Emma Chase: Often Hilarious, Sometimes Steamy, Always Scrumptious!

How much fun is this?!?   Getting to sit down and visit with one of contemporary romance’s biggest selling authors and learn what a real Jersey girl is like!  Well, let me tell you, if everyone in New Jersey is as sweet, funny and down-to-earth, girl-next-door friendly as Emma - we’d all be packing up and moving to the Garden State!  From the moment we started talking, it was apparent that Emma is the type of person everyone would love to know.  She truly has a gift of infusing humor, compassion and a good dose of real-life into any situation.  After visiting with her, it is not hard to understand why she is such a beloved author to millions of readers everywhere.

InD: So... disclaimer up front -  As I started reading each of your books, I would think, “Oh, I don’t really like this character or situation much...” but, every single time, I absolutely loved the book by the end. I don't know how you do that!
EC: Well, thank you. I love taking flawed and possibly unlikable characters and helping them change. My very favorite thing is when those characters win readers over.
InD: That is a gift, girl! You can take something, or someone I don't even like, and weave it into something just fabulous. I am so excited to talk to you about it all! First off, though, we have to get some background on you. You are the hardest person to find anything out about.
EC: [laughing] I’m just not one to talk about myself too much. I’ll talk about my kids and family here and there, but I am not one to do a lot of pictures or videos online. I’ve always wanted the focus it to be on my characters and the story. I want them to be the stars.
InD: Okay, so, you live in New Jersey. Did you grow up there?
EC: Born and raised! I’ve lived here my whole life. I did go away for a semester to West Virginia University. I loved that I got to experience dorm life and living on my own, but I was totally homesick. Growing up, my parents gave me a lot of freedom. In high school, I had a great group of friends, but we partied, so by the time I got to college when all the people on my floor wanted to do was party and drink, I was already over that. It was not a big draw for me, so I came back to Jersey for my second semester of college and went to Rutgers.
InD: So we have a bona fide, born and bred Jersey girl to talk to. Let’s dispel all those stereotypes people have of New Jersey!
EC: Okay, first, I live in the part of Jersey where our next-door neighbor has a farm and chickens and two horses. The first week we stayed in this house there was a horse in our front yard, so it is not all like “The Sopranos!”
InD: [laughing] Tell me what it was like for you growing up in Jersey.
EC: I grew up in a lovely,  small, working-class town. I have the best memories of my childhood and adolescence. It was a big enough town that we could have fun, but small enough where we felt safe. My favorite part about Jersey is that we are so close to New York City and Philadelphia, the Poconos and the beach. There’s always something to do, and we did all those things, when I was growing up.
InD: So the stereotypes aren’t really fair to what New Jersey is?
EC: I think the overwhelming stereotype is of Jersey being largely a city that is polluted or dirty. I think fewer people realize the beauty of the more rural areas. It’s a mix—a nice mix.
InD: What about the people in New Jersey and that stereotype of the somewhat harsh, blunt “Jersey girl” kind of thing. Is that true or not?
EC: Yeah, I think that is true. I don't really know a lot of people who have the patience for bullshit. I think we’re pretty direct and blunt, that’s fair.
InD: That is so cool! Did you have a good childhood?
EC: Yes. A lot of my family still lives in that town. My brother and I talk about how things have changed since we grew up. We would literally ride our bikes all day. Our parents had no idea where we were, but they knew we would be fine. It’s different now. There’s a pressure to know where your children are at every moment and if you don’t, you’re not being a good parent.

Read the entire interview in the September 2019 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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