Elisa Lorello wasn’t always a novelist, but she’s been a writer and teacher all her life. A self-proclaimed “manifester of ideas,” she writes novels about relationships a la Nora Ephron, but with Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue. She also teaches the craft of storytelling, writing process, and rhetoric, and she approaches each subject with enthusiasm and humor.
A Long Island native, Elisa is the youngest of seven children. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and taught rhetoric and writing at the college level for more than ten years. In 2012 she became a full-time novelist.
Elisa is the author of eight novels, including the bestselling Faking It, and one memoir. She has been featured in the Charlotte Observer and, more recently, Last Best News, and was a guest speaker at the Triangle Association of Freelancers 2012 and 2014 Write Now! conferences. In May 2016 she presented a lesson for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association spring workshop. She continues to speak and write about her publishing experience and teach the craft of writing and revision.
Elisa enjoys reading, walking, hanging out in coffee shops, Nutella, and all things Duran Duran. She plays guitar badly and occasionally bakes.

ABOUT HER BOOK

 

The Second First Time
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Novelists Jonathan Moss and Sage Merriweather should be a perfect match. They share not only the same publisher but also a deep friendship full of mutual respect and encouragement. But when an ill-fated attempt at taking their relationship to the next level fails in spectacular fashion, it appears as though that once-treasured bond is doomed for good.

One year later, however, the duo gets a chance to salvage their relationship when Jonathan invites Sage on a do-over road trip from Phoenix to Tacoma—the same trip that ended before it began the year before.

Reeling from the sudden death of her estranged father, Sage finally agrees, and the two embark on a journey that will change their lives forever. As the pair moves ever closer to the truth about their feelings, both Jonathan and Sage have to decide what they really mean to each other…or risk losing it all.

NOW TO THE GOOD STUFF…HER SECRETS…

Say you have a secret stash of treats around the house. Where would it be and what would you hide?

EVERYTHING. Just kidding. My secret stash is not so secret. I keep a tin full of Ghiradelli squares and/or Dove chocolates in the pantry, and I can’t remember the last time it was empty because I simply won’t let it be. I also have a guilty pleasure for Pop Tarts, although I don’t regularly keep them in the house anymore. When I do, I put them in a seldom-used kitchen cabinet. That way I forget they’re there and don’t inhale the entire box in one sitting. It’s hard enough eating just one when they come in packages of two.

What would be the perfect food and drink pairing for your book?

Good question! The easiest pairing would be for Faking It—strawberries and champagne (as evidenced by the cover). For Why I Love Singlehood, it would be a vanilla chai latte and a chocolate chip muffin. For Pasta Wars, perhaps something like handmade linguini and a suitable wine (I don’t drink alcohol so I wouldn’t know what to choose). And I think The Second First Time would be a bunch of appetizers—the comfort food-type like potato skins and wings—and Coca-cola or Sam Adams. I’ve left some books out, but those are the ones that came to me first!

Do you collect anything?

I have a fair sized collection of Duran Duran memorabilia, including all of their albums on vinyl, all the posters and pinups I’d hung on my bedroom walls and ceiling during my teens, about thirty pins, a bunch of T-shirts, an autographed copy of John Taylor’s memoir, In the Pleasure Groove, and a copy of my memoir, Friends of Mine, about my lifelong fandom that all the band members signed as well as a signed Paper Gods CD. To name a few. 😉

What’s one word your friends would use to describe you?

Effervescent.

Tell us one secret behind the writing of your latest book:

The Second First Time was very loosely based on something that almost happened (or didn’t happen) between my husband and me before we got together. We were friends, and our romance had had a false start, including a cancelled road trip. I’d started writing the book when I thought we weren’t going to get back together (even as friends) as a way of getting over it and taking the road trip (that’s what I love about writing novels; you get to write the stories the way you want them to work out). I was only 30,000 words into the first draft when we not only found our way back to each other, but got engaged about 9 months later and married 11 months after that. The Second First Time came out about six weeks after the wedding. The events in the book, and how the relationship played out, were completely different from real life. We took a road trip across New England for our honeymoon, however. It was awesome.

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  ELISA’S INFO

Website: http://www.elisalorello.com/
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GIVEAWAY!!

How about a chance to win a copy of Elisa’s novel, The Second First Time??  Let’s make this as easy as possible…

Where and when was your last road trip?
Post your response below in the comments and be automatically entered to win! Contest is only open to residents of the United States and Canada.