Welcome to the FFBC: ALONE IN PARIS by Ashley Earley

Alone in Paris

by Ashley Earley

Publisher: CreatSpace

Release Date: April 1, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Breathe, Taylor. 

 Taylor Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem. Though her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.

Breathe. 

 She's devastated after the fact. And it isn't helping that the papers are gossiping about how the pristine lawyer could have driven off the bridge on purpose. And just when she thinks nothing could possibly make things worse, she realizes she's left alone with no relatives to care for her. So she's alone. Her parents are dead. And she's stuck in the country her family was visiting for their vacation. She's alone in Paris.

Just breathe. 

 Then Nathan walks into the picture. Funny, snarky, persistent, and sometimes, just flat out rude, he annoys Taylor to no end. He won't leave her alone, but Taylor doesn't know whether or not she should push him away.

Hello Ashley! We are super excited to welcome you to the FFBC.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

1.  Favorite Book?

I have SO many! If I had to choose, I guess I would have to say Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (I love Jem Carstairs!).

2.  Favorite TV show?

Grey’s Anatomy without a doubt!

3.  Favorite movie?

Pirates of the Caribbean.

4.  Favorite Song?

My favorite song changes almost daily. For right now, it’s “Stay” by Zedd and Alessia Cara.

5.  Favorite Food?

Anything Italian!

6.  Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.

• Hogwarts (Harry Potter Series, duh!)
• Idris (The Mortal Instruments)
• Erilea (Throne of Glass)

7.  What were your favorite books growing up? (I was a Fear Street girl!)

I was not a reader when I was growing up. My parents had to force me to read, which made me hate every book. I was an outdoorsy kid and couldn’t imagine spending more than a few minutes sitting down with a book. I didn’t get into reading until I was 12—when I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I’ve been a bookworm ever since!

8.  Favorite Quote?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein

9.  Who is your perfect fictional boyfriend?

Jem Carstairs from the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. He is so amazing and so sweet and UGH HE’S SO PERFECT!!!

10.  What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over?

I’m always fangirling over Cassandra Clare’s books. I have an obsession with the Shadowhunter world.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about ALONE IN PARIS?

Alone in Paris is about a girl named Taylor that ends up alone and orphaned in Paris after both her parents die in a car accident. She finds a way to live on her own in an abandoned apartment building, but she becomes haunted by her parents' death and falls into a deep depression. Just when she begins to have thoughts of suicide, a mysterious boy starts showing up. He is determined to know her.

I wrote the first five chapters for Alone in Paris when I was between 14 and 15 years old. I had been working on another book project at the time, and quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn’t write 2 books at once. So, I put it away, only to pick it up again 4 years later. I somehow finished it, and even though it lacked battle scenes and scary creatures, writing it wasn’t so bad for someone who is used to writing fantasy novels rather than contemporary romances.

If you want to know every detail about how Alone in Paris came to be and what it was like writing it, here a link to my blog: 

http://ashleyearleywrites.blogspot.com/2017/03/about-alone-in-paris.html


Besides reading, writing, and blogging, I love fashion!! How would you describe Taylor’s style?

Taylor’s style is classic and arty. As long as it’s warm outside, she will wear a cute summer dress. When it’s a little chilly outside, she would wear a plain shirt that would look amazing with jeans. But, sadly, her clothing options are a little limited since she is a runaway orphan.


Being stuck in a Paris would probably be terrifying and also could be kind of cool in the right circumstance. Have you been to Paris, and if so, where is one place that is a must-see (besides the obvious ones)? If not, have you ever had any traveling complications?

I don’t know if this counts as a traveling complication, per say. But this one time, I was traveling with my parents and grandparents. My grandpa had forgotten that he had a pocketknife in his pocket and realized it a few seconds before we arrived at security. Instead of throwing it in the trash that was beside him, he stuffed it in my grandmother’s bag. Well, of course security machines went off! They took my grandmother’s bag and started going through it, pulling out her underwear and other clothes. She was furious! I thought she was going to murder him. She complained about it for the rest of the trip, and chewed him out for the next 5 days.


How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?

I got the idea for the book Alone in Paris from a picture. The picture was of a girl sitting next to a small pond. She was wearing a white dress, and more importantly, she was alone. And I just imagined there being the Eiffel Tower in the reflection of the pond.

Since I pictured the girl in the photograph alone, when I started writing Alone in Paris, I had to figure out how she came to be alone. Once I figured out how Taylor came to be alone, the story built from there.


Tell us your favorite quote from ALONE IN PARIS.

“[Nathan] stares at me—taking me in—with his lips slightly parted. I struggle to hold myself in place as we gawk at each other. I want so desperately to run, but something is holding me back, keeping me in place.”


Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? Or which part was the most difficult to get through?

My favorite scene to write was the last chapter before the “2 Years Later” epilogue. Taylor and Nathan meet at the Lock Bridge one last time to say their goodbyes. After seeing their relationship evolve in several different ways, it was nice to finally have them on the same page and also really upsetting because they had to part ways.


If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for ALONE IN PARIS – Which one would you pick?

Kiss by Ed Sheehan.


Is there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read ALONE IN PARIS(specific music, snacks…)?

I basically listened to all of Ed Sheeran’s songs while I wrote Alone in Paris. Specifically, I had Kiss by Ed Sheeran on repeat while I wrote Alone in Paris. It put me in the perfect mood to write almost every scene. I think it would be a very moving song to listen to while reading as well.


What’s next for you?

 Next, I plan to send out 2 projects that I finished last year. One is a one-shot, new adult novel, while the other is the first book in a series (young adult this time). While I wait to hear back from agents and publishers, I’m going to write the final book for the young adult series, and also start working on a brand new book.


Thank you so much for everything, Ashley!

     


Ashley Earley is a 20-year-old author that is working toward her B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s posting on her blog, reading, obsessing over a book character, or spending time with friends. Her obsession with books started at the age of twelve, before developing into a love for writing at the age of fourteen, when she wrote her first novel.

Her Thriller/Suspense short story, Chasing Hair of Gold, won first place in the 2016 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards.

You can visit her at www.ashleyearley.com.

• 1 SIGNED COPY OF ALONE IN PARIS
• RUNS THROUGH APRIL 20TH
• US ONLY

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