Tiffany Turner Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

I find the most productive time for me to write is during the weekend. I concentrate only on writing during the afternoon. If it is the summer, I tend to write during the evening 5-10pm.

I've always been a night person, and like the quiet during that time to focus.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

I usually start my projects with paper and pencil/pen. I usually grab what ever I can write with when I have an idea. Later, I copy it into my laptop. Once the project is started, I will then turn to writing it onto my laptop computer.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

I will get ideas from all kinds of observations. I'm always watching and thinking of ideas. Sometimes my students will do things that inspire me with an idea. Sometimes I'll be traveling and discover a new detail that gives me an idea. Often, I don't have enough time in the day to write all of my ideas down. I just grab what I can at the moment.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

No. I just write until the project is done. I usually have an idea of what the plot will be, and as I continue through I figure how many chapters. But I usually never bother with word count unless I'm working on a project with a word count limit.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I am a self-published Indie author for over 3 years. I have a friend that is a struggling artist that did the cover work for my book. He's also done some fantasy magazine illustrations, and I liked the look of his work. His name is Rich Wallace, and my book was his first children's cover illustration.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

Since I was 10, I've always wanted to be a writer. I had trouble reading as a kid, but really enjoyed loosing myself in a story. When I wrote a story, it was like having a power to control the universe, or at least one that you could create. Luckily, I had some really great teachers and improved. Now, I can get lost in my writing and take my readers with me.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

Yes, I just got a Kindle for Christmas. So, I'm still learning how to use all the features. But there are a lot of great things that can be done with it to help with writing, like to have your manuscript read back to you. Plus, now I can read books of other Indie authors only available on the Kindle.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

Anne Rice, Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey are some of my all time favorite authors. I've recently discovered Melissa Marr and Sharon Shinn as well. I just finished a fabulous book on my Kindle called Out of Time by Monique Martin. I've started on a new Kindle book called Cameo the Assassin by Dawn McCullough-White. I'm almost done with the new Valdemar anthology called Finding the Way And Other Tales of Valdemar.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I think book trailers are a good way to get people to learn about your book. Plus, a video will come up more often in a search on search engines. If someone is searching for a subject in regards to a book, your book trailer will come up higher on some searches.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

The current book is "The Lost Secret of the Green Man". It is in the same pattern of the other book, "The Lost Secret of Fairies". Usually, I like to include a legendary subject in the title that will be revealed in the story. Fairies are discovered in the first book. The Green Man is a helpful and forgotten legendary figure in the second book. The third book will continue the pattern with the title "The Lost Secret of Dragonfire". The title hints on how dragons are going to play a large part.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I am currently writing two books, the third book in the Crystal Keeper Chronicles called "The Lost Secret of Dragonfire." I have also started a YA with Mary, Queen of the Scots, as the main character. Both are still in the first manuscript stage.

http://www.tiffany-turner.com/