Happy Friday, Aussies! And Happy Thanks Giving to all you still enjoying Thursday on the other side of the world.
Today's Feature Me Friday is super-successful contemporary Young Adult and New Adult author Tammara Webber!
I read her first novel, Between the Lines which happens to be the first ever ebook I read, and I loved it. I have its two sequels and her stand alone, Easy, awaiting my eyeballs as well. Can't wait.
But with no further ado, I give you Tammara Webber!
Name: Tammara Webber
Latest Release: EASY
Genre: Contemporary
Romance (Category: New Adult)
Book Blurb:
A girl who believes trust can be misplaced,
promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes
truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what
they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When
Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the
last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two
weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a
state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle
of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother.
Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she
wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior,
Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and
staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or
learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his
own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything
but easy.
The Interview
If you could have been told one
thing that you weren't told when you were a teenager, what would you like to
have heard?
I would have liked someone to tell me to stop being
so fearful of making a mistake that it kept me from taking chances. True
mistakes are things you know are mistakes ahead of time. Everything else is a
learning opportunity. You have to go out and live your life to learn who you
are, what you want, and what you need. Life is best lived unafraid.
What's your pet peeve?
Negative people. I
believe in the idea of promoting what I like and ignoring what I don’t. Nothing
is gained by hating something or someone and letting it consume you. It just
makes you a negative person, too.
Do you have any writing quirks?
I need quiet. I can have music playing at a low
level while brainstorming or writing non-dialogue scenes, but when I’m writing a
scene with dialogue, it’s got to be utterly silent. I have to be able to
visualize the characters, their body language and physical engagement with each
other; I have to “hear” what they’re saying and how they say it.
Tell us three random facts about yourself.
(1) The only time I was ever called into the principal’s office
was for kissing my boyfriend in the hall. We were blatant breakers of the
school’s PDA policy. The vice principal was almost frothing at the mouth as she
told me, “Boys don’t respect girls who act like that!” Well, lady, I’m still married to that boy.
(2) I’m really, really nearsighted.
(3) I’m extremely
shy; the thought of public speaking makes me ill. In school, I took a zero on any
project requiring an oral presentation, thereby ruining my average for that
grading period. Only one of my teachers ever figured out what I was up to. She
made me recite my memorized Shakespearian piece in front of my best friend, my
boyfriend, and her only, instead of the whole class. I shook like a leaf regardless
and received hugs from all three afterwards. That teacher was a forensics and
debate teacher who’d been roped into teaching one sophomore English class. I
will always love Ms. Hall.
Describe your book in one sentence.
A New Adult
romance about Jacqueline - who is learning to trust again after she is dumped
by one boy and assaulted by another, and Lucas - who helps her recover
her self-confidence while hiding the trauma of his own past.
How long does it usually take you to
write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
That varies
widely from book to book. Not including my shelf novels, the shortest was four
months from idea to done (Where You Are), and the longest was thirteen years (Easy). Once I began writing Easy, however, it took about six months;
it was one of those books that simmers in the back of your mind, and you’re
sure you’ll never write it at all, and then one day there it is, demanding to
be written. Between the Lines and Good For You took eighteen months each –
but they overlapped with each other and Where
You Are. I look at those first three as one giant project – 26 months that
produced three books. So I’d say my average is about eight months.
Advice for writers:
Get a critique
partner if you don’t have one. If you have one, get one more. (If you prefer, a
circle of writers who trade paragraphs, chapters or manuscripts will do nicely.)
What a critique partner is: a working
writer – i.e.: a writer either published or striving towards publication. (This
has nothing at all to do with whether you’re traditional or indie.) Beta
readers are necessary, too, once you’ve got a solid completed manuscript – and
those can be any reader you trust to tell you the truth: friends, coworkers, a
spouse, sibling, voracious readers of your genre/category. But a critique
partner should be a writer, because a
good writer knows how to spot a plot hole, a confusing paragraph, an
unnecessary character, a boring chapter. And a good critique partner knows how
to offer criticism without making you want to give up writing and live in a box.
If you’re a novelist, get a critique partner, and prepare to be one.
Tammara Webber is a hopeful
romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad
endings in real life.
Social
Media Links:
I loved this interview. Thanks for stopping by, Tammara! The paperback of Easy is out NOW in the US but UK folks (which usually includes Aus and NZ) will have to wait until Jan 06, 2012.
If you are a young adult author, publishing
professional, book blogger or simply a book lover and would like to be
interviewed for your own Feature Me Friday post, contact me at
SarahBillingtonBooks AT Gmail DOT com!
Mucho love,
