Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Interview: Tawna Fenske author of Making Waves



I for one and very excited to have Tawna Fenske on the blog today. I enjoyed her debut book Making Waves to its fullest and you can see that in my review HERE.

Welcome Tawna! Readers, sit back and enjoy this interview between her and myself:


First up, give us a quick bio on yourself.
TF: You’ve got the whole “About the Author” thing at the bottom of this post, so let me think of a few things not on it. I’m 37 years old. I love wine. I hate shopping carts, windy days, and whiny people. I have three cats and an Australian Kelpie, which is pretty much a herding dog on crack. I love to laugh, so it’s probably a good thing I write romantic comedy and not morose literary fiction.

Your novel, Making Waves, is a hoot! How did you come up with this idea?
TF: The story started brewing in my brain on a sailing trip around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in 2006, though at that point it was the equivalent of, “wow, men on boats are kinda hot.” The plot didn’t come together in my mind until the economy tanked a couple years later and tons of people around me started getting laid off. I began mulling the crazy lengths people might go to if they were unfairly sacked by a shady employer. A high seas diamond heist organized by the four most unlikely pirates on the planet seemed like a good start.



The ending to this book had me literally laughing out loud and I must know (without any spoilers, of course) how in the world you can up with such a “place” to find a treasure.
TF: I’m not an author who does much plotting in advance, but that particular twist was something I had in mind at the very beginning. I knew very little about the characters or what was going to happen in the story, but the image of that “hiding place” was one that lodged itself in my brain and stayed there until I knew what to do with it.

Are you currently working on anything new?
TF: My contract with Sourcebooks is a three-book deal, so I’ve been bouncing back and forth between all three books as I work on promo for one, edits on another, and new writing on the third. The books scheduled as my second release is called Believe it or Not, and that hits shelves in March 2012. Here’s what that’s about:

Violet McGinn doesn’t believe in psychic powers. That’s one thing she has in common with Drew Watson, the disturbingly attractive owner of the bar/male strip club adjacent to Miss Moonbeam’s Psychic Pservices. There’s just one problem – Miss Moonbeam is Violet’s mother. And for the next few weeks, Violet must fill mom’s shoes at the psychic studio.



Where can my readers find you on the web, such as website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.?
TF: I’m all over the web! I’ve worked in marketing for most of my adult life, so social media is a big part of what I do both as an author and in my day job. I blog every weekday at Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, which can be found at http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com. My website isn’t particularly active, but that’s at http://www.tawnafenske.com. My Twitter handle is @tawnafenske and I’m on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tawnafenske

6. What get you in the mood to write?
TF: A deadline! In all seriousness, it can be tough when I’m faced with a ticking clock and I’m just not feeling it. In those instances, I try to focus on less creative parts of the writing process like editing or researching details for new scenes. If I absolutely, positively must crank out something new, I can sometimes lure my brain into a creative place by pulling up the musical playlist I’ve made for that particular book or burning a candle with a fragrance I’ve chosen to go with that story. If all else fails, there’s always wine.

Any strange writing quirks?
TF: I am completely incapable of writing in a quiet room. I have to have music. I also need a big glass of ice water, and usually something to nibble like frozen peas or raw almonds. I know, lame snacks. I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, and I’m probably lucky the things I tend to crave are healthy.

A fun fact about you that everyone might not know.


TF: I’m double jointed in both arms at the elbow, which means I can bend my arms in weird ways that freak people out. It’s a great party trick!

Any advice out for writers?
TF: I’m constantly dispensing advice on my blog, Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing. One of my most common soapboxes is the importance of not comparing yourself to other writers. Some authors land an agent or a book deal on the very first try, and others take years of rejections and cranking out manuscripts. There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to go about it, and every author’s journey is different. You’ll make yourself nuts if you get hung up on statistics about how quickly you should be published or how author so-and-so landed a deal before you did. Just keep your eyes on your own path and know that things happen exactly when and how they’re supposed to.

Lastly, is there anything you would like to share?
TF: A really nice bottle of wine. Who’s got one?

Thank you so much for coming by the blog today.

MAKING WAVES BY TAWNA FENSKE – IN STORES AUGUST 2011

She always wanted to belong… Just not to a dysfunctional pirate crew…
Juli has trouble fitting in, though she’d prefer to keep the reasons to herself. But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns…

He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior…
But Alex isn’t feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb. Meeting Juli doesn’t do much to restore normalcy to Alex’s life either, but it sure is exhilarating!

As Alex and Juli bare their secrets—and a whole lot more—they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek. An avid globetrotter with a fondness for the sea, she shares her heroine’s violent allergy to seasickness medication (though, sadly, has never stowed away on a pirate ship).Tawna is the author of the popular daily blog “Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing” and lives in Central Oregon, where she is working on her next novel, Believe It or Not, in stores March 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.tawnafenske.com/ or follow her on Twitter @tawnafenske.



 

1 comment:

TAWNA FENSKE said...

Thanks so much for inviting me here. I really had fun with these interview questions. Thanks also for the very kind words about the book!

Tawna