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TR: Good morning, Tina, and welcome.
TT: Good morning, and thanks very much for having me.
TR: So, How old were you when you wrote your first piece?
TT: I was eight.
TR: What was it, and in what genre?
TT: I did my own take on the Good Samaritan of the Bible.
TR: What made you write it?
TT: This was one of my favourite stories of the Bible and I wanted to put a modern twist on it.
TR:What have you written since then?
TT: Oh my, this would be a long answer, since it has been 30 years since my first story.
But while I write in different genres, all the genres have a common theme, drama that always has a life lesson in the end. Currently I am staying with my supernatural theme after Destiny of the Vampire, this time with a witch who has the power to heal, heart, body and soul.
TR:What was the inspiration for your current book?
TT: I love vampires, particularly the Vampire Diaries/Twilight type, but I felt the market was being flooded with too many romantic vampires, so I decided to take the vampire, make him/her more human by having them deal with dark, debilitating secrets with all too human means, through addiction.
TR: Tell us a little about it, and where it’s available.
TT: Destiny of the Vampire centres around two brothers, Declan and Sebastian St. Clair who after their fishing sank during a vicious storm and watch their father sink with it, they wash up onto a deserted island where they meet the leader of the island who turn them into vampires. The brothers escape, and while they are free they travel the world and enjoy their new immortal lives. It is during this time a catastrophic event forces the brothers to numb out the pain of this event with human addictions. These addictions force them into trouble with the law, where they are sentenced to rehab. In rehab they are reunited with a woman(their therapist) from their past who helps them confront the pain and to heal from it. However, just as they think they find happiness, the leader of the island finds them and threatens to destroy them.
My book is available through three main websites Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the publisher Createspace I have links to all three on my website: http://ttraverse.wix.com/tinas-tales#!home/mainPage
TR: Is there a particular place or setting where you get your writing ideas?
TT: No, my ideas can come to be anywhere. In the living room while watching tv, in a dream, outside while playing with my boys. I even had another idea last night in the shower!
TR: What made you choose either traditional or independent publishing?
I chose indépendent publishing because after so many years of wanting to see my work in print and not getting anywhere with traditional publishing I gave up trying, though I never stopped writing. However, the desire for seeing my words in print never wavered so I decided to go with independent publishing to not only see my work in print but to share my stories with everyone and to truly become a writer.
TR: If you had to choose the most important element in an author’s platform, what would it be?
TT: The most important element in an author’s platform would be making sure that the reader is getting transported into a tale that they can truly get lost in, escape to. Become so engrossed with the story and the characters that it stays with them and maybe take away something good and positive.
TR: What mistakes have you made in regards to publishing and marketing your work, and what will you do differently in the future?
TT: This is my first experience with this so, the mistakes I made are plenty. First though I had an experienced editor friend of mine to edit the book, I did not have anyone else to beta read it to get what he may have missed, or especially what I did. By doing this I also left a few plot holes in the story that left certain sections thin. As for marketing while I had plenty of pre-orders locally, I am still navigating the different marketing methods, such as social media to properly market my book. In the future, now that I am apart of an excellent large circle writer group, where I take away large amounts of advice from experienced writers,who are in the same boat as me, I will use these resources to properly edit and polish my work and to properly market it.
TR: Do you have an idea for your next book?
TT: I have seven different story lines right now that are in different stages, that I am really excited about. For example I am now beginning to revisit a horror story that I wrote based on local folklore, to publish once it is all clean and shiny.
TR: Thanks Tina, and good luck with your book’s success. There you have it, friends. A bit of a glimpse into the writing life of Tina Traverse.
Tomorrow, tune in for my author interview with a very special young lady. Raven Worrell, the ten year old who wrote a book to benefit her autistic brother Damien joins me for a little chat. Don’t miss it!