Author Interview: Tristan J.Tarwater (+Giveaway)

Tristan J Tarwater is the author of The Valley of Ten Crescents series, as well as several other stories that hope to see the light of day. Born and raised in New York City she remembers reading a lot, visiting Museums and the Aquarium frequently and wanting to be a writer from a very early age. Her love of fantasy and sci-fi spills over into what she reads and watches in her free time as well as the collection of dice, books and small metal figurines that reside in her home. She currently lives in Central California with her Admin, Small Boss, a cat that knows it’s a multipass and Azrael. Tristan J Tarwater is currently working on the final edits of her second book ‘Self-Made Scoundrel’.  

INTERVIEW

-Try to describe your book in one sentence.
Thieves at Heart is a coming of age story regarding a half elf girl, Tavera and her adopted father, Derk.

-Your genre in Thieves At Heart is Fantasy right? You did that on purpose, or you just start writing?
It was definitely a fantasy from the start. I came up with Tavera and well, half elves and fantasy go hand in hand.

-What inspired you to write, you took any ideas from other books, movies etc?
To write in general, I’ve always liked to write. I’ve written since I was a kid and love doing it. For Thieves at Heart and The Valley of Ten Crescents, I was inspired by a lot of the fantasy books I read as as kid and tabletop RPGs.

-Did you do any research before start or during of the writing of the books?
I did a lot of research while I was writing Thieves at Heart. I read up on lunar religions, oxbow lakes, cereal crops and farming, rabbits. I bought an almanac and read through it for farming information. I grew up in the city so farming is kind of like magic to me, heh.

-Which scenes were the hardest to write?
Oh man, I wrote Thieves at Heart so long ago...the last chapter was pretty hard to right. With good reason.

-How long has it taken you to write a book ?
When I originally wrote the series, I intended it to be one book, and the entire series took around three years to write, start to finish I would say. So, 200,000 words in three years? The original manuscript of Thieves at Heart was around 25,000 words and was boosted to around 45,000 in just a few months.

-What’s the best part of writing for you?
One is just the joy of telling a story. I love coming up with characters and telling their stories. It’s fun for me. I also like when I’ve entertained someone for a bit.

-Are you reading or writing something else at the moment?
I am working on the sequel to Thieves at Heart, ‘Self-Made Scoundrel.’ And as for reading, I’m trying to find time to read Future Lovecraft and a few other short novels. But I’m editing and working quite a bit, it’s hard to find time.


-Did you have support at the beginning and/or during your writing?
Oh, definitely. My spouse has always supported my writing and when I was writing in High School, my teachers encouraged me since it was probably the only thing I did that I did enthusiastically, heh. And my good friend read along the whole time. He was my first beta reader!

-Did you always had in mind to be a writer or it just happened?
I’ve always written and come up with stories. It’s something I love to do.

-How important you find the communication between you and your readers? Do you reply to their messages or read their reviews?
It’s really important! I definitely read my reviews to see what people say and to see what I need to improve, what people liked, etc. And I respond to every email I get because well, I can. Maybe not right away but I do try.

-Are you working on any other projects except writing, right now?
I’m writing for a gaming blog called Troll in the Corner. My main article is Reality Makes the Best Fantasy which is kind of a spotlight on things that do exist and how they can be adapted for an RPG. I just finished transcribing a webcomic called ‘Dissident Priest’ (NSFW) and I’m about to get started working on Rasputin Barxotka. I’m also organizing a bunch of indie creators in this kind of network. Oh man, it’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s fun! I’m meeting a lot of awesome people!

-Something special you want to share with us?
I would say, Just Try. Sitting on your hands doesn’t do anything except make your hands fall asleep. Whatever it is you want to do, try and keep trying. You only get better by doing. Give yourself the leeway to fail and just keep on. Zeal is important.

Now some simple questions and more fun^^

-Your favourite books and author? I love Philip K Dick and HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard. Anything I’ve read of theirs I’ve loved.

-Your favourite band/singer? Well, I love Queen. I think they’re the best band ever and Freddie Mercury is a rock deity. And I do like Crass. But bands that are still making music, I really like The Black Heart Procession, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, Blonde Redhead. Rock music.

-Twitter or Facebook? Twitter, by far. Definitely.

-Favourite place in the world? Probably Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Oregon.

-Last movie you watched at the cinemas? Sadly, Kung Fu Panda 2. I have a child and I don’t leave the house much. It was okay. The last movie I saw at home though was Chocolate, a Thai martial arts movie that was excellent.

-The last book you’ve read? Truthfully, ‘Gaspard and Lisa’s Rainy Day.’ To my daughter. She’s almost 5 and we read before bed so those have been the only books I’ve been able to finish. I’ve started a few but I’ve been having the problem of having so much work to do, if a book can’t hold my attention, I get back to work. Luckily Gaspard and Lisa books are awesome. Hilarious childhood shenanigans that are more honest than most.

-Have you ever googled yourself? Yes, actually! It’s kind of interesting to see.

-Writing, reading or hanging out with friends? That’s really hard to answer, wow. I’ve been really starved for hang outs with people as of late since we live far away from all my friends so that is tempting. But I really love writing and reading. If I pick incorrectly, will I get in trouble?! Oi. Um...I guess I would have to say writing! I have a lot of work to do!

-If you wouldn’t be a writer, what you would be? Maybe dead? Not myself Not to sound hyperbolic but writing, in addition to being entertaining for me is also kind of therapeutic. It keeps me sane. It’s very important to who I am as a person. Even if I had never gone the publishing route, I would be writing.

-And last one....printed or ebooks? As long as you’re reading, it doesn’t matter. It’s easier to amass virtual piles of ebooks. I think what’s most important is that people are reading and that information is transferred and preserved. Whether that be digitally or physically, lets hope it stands the test of time. And that the alien squid overlords don’t judge us all too harshly when they see what is popular.

Thanks for your taking some time to answer our questions! I so love your smile! You seem such a happy person ^^

GIVEAWAY

Goodreads || Official Site || My Review

RULES:
-International
-3 Winners: 1 Printed Copy & 2 Ebooks
-Deadline: Feb.29th, 2012
-You do NOT have to be a follower, but it's always appreciated.

Enter: Leave a comment for the author + your email!