinds of books I try to write.
8. Do you have a favorite genre that you read? What is it?
Lately it’s been contemporary romance – but my first love will always be historical romances.
9. What do you feel would be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
Making my readers smile. It’s an honor to hear that my stories and characters helped someone through a difficult time or just the everyday stressors of life. There really is no greater privilege than to give readers a light-hearted, escape.
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