Laurie-Would you tell us a little about yourself?
Tina-I’m a romance author. I live in San Francisco, California, but I’m originally from Germany. I’ve lived in English speaking countries for over 20 years, practically my entire adult life. Writing is my big passion in life, and finally being able to do it for a living is a dream come true.
Laurie-What different kinds of genres do you write?
Tina-I only write romance, however, within the romance genre I’ve dabbled in different subgenres: western, contemporary, paranormal, historical.
Laurie-Out of all the different genres you write do you have a favorite?
Tina-Without a doubt, paranormal romance is my favorite and the one I will concentrate on.
Laurie-I loved the first two books in your Scanguards vampire series. Would you tell those who have never heard of them a little about the series?
Tina-Scanguards Vampires is about a group of vampires who run a security company called Scanguards. Samson is the owner of the company, and his book is the first in the series. Samson suffers from erectile dysfunction after a traumatic event and not even his shrink can help him. When the human auditor Delilah tumbles into his arms after a seemingly random attack, his hydraulics are working just fine. The story is very sexy and fast paced.
Amaury’s Hellion is the second book in the series. Amaury is Samson’s best friend and a director at Scanguards. He is cursed to feel other people’s emotions like a permanent headache and needs sex daily to keep the pain at bay. When he meets the feisty human woman Nina, a cure for his ailment seems within reach: in her presence all pain vanishes. Unfortunately, Nina is out to kill him because she believes he's involved in her brother's death. And she would succeed if only Amaury's bad boy charm didn't play havoc with her hormones and catapulted her into his arms and his bed every time she was near him.
In Book 1, Samson’s Lovely Mortal the vampire Amaury can read emotions and it is a huge problem for him. How did you come up with this problem?
I like to give my vampires problems that go against the grain of their own character. Amaury is so full of shit sometimes and such a hard ass that I figured, what the heck, I’m going to have him deal with the things he fears most: emotions. I had the epiphany about his problem when I wrote the scene with Ilona in Samson’s Lovely Mortal.
Laurie-Do you have an idea how many books you’re going to write for the Scanguards series?
Tina-I’m planning at least 6 books: Gabriel, Yvette, Zane, Thomas will be the next four, and possibly one or two after that depending on the popularity of the series.
Laurie-In book two Zane has a problem, he likes giving pain. Are you going to focus on this in his book?
Tina-Zane’s book is going to be quite dark – it will most likely be Book #5 in the Series. I am working on a few different scenarios for him, but violence is definitely part of his makeup. He has a very troubled past, and I don’t think he’ll be an easy character to write. I anticipate that some people will not like him at first, because of the things he’s done in his past.
Laurie-Do you have a favorite place to write?
Tina-I like to sit curled up on my couch with my little netbook computer and a cup of hot ginger tea. I do have a little office in my condo, but there’s no natural light, so I only use it when I have to do non-creative work. For all my creative work, I like to sit where I can watch the world go by. I’m on the forth floor of our building and have a nice view of the neighborhood.
Laurie-If you could give any advice for an up coming independent author what would that be?
Tina-First, join a critique group or local chapter of writers for your genre. You’ll learn a lot from others. Then just write. It takes a lot of practice to find your voice and make a story work. Some people can do it on the first book, some on the 10th. I work with critique partners on each book, and so do other published writers. We rely on those critique partners to tell us when something isn’t working, when our characters are unlovable, or our plot sucks. Brainstorm with your partners regularly. I can’t tell you enough how many times I’ve come up with a great scene just because of a remark one of my critique partners has made. Writing is only a solitary business if you make it so.
My second advice is: read lots of books in your genre, good and bad. You can learn from both. Don’t copy others, but take your inspiration from them. If somebody has a good idea, there’s nothing wrong with taking that thread and spinning it into a different direction. Remember, somebody once said (and I wish I remembered which famous person it was), there are only 20 unique stories out there – everything else is a variation of those 20 stories.
Laurie-Do you have anything you’d like to tell us about your books?
Tina-Yes, just a warning: all my books are sexually explicit. So if you are a little on the prudish side, they are not for you. If you read the first line of Samson’s Lovely Mortal, you’ll understand what I mean.
(Laurie-the first line is OMG!!;)
Laurie-Can you share what you have coming out next?
Tina-I’m currently working on Book 3 in the Scanguards Vampires Series. It will be Gabriel’s story – but I haven’t settled on a title yet. I anticipate the release date to be around December 1, 2010. Gabriel is quite a troubled vampire with a very unique sexual problem. You can watch my progress on my blog where I’ll be posting my word count daily.
I’m also working on a four book series about Greek Gods. Currently the proposal is with a traditional publishing house and I’m waiting to find out if it fits into their lineup.
Fun questions
Laurie-What is your favorite color?
Tina-Purple/lilac/violet
Laurie-Your favorite coke?
Tina-I don’t drink soft drinks – mainly because it’s hard enough to keep the pounds off when you’re sitting at a computer most of the day. I’m only 5’3”, so every extra pound really shows.
Laurie-Do you collect anything?
Tina-My husband and I live in a one bedroom condo, so I’ve never gotten into the habit of collecting anything – we just don’t have the space to keep anything. I don’t like clutter.
Where to find Tina
Website
blog
Now for the giveaway. One lucky winner will get Samson's Lovely Mortal. US winner will get paperback copy but International will get a PDF copy.
This book is pure erotic, so 18 and over please.
You have to be a follower of my blog and Tina's blog and please leave your email with your comment or question to Tina.
Oh Ya, while your at Tina's blog please check out the book A Touch of Greek it looks good!
Extra
+2 for twitter, facebook or blogging, please leave links
+2 for being a old follower
+1 for being to a new follower
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