Thursday, January 26, 2012

Fifty Shades Freed Interview!





When I woke up early one morning to an email asking if I wanted to be part of the Fifty Shades Freed Tour, I said to myself, HELL YES I DO!  I fell head over heals in love with Fifty the books, and thought this was too good to be true. I honestly thought this was a cruel joke someone was playing on me. Really, I did. I had never been asked to part of a blog tour before so I thought it was really cool. I filled out the Google form and waited......and waited......and waited.






This is how I felt. I swear this could pass as me too! What can I say? I'm an inpatient woman.






If you haven't heard of The Fifty Shades Trilogy....then you must be living in a bubble. That bubble needs to be popped asap so you can get cracking on reading these books! Fifty is so, so....bossy, delectable, addicting and deliciously so! Ana is a gem to read too, but seriously, it's allll about Fifty. Whenever I see an Audi now, I will forever associate it with this trilogy....and I'm ok with that. This story makes me all warm and tingly inside. :)

A few weeks later, I finally received the email I was hoping for. I was part of the Fifty Shades Freed tour! *SQUEE* I was beaming with joy! How cool to be apart of this awesome book tour? I'm not quite sure how I managed it in the first place, but I am so beyond happy and grateful that I could be part of the Fifty Shades Freed Tour.

     Fifty 1








Fifty 2


I figured since this was probably the one and only chance I had to talk books with the creator of our beloved Fifty, I had soooo many questions I wanted to ask her! Like who does she see as Fifty? My head was seriously swimming with questions. But my grandma's voice rang loudly through my head of her saying, "Taryn, it's not always what you want" or "Taryn, it's not always about you!" *sigh* Isn't that the truth. So then I thought it would fun if the fans of the Fifty Shades Trilogy were able to questions as well. And that's what I did.



 

Fifty 3





Oh, did I mention that I will be doing a giveaway today too besides the interview? Well, I am! Not only will there be an interview to day, but I will be giving away a Kindle copy of Fifty Shades Freed too. If you do not have a Kindle, have no fear! I can give away an ebook copy from The Writers Coffee Shop website (where the books are published from). All you have to do it leave a comment and fill out the Google form to entered in the drawing. The giveaway will go until Friday night and I will choose a winner using Random.org on Saturday.



Fifty 4


As you see, I've posted pictures of hunky men who could pass as Fifty. Well, I think who could pass as Fifty. All you have to do to be entered in the contest is leave a number to which man you think would pass as Fifty. If you don't like any that I posted that's ok! I won't be upset. :) You can always post a picture of one that you have in mind or a name. And if you haven't read the books yet, still post who you like.
Fifty 5






 




Ok...back to my train of  thought....So without further ado, please give EL a warm welcome and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. And don't forget to fill out the form and leave a comment to win Fifty Shades Freed! 








Hi Erica, 

Thank you for taking the time out to answer our questions. I really appreciate it and your fans do too. Thank you!
Thank you, Taryn for giving me some precious blog time. It’s much appreciated.




Will we be seeing Jose, Mia, and Ethan get their HEA? Maybe in a spin-off series or a long novella? -Amanda C.
You know I haven’t thought about this. I’d have to go away to a small dark room and lie down and think – but it’s an idea.



Coming from a media background myself, was it hard for you to take yourself and your passion for passion seriously when romance novels are, shall we say, NOT taken seriously as a genre in mainstream media? I worked in media sales selling airtime and ad-space for over ten years and yet with all my networking connections, never felt brave enough to bring up my "hobby" which was writing. In fact, I often took a ribbing when people (and not just men) saw whatever novel I wasreading--usually something by Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham or Karen Robards.
-Your fellow author, Kathryn Gayle 
I used to work in the center of London and take the tube into work everyday. It was a horrible commute and I used to pick up Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham and Karen Robards novels and devour them on the tube – but you’re right I didn’t talk about them – and I was one of those people that didn’t like naked torsos on the front cover of the book I was reading – as those books are such guilty pleasures (or so I thought at the time.) I used to fold the covers back and risk the person sitting next to me reading what I was reading… and that was embarrassing too. Anyway I digress – once I started writing I had no problem telling the people I work with that I did. I think you get to a certain age and you really don’t give a toss what people think – and it’s very liberating. So yes – I am constantly teased by my work colleagues about what I write – and I just brazen it out. :)



Okay this is going to sound crazy but do you ever get tired of writing? *gasp,* Yes, I asked. I know you are a new author, but sometimes we even get tired of what we love. If you do get tired, how do you pick yourself up and get back to it? Also, is there anything you collect? Like rare books? Or coins? Or anything like that? -Dawn S.
Yes I do. At the moment I have so much going on that I don’t have very much time to write but it makes me restless – I think I need a holiday after all these shenanigans, somewhere warm – and I’ll get on with the next thing.  I don’t really collect anything… I wish I could say young men but it’s not true… and my husband might get a bit grumpy with me.



Did you do any "kinky fuckery" research for the books? Like look into Dom/Sub clubs and such to research the toys, safe words, and the contract? Or even have to go to stores just to be familiar with
writing about spreader bars, and anal beads, and ben wa balls? -Alana
Yes. (Nuff said)



Are you planning on doing any other series similar to The Fifty Shades Trilogy? -Janna S.
I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. Right now I want to lie down in a small dark room for a few days!



BDSM books aren't always my cup of tea, but I loved the way you incorporated it into your series. Fifty and Ana's love scenes were steamy, hot, and sexy. Will you continue to write stories with BDSM? -Anna
I have one BDSM idea… which is a bit more hardcore – similarish to Fifty… but different – but I am not sure if this is what I am going to write next.


So, I have to ask. Is there a real Fifty in your life? Please say YES! Well, maybe you shouldn't tell us....we may hunt you down to find him!
This always makes me giggle when people ask me. Fifty is kind of based on one person I know from my past – but really – he’s a fantasy guy… my fantasy guy that I felt brave enough to share with everyone.



Will Christian ever get his own POV book?
Maybe – if people want to read it… maybe after I’ve done something else.  Never say never eh?



What motivates you to write? Your inspirations? 
I just enjoy telling a story. I am the world’s worst joke teller (ask my husband)… so I have to make up for that somehow.  I like to take a one line simple idea – and daydream around it and see where will it go.  Fifty started with – what if you met someone who was into BDSM and you weren’t interested… what would you do?


I've heard talk that you are planning, or in the process of, writing another book series. I was told this time it be for the young adult genre. Is that true? If so, why did you decide to do YA and can you
please give us a little of what it's about? 
Well I think it’s YA – I am very confuzzled by all these genres – for me it’s just another story – and it’s a ghost story I originally wrote in 2009 which I am re-writing at the moment.  Basically it’s a story about grief – it’s a real barrel of laughs – let me tell you.


When I first starting reading the trilogy, I had no idea it was a Twilight Fanfic. I didn't find out until the middle of the second book and to be quite honest, I was shocked! I had no idea! If I really look
closely at it, I guess I can see similarities, but yet they are so completely different. What made you do a fanfic of Twilight? Was it just for fun? Did you ever expect them to become so popular? For the
record, and not just because I have you on my blog today, I'd chose Fifty over Edward and Jacob any day! I'm sure many ladies would too! 
Yes it was just for fun – and it became insanely popular and people started talking to me about publishing – and eventually I did. The reason I did it, is because in November 2008 I watched Twilight the film – and loved it – (I went to the cinema ten times to see it) and for Christmas I asked my husband for the books. On 27th December 2008 I sat down and read them in five solid days – and I just adored them. My work life was not very happy at the time so I escaped into these books and read them, and re-read them and re-read them (something I very rarely do with a book.) At the end of January – I sat down and wrote my first novel. And then I wrote another one – and in August 2009 I discovered Twilight fan fiction – which I thought was completely weird – I’d never heard of fan fiction before. I read a few fics – and thought – I want to have a go at this – so I did. I wrote my first one in 3 weeks… and then I started what became Fifty Shades –
and it was enormous fun to do.  And no I never expected the fics to be popular or the novels… but they are – which is great.



In Fifty Shades Freed, it feels more of an erotic romance with elements of bdsm. Is that what you were going for? 
Again – this is is this genre thing cropping up – I was just telling Christian and Ana’s story – and this is where it went.



For readers, we love when book covers match the story. Did you design the covers of the books yourself? I really love them. Simple, to the point and it matches your story! 
I wanted very simple covers that I would not be embarrassed to read on the tube.  So yes – they all had to be items that were worn. I was going to do wedding rings for the final book – but that kind of gave away what happened at the end – so I decided on the handcuffs.  Initially I wanted an undone black bowtie for the first book – but Amanda (my publisher) and I couldn’t find one that I liked on the sites we used – so Amanda found the silver tie – but not in the right format – when I found the one in portrait format I knew that’s what I wanted.  Jenn our designer did the design.  I wanted a mask for the second – which was much easier to find.



Why did you choose The Writer's Coffee Shop to publish your books? 
I think it was June 2010 I asked the Writers Coffee Shop if they would be interested in publishing and Amanda Hayward the CEO said yes immediately. I then got cold feet and didn’t think about it again.  Every month or so Amanda would get in touch… and hassle me.  Then in January 2011 a dear friend of mine published his story… and I thought ‘well if he can do it…’ so I called up Amanda and the rest is history.

Beer or wine-
White wine – Oyster Bay, Sauvignon Blanc

Ereader or paperback-
Paperback

Favorite sport-
Gymnastics

Favorite book-
Twilight

Favorite food-
Anything carbohydrate

Favorite thing to do in your down time-
(Smirks)

Favorite hero in a book-
Fitzwilliam Darcy



36 comments:

amandakgc said...

Hi Taryn! First of all CONGRATS on your interview. *throws confetti in air* So happy and proud of ya! Great interview and I really hope Ms. James does stories on the rest of the gang.

P.S. Don't pick me! (Whaaaaa...)

Jenn said...

Hey Taryn! Congrats! & Thank You for the fabulous interview with EL...I have my fingers crossed for future updates with our fave "Fifty" characters :)
...You chose some great pics...I think #5 best fits what I see when Ana describes Christian "his pants hung just 'that way'"
Good Luck with future interviews...I'll be keeping up with your stuff and looking forward to recommendations!
HAPPY READING!

Harlie Williams said...

Great interview, you should be proud. I really, really need to bump this series up to read right now....
Everyone talks about it, even people that don't read erotica at all. Great job El.

Marika Weber
maw1725@gmail.com

Loony Alana said...

Woohoo! I got my question! *Does a little Happy Dance!* I wish she went into more detail, though!

Alana

Tasnim said...

Great interview!!! I Can't wait to read FSF! I read the first two books in 2 days, couldn't seem to put them down, even though BDSM is not normally something I would enjoy reading about. I'm hoping we get to read some more about the side characters from fifty shades too. I'd love to read a spin-off series or something. Great interview and giveaway!

Taz x

CYP @ A Bookalicious Story said...

Hey, great interview! And HOW did you get that email to join the tour?? Me want in tooooo! Hahaha. Awesome giveaway! Is it for the ebook, or paperback? Is this international? Thanks for it anyway, Taryn!:)

Taryn @MySecretRomance said...

@CYP Thank you! It's for a kindle book an international giveaway too.

Sophie said...

Dear sister blog: this is AWESOME! Im extremely proud if you ;) let's keep learning together! ;)

Anonymous said...

Great interview. I've heard buzz about this series, and wanted to read it, NOW, i really really really want to read it. :)

Dawn said...

Awesome interview! Kimber,I told my SIL about it and she called me addicted and said my brother THANKS Me.....

Fedora said...

Wow, great interview! I confess that I knew nothing about Fifty Shades before this, but I want now! Awesome! Thanks for introducing me to a new-to-me author and stories!

Kathryn R. Blake said...

Great interview, Taryn. I'd heard about Fifty Shades, but it wasn't until reading your preface and the interview that I got really excited about this series. I'm going to have to go look them up NOW. So much to read, so little time.

raizie said...

Great interview. I really love all the covers, but I'm not so sure I would sit on the tube with FSF out in the open. I'm even trying to constantly remember to keep it out of sight of my children. "Mommy, why are there handcuffs on your book? Is it a book about a policeman?" LOL

Unknown said...

Hey Taryn..great interview...I really like Christian 2 and 5 please...oh..you mean I can't win them? *sigh*..BTW I gave my 76 year old mom copies of the series and she loves Christian too...but has a big thing for Taylor..and wants his story.

If I can't win the men I hope I win the ebook:)

t'irla aka Barbara.

Astrid G.E said...

great interview and thanks for the giveaway! i pick fifty #5, he looks a lot like the one i picture in my head :)

mary said...

Thanks for an awesome interview all my main questions are answered I hope that there will be a POV book on Christian and some others on the other characters I would love to see if Mia is as innocent as she seems..

Archer said...

Hey, great job on the interview. The first book has been sitting on my Nook for awhile now, but not for much longer, will be reading it, ASAP.. Would have to vote for #2 and #3..

marulett said...

Awesome interview!! I would go with Fifty 1

deanna said...

Great interview. I can't wait to read whatever comes next...

Laters

Deanna

Tammy said...

Fantastic interview! You are also correct that it is all about fifty. While I do love Ana, Christian is just so aaaahhhh!

I would have to go with 2 or 5

Unknown said...

Really look forward to reading the final chapter of this story! Gosh but I love the story and characters!

Irene said...

While I was reading the first 2 books my life was put on hold! They were THAT good!!! I can’t wait to read the 3rd one!

Unknown said...

I loved the first two books! I can't wait to read this one! I think is so awesome and interesting that Twilight inspired the Fifty stories! I can't wait to see what she writes next. I loved the answer to the "kinky fuckery" research
Yes. (Nuff said) lol Sounds like fun research!
Thanks for the interview and giveaway!

Oh and it won't let me subscribe by email. It says The feed does not have subscriptions by email enabled.

Unknown said...

I also wanted to say that Fifty #5 is hot and perfect for the role!

fcammer2 said...

I have heard so much about these books I would love to read them. I agree with Jennifer. #5 is hot, hot, hot and so Fifty! :)

IHP said...

I am so excited to read this last book of the series, I cannot even tell you. Thanks for all the pics of HAWT potential Fifys ;)

Hedy said...

I've heard such great things about this series and I just started the first book. Absolutely hooked!!
Great interview...loved the last questions. Heh. :)
Love the blog. Am following now.
--Hedy

Andrea said...

I pick guy #2. I love the books but have no interest in a guy like Fifty. The mood swings, the controlling and overall neediness of him is more than I could stand.

Taryn @MySecretRomance said...

@Jennifer Messerschmidt- Did you try the email subscription at the top of the page to the right? I just tried it and it worked.

Source76 said...

I read this story when it was a a fanfic. I am interested to check out the reworked version. I wonder what changes other then names and places that she made. I would like to see if any were made to the third book.

KCBC said...

Just like Ms. James I saw the Twilight movie first then ran and read all the books. I was lucky enough to read her twific MoTU as she posted on fanfic (one delish chapter at a time) and fell in love with Fifty. He will always look like Rob Pattinson from the GQ photo shoot for me. Although, I must admit that Ryan Gosling in pic #1 is giving him a run for his money in my head!

Anna (herding cats-burning soup) said...

Loved the interview. The covers are really nice. I like how simple they are and that you could read them on the tube ;)

Denise Z said...

Thank you for opening the door to my cave. I am new to this series and look forward to reading more. I enjoyed the interview very much and wish you all the best on the tour!

Barbara said...

OMG...GREAT interview, CONGRATS! I LOVED the pics too! Glad I don't have to make the decisions, LOL! I've had this series on my wish list for a while now...I can't wait to read it! Thx for the giveaway op! :)

barbbattaglia @ yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I loved this interview. I so glad you go to do it. I read every book, and will read them again. As for pictures I like them, but I think Ian Somerhalder would be the perfect Christian. Mysterious and sexy. Yum

Taryn @MySecretRomance said...

Thank you everyone! Yes, Ian would be a great choice too!

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