My Special Offers Mailing goes out Wednesday.
It’s Back to School for a lot of kids and parents and teachers! This is my way to celebrate the fall and the new school year.
Hats Off Corner Welcomes Tara Tyler
A couple of weeks ago, I asked another writer these questions, and so I thought it might be fun compare answers. Tara said she was game, so here are her answers.
Me: As a writer I look to others whom I enjoy reading for inspiration. Do you have a writer or writers you read for inspiration?
TT: I’ve always been inspired by the writers of books I enjoy. Isaac Asimov, Michael Crichton, Piers Anthony, Janet Evanovich, George RR Martin. And many of my writer friends!
Me: Can you talk a bit about your experience with rejection, how you handled it, what you learned from it? Any “advice” to those who are still getting the “Thank you, but no thank you” letters?
TT: Rejection stinks. Especially when I slave over a query and rewrite it a million times… But once I hit send, I try to forget about it by working on other things. My advice is to expect rejection. It’s part of the process. And when the positive responses come, they make the rejections worth it!! Don’t fret, the positives will come – keep working, the right fit will present itself.
Me: Is there a story behind the story of this latest book that you wish to share? The ah-ha or lightning moment where the story inspiration struck?
TT: There’s always a story behind the story, right? After Pop Travel, I had requests for more. I picked up a trail I left with one of the characters. Hasan loves to create and experiment. In Simulation, he wanted to improve on his guard droids – and he did, but someone stole his work and tainted it… In Book Three: Disposal, Hasan will be working on the garbage/recycling problem and help Cooper and Geri bust some drug dealers making a highly addictive drug from recycled waste… Though he’s not the main character, he’s a driving force and hilarious to boot.
Me: What’s the hardest part of being a successful, published author? (i.e. finding time to write, creating new books that are of the same caliber as your other successes).
TT: Successful? Ha haha. My sales would disagree, but at least I’m published, right? The hardest part is the marketing. Authors are pretty much on their own these days unless they become a big huge deal with one of the big publishers. Finding a balance between home, work, and writing projects is high on the hard things to do list too! My days seem shorter and shorter all the time.
After Pop Travel, Geri convinced Cooper to move back to Atlanta, but for familiar reasons, things didn’t work out… In Simulation, Geri is fighting her way back to full-fledged, solo agent status, but first has to deal with one more annoying sidekick on an equally annoying case. Meanwhile, Cooper takes his mind off Geri leaving him by throwing himself into his work, investigating an illegal clone android simulation operation. Sparks fly when Cooper and Geri’s cases lead them down the same path. Of course Hasan wants to help them with their cases, and connives a plan to get them back together in the niddle of all the chaos!
SIMULATION delivers more technology, more intense action, more humor, and more exciting new characters. Come along for the ride.
SIMULATION
by Tara Tyler
Release Date: Sept 14, 2015
In 2082, androids are an essential part of daily life. Some are helpful, some would make better toasters, and some are so human-like they’re creepy. Back in Atlanta, Detective Cooper’s latest client has him searching for her boyfriend who she thinks was replaced by a simulation, an illegal clone android. The guy also happens to be a popular new congressman.
As if the case wasn’t frustrating enough, Cooper keeps crossing paths with his ex, FBI Agent Geri Harper who’s looking for the same guy. As Cooper closes in, Geri is kidnapped. But when she resurfaces in Washington and goes on a killing spree, he knows it isn’t her. Now under suspicion himself, Cooper must find the real Geri to prove her innocence, not to mention hunt down the powerful villain behind it all. Never a dull moment.
Goodreads giveaway!
Tara Tyler writes sci fi and fantasy action-adventures from her little corner of the world in Ohio as she tries to keep up with her three boys and coach husband. Always making time to write, she sometimes puts off chores and lets laundry pile up… hence, she’s also the Lazy Housewife, offering advice and tips to other gals out there trying to do it all without going crazy. She and her housewife friends blog at The Really Real Housewives of America.
Quote for the Day: “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin
Are you ready for the fall? Does Tara’s newest sound exciting to you? It does to me.
Congratulations to Tara Tyler! Sounds interesting book. Loved the interview.
This sounds like an interesting book. Cool interview.
Simulation definitely sounds interesting. Great to hear from Tara! 🙂
~Jess
Love the cover on Simulation and it's true to say that the days seem to have less hours to go around.
Hooray for Tara! I agree with her on the rejections. I brace myself for them, but I'm still kind of in shock sometimes. Acceptance is amazing every time.
I love Tara's covers and her blurb is positively intriguing!
Plus, I love that quote! 🙂
Every time I get an email from a publication, I brace myself for the rejection. The high when it actually turns out to be an acceptance is amazing. So I agree on your tip, though I think I secretly think positive. :p
The author life is a very, very busy one. It's hard to fit in breathing some days. Congratulations, Tara!! Woot woot!
Yay for Tara! I read the first one an enjoyed it. Her cover is absolutely amazing if you ask me.
I loved this interview. My favorite question was the story behind the story. I always love knowing that.
I love this cover! Congrats to Tara!!!
Grats Tara! Great interview, Lee. It's funny that we think of sales as a measure of success. I think you're successful, Tara. You're at least popular!
Rejection is part of the process, and hard no matter what, but you're right that acceptance washes it away, well, until the next one. 🙂
Marketing is so hard. I've decided sales are no longer the focus, it's all about the writing. So I have to take a job to support my hobby, I'm not the first and I won't be the last. Writing is my joy!
Always great to hear from Tara!
And I am more than ready for fall. Love this time of year. 🙂
Congrats on the new release, Tara!
Great interview, and congrats to Tara! I completely agree with how hard marketing can be. I never feel like I'm doing that correctly myself, most of the time!
Great interview! I must get round to Tara's series as the books sound action packed.
I can't read fast enough these days. Writers! Slow down, so I can catch up.
that eye in the O is so nasty!
Lovely to read more about Tara. Like the way she can send something off then move right on. Thanks for hosting Tara, Lee.
Rejection and marketing–we writers must push through those things. Tara's latest looks great.
Congrats Tara!! Janet Evanovich, huh? I do see it!
Congratulations on your book, Tara. It does sound interesting. Great answers to Lee's questions. Great questions, Lee.
Sigh, the marketing is hard, especially when you just want to write. 🙂
Good luck to you.
I agree that marketing is the toughest part of being an author. Best of luck to Tara.
Hooray for Tara. It is nice to see how authors answer the same questions.
Yep. And they are all different, but with similar themes.
Yay for Tara – she's awesome!
Marketing is always the toughest part for authors – wish their was a wand to wave to make it happen efficiently and effectively!
Having just met Tara in person over the weekend, I can say without a doubt that she is AWESOME.
How lucky you are to meet Tara in person.
Great interview, ladies. 🙂
Hi! Always very nice to have writers here.
Tara's writing wisdom definitely shines throughout this interview. Expecting rejection at the onset is so much easier than setting oneself up for failure. Not everyone is going to like us or our work, and there are so many variables as to why. Congrats again, Tara!
She did a great job answering the questions, didn't she?
I can imagine that marketing your book would be difficult – there are SO many titles out there, especially with e-book and self-publishing becoming more popular. 🙂
Yep. Standing on a corner waving a sign board just isn't doing it anymore. 🙂
Wow, sounds like a great scifi series. Droids that can't be told apart from humans? That's frightening.
I love that Franklin quote!
The scary thing is it's quite possibly the future.
Making a drug from recycled waste, now that's creative and unique!
Futuristic or the future? One never knows.
Yay for Tara! I'm seeing her everywhere today. Woot! 😀
I love the excitement of a launch!
Simulation sounds terrific. That's so cool that it picks up where Pop Travel left off.
Writing sequels is a challenge, but so rewarding.
Tara's book does sound exciting. I like what she says about mailing out that query and working on something else instead of waiting for that rejection. Good luck, Tara.
Susan Says
That makes a lot of sense to me.
Good luck to Tara on her newest release! Yeah, the rejections suck, and they don't stop coming even after you are published. But since the only way to avoid rejection is to stop trying at all … well, I don't have to tell you guys that. We're all still here … 🙂
You're so right. There's no escaping rejection except by quitting.
Wonderful interview Lee, Good luck to Tara also.
Yvonne.
These are old questions, but the answers are always fresh.
Congratulations to Tara!!!!
That's so cool to read a bit more about Hasan! And yes, he's definitely a driving force and hilarious in these stories lol
Isn't it great when you love a character?
Very true, just have to accept rejection and keep on trucking along.
Do poets truck along? I've always thought of them as meanderers. 🙂
good luck Tara. I read Pop Travel and look forward to Simulation!
You and Tara are busy today with new books!
Congrats to Tara.
Once we throw marketing into the mix, it becomes an interesting balancing act.
You need rocks–lots of rocks–to put on the other side of that fulcrum! The hours for promo are astonishing sometimes.
Hi Lee and Tara – great to read … and finding that balance with three boys and your coaching hubby – not much change for the housewife is there. Still bet they give you creativity and help with the chores? Let's hope .. cheers Hilary
Having a family makes for creative thought, doesn't it? She seems to be balancing her writing and her family very well.
Congratulations to Tara! I loved her book. Hasan really is hilarious.
It sounds as if he'd moving toward being a very "green" sort of guy in th next book.
Congrats, Tara! Yes, promotion is hard, even for traditionally published authors unless an author's book is one of the books the publisher is most excited about.
It's a full time job this!
Tara, congratulations and love your attitude. The books sounds intriguing.
Good morning, Mason! Thanks for the comment.
I like her answers, especially her thoughts on rejection. Her book sounds interesting.
Everybody handles it differently and so it's always interesting to read what people have to say about it.
Congratulations, Tara!
Rejection stinks but you'll never get an acceptance if you don't risk rejection.
Writing and publishing books teaches you a lot about life, doesn't it?