Intimate Interviews

Time with Tamara

[JettaFrame,AfterDark] Thank you for your time, Tamara! We're excited about this interview. Would you tell us a little about yourself, who are you when you're off of wattpad?

[Tamara Lush, Featured Author] Thank you for having me! I'm excited to do this interview!

I have two lives. In my regular life, I'm a journalist with The Associated Press. That's a large news agency with reporters around the globe. I work in Florida, in the United States, which means I cover everything from executions to hurricanes to alligators.

In the other part of my life, I'm a romance novelist.

On a personal level, I'm married to an Italian man. We have two feisty dogs.

[JF] What a life! How does the journalist slash romance author wife of an italian man, manage to find wattpad?

[TL] That's an excellent question. I'm probably not the average demographic for Wattpad: I'm 46.

A huge part of my job is doing research. Even before I began writing fiction, I read widely. So when I started to write romance in 2014, I studied the market and the business. I wanted to know about traditional publishing, self publishing and everything in between. I knew that if I was going to write, I would treat it with the same seriousness that I do my journalism, investing time and money with an aim for readers and income.

Somewhere in my research I read about Wattpad and joined in the fall of 2015.

I actually published a short novel on Wattpad, which later morphed into a book that was published by Boroughs Publishing Group. On Wattpad it was called Christmas With the Italian Soldier. I took it down and reworked it into a novel called Into the Heat.

[JF] Your willingness to work is admirable. We hope you continue to have success. Can you tell us more about the publishing journey of "Into the Heat"?

[TL] I ended up going with the same publisher that bought my debut book, Hot Shade. Both books are standalone romantic suspense novels set on a fictional Florida island.

I queried a lot, got an agent and had offers on the first book.

[JF] Is there a particular reason you chose the traditional publishing route over that of self-publishing?

[TL] That's an excellent question. When I first started writing, I assumed I'd self-publish. But as I researched, I realized there was so much I didn't know. So I wanted to work with an excellent editor, and the editor in charge at Boroughs had a great reputation, and that's why I queried that particular publisher. I learned a lot from him.

I don't think there's any one path to publication these days. Interestingly, I've gotten the rights back on those two traditionally published books and have self-published them. Those, along with my serial novel Tell Me a Story, are all indie published.

I think for the right person, indie (self) publishing can be a wonderful way to get noticed in the writing community, especially in romance. But it's a lot of work, time and effort. Not to mention money. I'm very lucky in that I do have a supportive husband and the time/money to focus on my indie publishing career.

I would not rule out traditional publishing, though. I believe many of the most successful romance novelists are hybrids.

[JF] Food for thought, Tamara. Thank you for this insight! I personally am a huge fan of the "Tell Me a Story" concept. Where do you source your inspiration from?

[TL] I definitely take many of my ideas from real life. News stories I've covered, things I read in the paper, snippets of conversation I've overheard, events in my own life.

Thank you for the praise for Tell Me a Story. That actually has roots in real life.

The concept of the novel is about a bookstore owner who meets a handsome man at a literary event called Story Brothel. It's where people pay writers to read to them out loud. This event actually happened in my city, and I participated. Nothing remotely sexy happened, and a nice woman gave me like $5 for reading for ten minutes.

But the idea was so intriguing to me and I thought it would be a great meet-cute for a man and a woman. What could be more erotic - and potentially dangerous - than reading erotica to a handsome stranger?

[JF] I pray my own mayor sees this interview and instigates similar story-fodder events. The concept is very original. What future projects can we look forward to hearing about from you?

[TL] I have two new things in the works: I'm part of a New Adult sports romance anthology called Hot Zone. That will be published June 15. My story is a handsome and arrogant Italian race-car driver (whistles...no similarities between him and my husband, nooo..).

I'm also releasing a long, standalone erotic novel in the fall. I've been working on this a while. It's called Constant Craving and it's a second-chance romance about a newspaper publisher who is trying to save her dying business. Her ex-boyfriend, a rich Cuban-American financier, makes her an offer she can't refuse.

I'll also be continuing to update Tell Me a Desire every week on Wattpad!

That's the second installment of The Story Series. There are six.

[JF] Plenty of upcoming goodies on the horizon, in that case! Many of our writers on wattpad are still finding their voices. What do you recommend to beginner writers as the best way to hone their skills?

[TL] Read. Read outside of your preferred genre. Read classic literature - sometimes it's difficult and it makes our brains hurt but it has so much to teach us. Read things you don't think you'll like. Also try to read books with characters you don't like.

Also, for fiction writers, I think it's very instructive to read narrative non fiction, especially in magazines like The New Yorker. Learning how people craft stories about real life can also teach a new writer a lot about structure, pacing and conflict.

[JF] That's a new piece of advice, thank you for that, Tamara! The time has been well spent and we're sure our followers will love reading what you have shared with us today. We wish you the best in your writing career and hope to hear more from you soon!

[TL] Thank you so much for having me! I loved our chat! I hope you have a great day -- and anyone who is interested in my work can connect with me here on Wattpad, on Twitter or on Facebook