Alison Cochrun
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun
Author of The Charm Offensive
Dev Deshpande is the best producer on the reality dating show Ever After, and he always orchestrates the perfect love story for the cameras. But when the show casts awkward, disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw—a man who doesn’t believe in love and is only looking for a chance to reboot his image—as its new star, Dev has to work overtime to help him open up on national television, without falling in love with Charlie himself in the process.
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun
Author I draw inspiration from: Talia Hibbert is one of my favorite romance authors, and I have so much respect for authors who started out doing self-publishing because it takes such a tremendous amount of work. I also love that Talia's books are so focused on creating inclusive love stories, and that she's so willing to share parts of herself and her own experiences through her characters. Plus, her books are hilarious! I would love to be able to write with the kind of distinct voice she infuses into her characters.
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: I'm a rare high school English teacher who loves reading books on her phone, so my favorite place to read is literally everywhere. When I'm really engrossed in a book, I love being able to take out my phone and read wherever I am. It adds to the immersive quality of the reading experience for me.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I would love to meet Evelyn Hugo from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I feel like Evelyn still has a few more stories to share, and I could listen to her talk about Old Hollywood and her love for Celia forever.
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: In Kindergarten, I wrote my first "book." It was essentially a Barney the Dinosaur fanfic about Barney and his sister Baby Bop getting ice cream together. But I absolutely loved writing it, and I loved it even more when the book was bound together and I could share it with my parents. From that moment on, I was always writing in the spiral notebooks I carried with me everywhere.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Can I say all of them? I love the way hardback books look on my shelf; I love the way you can curl up with a paperback book; I love ebooks because they can live in my pocket and travel anywhere with me; and I love that I can listen to audiobooks while I'm doing other things, like running or driving or cleaning my house. Basically, I love consuming books in every form possible!
The last book I read: I've just finished listening to Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and what a wild ride! That book is a total trip, and I highly recommend the first in the series, Gideon the Ninth, to anyone who hasn't read it! You can't really go wrong with lesbian necromancers in space.
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Again, I love both. I do the bulk of my writing on the computer, but sometimes, when I get stuck creatively, I switch to pen and paper. Writing things out long hand helps me activate different parts of my brain, and I find I'm less critical of what I write, because I can cross things out and move them around easier.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I honestly think I would be best friends with Prince Henry from Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue. We're both emotional Pisces who like to analyze queer representation in media, eat biscuits, and watch Great British Bake Off. We could hang out and be gay and dramatic together.
Author Interview - Alison Cochrun | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: A high school English teacher, since that's what I've been doing for the past eleven years, and I absolutely love it.
Favorite decade in fashion history: I am not a particularly fashionable person and my knowledge of fashion throughout time is limited to say the least! So I would have to say, the 1810s, and specifically, the version of the 1810s you see in Jane Austen adaptions.
Place I’d most like to travel: During the pandemic, my fantasy trip I planned in my head was to Argentina and Chile. I often dreamed of escaping to Patagonia and the southern Andes when I was trapped inside my house.
My signature drink: If my answer is water, will I reveal myself as dreadfully boring? My go-to bar drink is a Moscow Mule, and La Croix is my summertime indulgence.
Favorite artist: Assuming the term artist is being used in the broadest sense here, my favorite artist is unapologetically Taylor Swift. When I'm drafting, I often think about the vibes of a book in terms of which Taylor Swift album it is. (The Charm Offensive is definitely Speak Now and my next book is Evermore.)
Number one on my bucket list: I honestly have no idea! For so long, the number one thing on my bucket list was becoming a published author, and it's only just now sinking in that I accomplished that. I'm not really sure what comes next.
Find more from the author:
Twitter: @alisoncochrun
Instagram: @alisoncochrun
Author Bio: Alison Cochrun is a high school English teacher living outside Portland, Oregon. When she's not reading and writing queer love stories, you can find her torturing teenagers with Shakespeare, crafting perfect travel itineraries, hate-watching reality dating shows, and searching for the best happy hour nachos.
