After reading The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris, which I loved immensely, as the epic love story of Molly and Ryan was simply magical and beautiful, I knew I had to find out what inspired Ali to write it. My first ever author interview, thanks to Ali who agreed to let me send her the following barrage of questions!
Please tell us about your new book, The First Last Kiss.
The First Last Kiss is the story of Molly and Ryan, how they fell in love and were torn apart. They meet when they’re teens and seem destined to be together forever – but as the books flits back and forth through their relationship we see that their relationship has almost run its course. They share their first, last kiss and from that moment Molly finds herself asking if you can ever know how much you love someone until it’s too late. Can you make a kiss last a lifetime?
What inspired you to write about the story of Molly and Ryan?
Be prepared as it’s not a very cheery answer! I had the idea shortly after I’d had my first child. My husband was home late. I hadn’t heard from him and I was lying in bed worrying – as anxious new mums tend to do! I remember wondering if I kissed him properly before he left and then I panicked because I realised I couldn’t remember. And then I thought, what if we had shared our last kiss – I hadn’t savoured it and even worse, I hadn’t shown him just how much I loved him. When he came home I showered him with kisses and then as he fell into an easy sleep, and I carried on worrying, I began to wonder if it’s ever possible to be the perfect partner, to remain always grateful for the people you love and to savour every kiss as if it might be the last. Or even the first, last. And that’s where the title and idea came from.
Did you do a bit of research for the book?
Having not experienced what Molly and Ryan go through in the story, it was incredibly important for me to get the story as emotionally right as I could – so without giving anything away about the book – yes, I did lots of research! But I also didn’t want it to be completely saturated with detail – this book is, above everything else, a love story. And the only way to write that is from the heart.
I cried a lot when I was reading The First Last Kiss, especially the last bits where Molly kisses Ryan for the last time. How did you manage to weave all the beautiful parts of the book with every different kiss?
With a lot of hard work and a huge amount of tears myself! I have never experienced writing something as profoundly emotional and life affecting as this. I think I cried for about six months! And worried about how much I was going to cry for the six months before! In terms of how I weaved it all together. I wrote the book chronologically from the moment Molly and Ryan meet to the moment they part, knowing from the offset that the order would eventually change. I did this because I wanted to get to know them as they fell in love but I knew I wanted the reader to be thrown into different points of their relationship with each kiss. Then my editor and I decided to anchor it all with a present day story to give it another level of emotional depth. I wrote most of this part of the book at the end.
Did you channel a lot of yourself in creating the characters, particularly Molly? Or do any of the characters share certain traits with you?
I actually tried super hard to make the main characters as unlike me or anyone I knew as possible. It was emotionally affecting enough without feeling like the characters crossed over into my life. But inevitably my feelings and some of my experiences did transfer and I actually feel a big affiliation with Molly. Much bigger than I thought I would. She’s emotionally complex. She knows she’s a good person, but she also knows she can be better. She’s aware of her flaws and loves being with someone who is so different to she is, completely unencumbered by insecurity, completely open and profoundly simple in his approach to love and life. It’s relatively similar to my own relationship. I guess sometimes you can’t help but write what you know.
Do you think, by losing someone you love deeply, you would appreciate the love you have for the ones you care more?
No, I don’t think we have to lose someone to know how much they mean to us. That would be a very sad state of affairs. But I believe love in any capacity – whether with a partner, parent, child or friend - is about constantly reminding yourself how precious those people are, how important love is and how easily it can slip through out fingers if we let it. I hope this book will be that reminder that you should never, ever take it for granted.
I know you are a busy mummy to a gorgeous boy and a beautiful girl, how do you cope with motherhood and still have time to write?
With difficulty sometimes! It was hard whilst writing this book as my daughter was only 6 months and my son wasn’t yet 3 and we had just moved house, so I didn’t have much childcare. I had a nanny two days a week and the rest of the time I worked around them, writing during nap times, or getting up before them in the mornings and working late at night as they slept. I’m really lucky that my work means I can be so flexible around them.
You offer advice and tips for aspiring authors on your website. Was the road to publication difficult for you? What should every aspiring author do/have in order to get their books published?
I don’t think it was any easier or harder than most other authors. A normal amount of knockbacks and rejections scattered with little beacons of hope! It took over ten years but so many things happened along the way to distract me, it didn’t feel like a too harrowing a journey. At the beginning, I definitely felt the knockbacks strongly. But I was determined and I just kept going. Finding journalism as a career definitely helped. I adored it and used it to soak up knowledge, to improve my writing, to live life, source ideas. I think sometimes we can be so focused on one particular goal that we can lose sight of the fact that there can be many different roads to it. Journalism was a side step but one I knew would eventually lead back to my ultimate dream of writing books. In terms of what every aspiring author should have I’d say the key ingredients are endless self-belief, passion, determination, ideas and an absolute need to write. Then simply sprinkle some talent and add a teaspoon of luck and you’ll be a beautifully baked author!
You wrote for a few of the top female magazines in the UK, did the experience you gain help you with writing fiction?
It did in that it taught me that writing is a job, not an indulgence. You have to do it every day. You have to write to deadlines, you can’t just sit around waiting for inspiration to strike or no page will ever be printed. It also taught me that stories are everywhere, you just have to look out and listen for them.
If The First Last Kiss were to be adapted into a film, who do you think should portray Molly and Ryan and why?
This is really hard. When I was writing the book Molly and Ryan became so real to me I couldn’t imagine any actor playing them as they were completely my creations. But, I have to admit, I did see pap picture of Chris Hemsworth recently and I did think – ooh he looks like a moodier version of Ryan! If he smiled in his audition I reckon I’d give him the job. I have no idea about his acting skills though, so I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be getting a job as a casting director any time soon! As for Molly I think Emma Stone is a great actress – I loved her in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Spiderman.
Love the sound of the book? Get your copy now!
You won't regret it! If you loved PS I Love You, The First Last Kiss will blow you away..
Please tell us about your new book, The First Last Kiss.
The First Last Kiss is the story of Molly and Ryan, how they fell in love and were torn apart. They meet when they’re teens and seem destined to be together forever – but as the books flits back and forth through their relationship we see that their relationship has almost run its course. They share their first, last kiss and from that moment Molly finds herself asking if you can ever know how much you love someone until it’s too late. Can you make a kiss last a lifetime?
What inspired you to write about the story of Molly and Ryan?
Be prepared as it’s not a very cheery answer! I had the idea shortly after I’d had my first child. My husband was home late. I hadn’t heard from him and I was lying in bed worrying – as anxious new mums tend to do! I remember wondering if I kissed him properly before he left and then I panicked because I realised I couldn’t remember. And then I thought, what if we had shared our last kiss – I hadn’t savoured it and even worse, I hadn’t shown him just how much I loved him. When he came home I showered him with kisses and then as he fell into an easy sleep, and I carried on worrying, I began to wonder if it’s ever possible to be the perfect partner, to remain always grateful for the people you love and to savour every kiss as if it might be the last. Or even the first, last. And that’s where the title and idea came from.
Did you do a bit of research for the book?
Having not experienced what Molly and Ryan go through in the story, it was incredibly important for me to get the story as emotionally right as I could – so without giving anything away about the book – yes, I did lots of research! But I also didn’t want it to be completely saturated with detail – this book is, above everything else, a love story. And the only way to write that is from the heart.
I cried a lot when I was reading The First Last Kiss, especially the last bits where Molly kisses Ryan for the last time. How did you manage to weave all the beautiful parts of the book with every different kiss?
With a lot of hard work and a huge amount of tears myself! I have never experienced writing something as profoundly emotional and life affecting as this. I think I cried for about six months! And worried about how much I was going to cry for the six months before! In terms of how I weaved it all together. I wrote the book chronologically from the moment Molly and Ryan meet to the moment they part, knowing from the offset that the order would eventually change. I did this because I wanted to get to know them as they fell in love but I knew I wanted the reader to be thrown into different points of their relationship with each kiss. Then my editor and I decided to anchor it all with a present day story to give it another level of emotional depth. I wrote most of this part of the book at the end.
Did you channel a lot of yourself in creating the characters, particularly Molly? Or do any of the characters share certain traits with you?
I actually tried super hard to make the main characters as unlike me or anyone I knew as possible. It was emotionally affecting enough without feeling like the characters crossed over into my life. But inevitably my feelings and some of my experiences did transfer and I actually feel a big affiliation with Molly. Much bigger than I thought I would. She’s emotionally complex. She knows she’s a good person, but she also knows she can be better. She’s aware of her flaws and loves being with someone who is so different to she is, completely unencumbered by insecurity, completely open and profoundly simple in his approach to love and life. It’s relatively similar to my own relationship. I guess sometimes you can’t help but write what you know.
Do you think, by losing someone you love deeply, you would appreciate the love you have for the ones you care more?
No, I don’t think we have to lose someone to know how much they mean to us. That would be a very sad state of affairs. But I believe love in any capacity – whether with a partner, parent, child or friend - is about constantly reminding yourself how precious those people are, how important love is and how easily it can slip through out fingers if we let it. I hope this book will be that reminder that you should never, ever take it for granted.
I know you are a busy mummy to a gorgeous boy and a beautiful girl, how do you cope with motherhood and still have time to write?
With difficulty sometimes! It was hard whilst writing this book as my daughter was only 6 months and my son wasn’t yet 3 and we had just moved house, so I didn’t have much childcare. I had a nanny two days a week and the rest of the time I worked around them, writing during nap times, or getting up before them in the mornings and working late at night as they slept. I’m really lucky that my work means I can be so flexible around them.
You offer advice and tips for aspiring authors on your website. Was the road to publication difficult for you? What should every aspiring author do/have in order to get their books published?
I don’t think it was any easier or harder than most other authors. A normal amount of knockbacks and rejections scattered with little beacons of hope! It took over ten years but so many things happened along the way to distract me, it didn’t feel like a too harrowing a journey. At the beginning, I definitely felt the knockbacks strongly. But I was determined and I just kept going. Finding journalism as a career definitely helped. I adored it and used it to soak up knowledge, to improve my writing, to live life, source ideas. I think sometimes we can be so focused on one particular goal that we can lose sight of the fact that there can be many different roads to it. Journalism was a side step but one I knew would eventually lead back to my ultimate dream of writing books. In terms of what every aspiring author should have I’d say the key ingredients are endless self-belief, passion, determination, ideas and an absolute need to write. Then simply sprinkle some talent and add a teaspoon of luck and you’ll be a beautifully baked author!
You wrote for a few of the top female magazines in the UK, did the experience you gain help you with writing fiction?
It did in that it taught me that writing is a job, not an indulgence. You have to do it every day. You have to write to deadlines, you can’t just sit around waiting for inspiration to strike or no page will ever be printed. It also taught me that stories are everywhere, you just have to look out and listen for them.
If The First Last Kiss were to be adapted into a film, who do you think should portray Molly and Ryan and why?
This is really hard. When I was writing the book Molly and Ryan became so real to me I couldn’t imagine any actor playing them as they were completely my creations. But, I have to admit, I did see pap picture of Chris Hemsworth recently and I did think – ooh he looks like a moodier version of Ryan! If he smiled in his audition I reckon I’d give him the job. I have no idea about his acting skills though, so I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be getting a job as a casting director any time soon! As for Molly I think Emma Stone is a great actress – I loved her in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Spiderman.
Love the sound of the book? Get your copy now!
You won't regret it! If you loved PS I Love You, The First Last Kiss will blow you away..
I think Chris Hemsworth & Emma Stone would make the PERFECT Ryan and Molly!
ReplyDeleteFab interview Kev :) You ask the best questions!
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