INTERVIEW WITH ALESSANDRA TORRE

Yesterday was  RELEASE DAY for The Girl in 6E by Alessandra Torre. To celebrate, Alessandra was gracious enough to answer a few of our burning questions about this book! Look on Alessandra's blog for details on a killer giveaway. Our review can be found here

Q&A with Alessandra Torre

Q: Tell us about how the idea for this book came to you; did anything provoke it?

A: I watched a late-night special on camming one night and instantly thought 'Wow- that is something I want to know more about.'  There is such a secret world out there that is completely unknown by most women – an entire forbidden underground where men act out their most secret desires online.  'The Girl in 6E' didn't even touch on most of the crazy fetishes that exists, most of which deeply embarrass these men, to the point where they can only confess them to a stranger.  As far as the murderous aspect of DeAnna – as I began writing the story she morphed into this really dark individual, her character really wrote herself.

Q: We saw at the end of the book that you researched for this book; can you give us more details on what that world is all about? Is it what the uninitiated would think it is? Were there any surprises?  

A: This book required an enormous amount of research, the bulk of which was spent trying to get the camgirls to open up to me.  These woman are fiercely protective of their clients, and getting them to trust and share with me was a challenge.  This world is very much as it was represented in the book – except that most cammers live utterly normal lives when not on camera.  Many are married, a lot are college students, some cam for ten hours a week, some for forty.  It is an extremely lucrative business and has, for many woman, been a life-changing career choice.  The surprises for me were in the women themselves.  They were all extremely friendly, down-to-earth women. Not necessarily gorgeous, but brimming with energy and confidence.  Some of them started camming out of necessity, but all of them had reached the point – long ago – where they could have returned to a normal job.  They chose to stay in this job because they wanted to. Most of them work ten to fifteen hours a week and make around forty thousand a year.  I now feel almost a part of this world, and have two other camgirl books in the works, there are so many other places I can go with this industry!

Q: Was there a part that was challenging to write or parts that seemed exceedingly easy to write? 

A: The hardest part to write was the kitchen scene.  I avoided it for a time, then tied myself to a chair one night and wrote it out.  The version you read is not quite as dark as it originally was, I went back and lightened it up a little – but it took me to a dark place when I was writing.  The easiest thing to write was the final Annie scene – that scene poured out of me. :)

Q: How long did it take you to write this? Did you ever get stuck? Do you write it in pieces and parts or straight through?

A: I wrote OMIM in about a month.  I wrote for three weeks straight, had to set it aside to work on Blindfolded's rewrites, then sat back down and wrapped it up.  I never got stuck with this story because I always knew how I wanted it to end, I just took some unexpected detours along the way… :)

Q: Are you interested, at all, in releasing scenes from (more) Jeremy's POV or her mom's POV? Why did her mom do it? 

A: I had a bit of an editing debate with Jeremy's character.  I wanted to show more Jeremy, but felt like there were already so many main characters (Deanna, Annie, Ralph) and I didn't want to make it a love story.  I wanted to keep the story's focus on Annie and her safety.  

As far as DeAnna's mom…if I ever write a sequel, I'll reveal more about her and her motivations. I have a lot of thoughts where that is concerned, but don't want to ruin a surprise this early in the game :)

Q: Odd question--but is there a question that you've always wanted someone to ask (but they've yet to ask it)--if so, what is it and what's your answer?

A: What's the most difficult part about writing? 

The pressure to make readers happy.  I obsess over readers – their opinions, their thoughts, how they analyze a book.  I get so many great suggestions and criticisms from readers, and I began driving myself crazy trying to please everyone!  I have learned, over the last year, that some readers will LOVE a certain scene or character, and other readers will HATE that same thing – that it is impossible to please everyone and I just need to listen to my gut.

Q: Unfair question--I'm (Shelley, here) a HUGE SEC fan and will root for this conference against any other conference (I'll even cheer for Alabama--ugh Nick Saban brilliant genius douche). Being from Louisiana I bleed purple and gold (GEAUX TIGERS). Are you partial to one team and/or one sport in particular?

A: I am an oddity in that I attended Florida State, but am a Gator/SEC fan.  I root for the Gators every day of the year (but one – when they play FSU), and root for SEC teams when they aren't playing the Gators.  The ACC just isn't very exciting – and my husband is a Gator, so we enjoy visiting all of the SEC schools for away games.  The area we live in is a huge vacation spot for LSU/Auburn/Alabama fans, so we have a lot of fun on football weekends. 

We hope you enjoyed a little bit more insight into the making of The Girl in 6E and thoroughly enjoy this book!