New Adult Book Club discussion

We have one of USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author Emma Scott with us to take on your questions for the next couple of weeks!

Emma is the author of books such as Bring Down the Stars, Full Tilt, A Five-Minute Life and many more.

Leave your questions for her below now!

Hello Ms. Emma!

You are known for writing emotional stories. Do you ever cry when you're writing your books? Which book made you cry the most?

Hi Emma!

Can you tell us something about your WIPs? What books are you planning to write in the future?

Beatrice wrote: "Hello Ms. Emma!

You are known for writing emotional stories. Do you ever cry when you're writing your books? Which book made you cry the most?"

Hi Beatrice! Yes, I've definitely cried while writing my own stuff. Someone once said "No tears in the author, no tears for the reader." I think the scene where Kacey talks to Jonah's mom in Full Tilt had me crying a lot. Also the scene in Forever Right Now where Darlene trudges in the rain to her NA meeting. Love that moment of strength in her. Thank you for the question!

Phuong ✯ wrote: "Hi Emma!

Can you tell us something about your WIPs? What books are you planning to write in the future?"

Hey love!
I have The Sinner, an emotional PNR releasing Aug 15 and then an MM after that, hopefully in November, early December. :)

Hi Emma!
When you write your characters do you already know who they are before you begin writing, or do you let them develop as you go?
And do you enjoy reading the same genre that you write in?

Hello Emma,

Is there a character of yours you can relate to?
Thank you xo

I'm greedy, so I'm asking two questions.
what prompted you to start writing?
What is the thing you wished you'd known when you decided to become an author?

Lana wrote: "Hi Emma!
When you write your characters do you already know who they are before you begin writing, or do you let them develop as you go?
And do you enjoy reading the same genre that you write in?"

Hi Lana, great questions. The characters tell me who they are--generally--right from the beginning. I then sort of stretch them out, so that who they are in the beginning of the book isn't the same as at the end. In between, they tell me all kinds of things or do stuff I didn't give them permission to do lol

I try not to read romance. There are so many authors I love, and many are friends who write beautiful books and I'll read them, or pick up a romance now and then. But I want to keep my ideas fresh for me, and not try to let others' work seep in unbeknownst to me. Plus, I grew up reading literary fiction and I never stopped. xo

Steffi wrote: "Hello Emma,

Is there a character of yours you can relate to?
Thank you xo"

Hi Steffi, I relate to all of them, the men too. Especially the men. I tend to give them the hardest backstories in order to sort of displace my own hard stuff. I give it to them so I can process it one step removed from me, if that makes sense. But every character, male and female, carries a piece of me, and every plot carries a piece of my life. Sometimes before I even knew it was coming. xo

MiDouradoP wrote: "I'm greedy, so I'm asking two questions.
what prompted you to start writing?
What is the thing you wished you'd known when you decided to become an author?"

I've always wanted to be a writer, but allowing myself to take that journey was a long process. So it wasn't one moment, but an understanding that it would happen, I just had to get out of my own way.

One thing I'd wished I'd known was that expectation and pressure was a side-effect and that shutting down social media to work was/is perfectly okay. I used to think if I wasn't 100% accessible every minute, it would mean i wasn't grateful for all that my readers have given me. But taking personal time and turning off the negative parts of social media (the news) is self care and benefits the writing more, so that I can give readers the best book. xo

Hi Emma!
What are you currently working on?

If you could be any book character for a day, who would you choose and why?

Nicole wrote: "Hi Emma!
What are you currently working on?"

Hi Nicole, I'm working on The Sinner, my first true PNR. (Two of my previous books have PNR elements but this one is very PNRy)
It releases August 15th. :)

J. wrote: "If you could be any book character for a day, who would you choose and why?"

Any book character...that's a tough one. Maybe I'd be Hermione Granger and I'd go back to the day I decided I liked Ron and instead confess my love for Harry. ;)

Which of your books represents you and your talent the most in your opinion?

Hello Emma..
Do you have time to read? What genres do you enjoy reading?

Thank you for all the beautiful stories and wonderful characters.
When You Come Back to Me is my favorite. I know it is hard to choose one but this is a book that stayed with me.

Joy wrote: "Which of your books represents you and your talent the most in your opinion?"

Full Tilt for sure. That book is the most "me" in terms of what I'm trying to say in the world with my books. <3

Antonella wrote: "Hello Emma..
Do you have time to read? What genres do you enjoy reading?

Thank you for all the beautiful stories and wonderful characters.
When You Come Back to Me is my favorite..."

Thank you!! I love Holden and River so much <3

I love reading literary fiction, fantasy (GRRM specifically) poetry, biographies, and romance. I don't have enough time to read, however, when I'm in the writing cave (like) now to read as much as I want :(

Emma, I love your books. I’m wondering where inspiration struck for the extreme amnesia depicted in A Five Minute Life?
It’s one of my absolute favorites! It really left me feeling a renewed sense of live in the moment.

How long does it take you to write a book?

How do you select the names of your characters?

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Which of your books were the most enjoyable to write?

Which character of yours 'spoke' to you the most during the writing process?

Sarah~ wrote: "Emma, I love your books. I’m wondering where inspiration struck for the extreme amnesia depicted in A Five Minute Life?
It’s one of my absolute favorites! It really left me feeling a renewed sense..."
Hi Sara, great question! The answer is a tad long so bear with me, lol Yes, I was listening to NPR one afternoon and they had a segment on a woman in her 50's who had been an etymologist and had a severe case of amnesia. Her brain would reset every hour or so. But she remembered her studies and I listened to her tell the interviewer about different word origins. I was in the middle of a writing contest where they give us the prompts such as object, genre, setting. I was given: broom, drama, institution. So I wrote a story about a woman in a home with severe amnesia who writes word chains. An orderly, Carl, reads them and sees she's still there. He then has to use a broom to kill a snake that she was trying to "pet." Years later, now a romance author, I couldn't stop thinking about those characters. So made the woman younger, made the orderly Jimmy, and the plot really fell into place in one night. I owe a huge debt, however, to the story of Clive Wearing, a man in England whose memory resets ever seven seconds. Much of what Thea goes through is taken from his story so that I could try to do justice to the experience and make it as true to life as I could.
I'm so happy to hear the book impacted you positively. That's the best feeling an author can have <3

Ann_ wrote: "What do you like to do when you're not writing?"

I love watching really well-written TV shows such as Succession, Ted Lasso, Schitt's Creek and Mare of Easttown. I find them extremely inspiring and great teaching tools on character and storytelling. And of course, I read as much as I can. Right now I'm on a Hemingway kick.

Ann_ wrote: "How do you select the names of your characters?"

Sometimes I'll look at lists of names and see what jumps out at me, but nine times out of ten, they name themselves. lol

Ann_ wrote: "How long does it take you to write a book?"

Messing around/procrastination: three weeks
Research and outlining: two weeks
Actual writing: five weeks
Stressing that it sucks/isn't working : all the weeks

Ann_ wrote: "Which of your books were the most enjoyable to write?"

Forever Right Now. I loved that book. It was so easy on me, and I had so much fun with it.

Ann_ wrote: "What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?"

I don't know that it's interesting or a quirk but no two books are written the same. Sometimes I outline every chapter, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I storyboard with note cards, sometimes I don't. One book's entire last third, When You Come Back to Me, was written with me singing to my playlist as I typed. I'm asked a lot what my process is, and I think the definitive answer is Hot Mess.

Ann_ wrote: "What is the most difficult part about writing for you?"

Not letting self-doubt stop or slow me down or stress me out. It always does all three.

Ann_ wrote: "What is your work schedule like when you're writing?"

Mornings, from 9-3 with a break for lunch. After that, my brain says "No mas!"

Irma wrote: "Which character of yours 'spoke' to you the most during the writing process?"

Weston Turner from my Beautiful Hearts Duet. I put him through the same experience I was going through personally with the loss of my daughter. I just filtered it through a different prism of physical change that would alter his life forever and force him to live in a way he hadn't before. And to either succumb to the agony, or find a way to live (and find joy) despite it.