Jessica Sorensen

Jessica Sorensen lives in Wyoming with her husband and three children. She is the author of numerous romance novels and all her Young Adult novels have been ‘New York Times’ bestsellers.

1. Your books of Ella and Micha are about a young couple who were once best friends but have ventured into a relationship together. Through the eyes of both of them, we join them on the trials and tribulations of life and first love. What inspired you to create these particular characters?
   The characters and story were inspired by a dream I had that I couldn’t quite seem to shake.
2. To the readers of the blog, that may not be familiar with you or your writing, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
   I’ve always loved to write and have been writing short stories and poetry for as long as I can remember. About five or six years ago I started writing my first novel and I haven’t stopped writing since.
3. What’s your favourite book of all time?
   There are so many great books and authors out there that I honestly don’t have a favourite.
4. After the success of your books and being a ‘New York Times’ bestseller, what do you think in your opinion makes a good book?
   For me, I love a books with complex and broken characters, with a little bit of romance mixed in with it. But everyone likes different things; this is just what I like.
5. I always thought the opening lines to ‘The Lovely Bones’ was quite memorable, are there any opening lines to books that stuck out to you?
   The first one that comes to mind is ‘The Sea of Tranquility’ by Katja Millay.
6. If Ella and Micha were to be adapted for screen, who do you imagine playing the roles of them?
   
   I honestly have no idea. I have this picture in my head of what each of them look like and I’ve yet to come across anyone who fits them perfectly.
7. The thing that I loved most of the Ella and Micha series, was that it brought me back to my own time as a teenager captivated by the first love and angst of Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano in ‘My So Called Life’. I think that the Ella and Micha series is the My So Called Life for now; How do you feel about this comparison?
   Love the show by the way and I like the comparison. I think I’d flip the roles, though because Ella seems more like Jordan to me, and Micha like Angela since, like Angela, Micha is the one pursuing the romance.
8. With the success of ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, what do you think it is about the Young Adult genre that have made them appeal to a much wider market?
   I think the young adult genre has so much intensity in it because the characters are at an age where everything is intense. I think it reminds readers of their youth and the intensity of their first love and that’s part of the appeal
9. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
   ‘Clean’ by Amy Reed
   ‘Fall for Anything’ by Courtney Summers
   ‘Hush Hush’ by Becca Fitzpatrick

   However, there’s a good chance if you asked me the same question tomorrow the list would change. I have too many favourites.

10. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    Post-it’s and a pen for taking notes.
11. And finally Jessica, do you have any projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the website?
    I have quite a few! Here are a few of my upcoming New Adult Books:
    ‘The Temptation of Lila and Ethan’
    ‘The Redemption of Callie and Kayden’
    ‘The Destiny of Violet and Luke’
    ‘Breaking Nova’

Read more about Jessica Sorensen online or follow her on Twitter Jessica Sorensen