Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Today I will be interviewing romance author Tamela Quijas here on the blog. She contacted me to review her latest novel Angel's Fire, Demon's Blood as well as to set up an author interview and author guest blog. The author guest blog is going to be posted this Thursday, March 12 and when I've finished Angel's Fire, Demon's Blood I will be posting the review soon. Now onto my interview with romance author Tamela Quijas.


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Phoebe Jordan: When did you know that writing romance was going to be the thing that you would do with your life? Which author inspired you to start writing romance?


Tamela Quijas: I wanted to write romance at a young age, somewhere after realizing I would probably never be recognized as the next great Burroughs or Verne. Johanna Lindsey's Captive Bride inspired me to begin writing romances.


Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?


Tamela: I'm still experimenting. Basically, it's whatever should happen to strike my fancy. (Although I am partial to a really compelling paranormal)


Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?


Tamela: Querida was the very first romance novel I wrote back in the early eighties. Yes, I still have it in a box (all hand typed) and I am currently editing and getting it ready to submit to a publisher.


Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?


Tamela: Weeks. I'm one of those people that truly enjoys research and the ability to find it so quickly on the internet.


Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel Angel’s Fire, Demon’s Blood?


Tamela: I have a bunch of teenagers that insist I watch the latest music videos. There was one song that grabbed my attention and, before the song had finished, I had the entire story playing out in my head.


Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?


Tamela: My beginnings are always rather intense. I spend the most time trying to pull the reader in, just as I have been pulled into telling the story. I will spend weeks with notes (pages and pages) jotted all over the place and I will bounce numerous ideas off of my daughters.


Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?


Tamela: Dante's Lady took fifteen years. Refusal after heart breaking refusal. I think he (Dante) was just waiting for the right publishing company at the right time.


Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book and how do you feel about your other novels being published?


Tamela: I cried like a baby when I first held Dante's Lady. I have the same reaction every time I see one of my books on a website. As crazy as it may sound, the feeling is similar to setting a beloved child out into the world.


Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?


Tamela: I do get writers block and I hate it. The last time I suffered from it, I painted the entire interior of the house (all 1000 sq. feet) in order to have something to do and work the frustration out of my system.


Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why? And what are your writing pet peeves, if you have any?


Tamela: I love weaving a good story and I so enjoy hearing the comment, Wow, I could see this and that and this...if you are able to see what I see in my head, then I am so elated. It's worth every sleepless night. My biggest pet peeve? Editing!!


Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?


Tamela: I get up at 4:30 in the morning and begin writing. I have two hours of peace and quiet (with a full pot of coffee) before the rat race of the day begins. At night, I have the two hours before I go to sleep, where the house is quiet again and I can think clearly.


Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?


Tamela: I love to watch a really intense movie.


Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?


Tamela: Family research, reading, painting and, of course, writing.


Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?


Tamela: Stick with it, believe in your dreams, and don't permit anyone to tell you that you can't accomplish it.


Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?


Tamela: Be persistent, double check your facts and search the internet. There are a lot of truly wonderful authors in the cyber world that will help you out and point you in the right direction.


Phoebe: Now for a question that I have been meaning to ask an author. Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?


Tamela: I read anything that happens to strike me as interesting. King, Koontz, Jude Deveraux, Tony Bourdain, Johanna Lindsey, Lisa Kleypas, I read the Twilight series in less than a week (yes, all four books) Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, Dan Brown, Kahlil Gibran, Alexander Dumas, Pushkin, etc. Everything, I suppose.


1 comment:

  1. 15 years! You certainly showed perseverance. Great interview. Thanks. And thanks for the encouragement to me to persevere.

    ReplyDelete

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