Andrew Q. Gordon

It’s been a few weeks since I had my last Tuesday Interview, but what better way to restart than with one of my favorite authors, Tali Spencer. Talk is one of my ‘go to people’ when I have questions about writing, publishing, and fantasy. She’s a multi-published award winning author and if you’ve not read her books, you really need to find out what you’re missing.

Welcome back Tali. Since it’s been a while, why don’t you tell everyone a bit about yourself.

I think I’m a pretty ordinary human being. No one would pick me out in a crowd. I enjoy the usual things: good food, good books, spending time with friends and family. But I’m also introspective and kind of solitary, I like my alone time. What I never am, though, is bored. Never. I think that’s because for my entire life I’ve carried around all these other worlds and people and stories inside my head.

So far I’ve written dozens of books and I plan on writing dozens more. 

I’m a fan of the Pride of Uttor series. Captive Heart was M/F, but Dangerous Beauty is MM. I understand there are two more in the series, Can you talk a bit about the series in general and what’s next?

The Uttor series is fantasy that follows the destinies of two families. The emperor of Uttor conquers Sebboy after one of the latter country’s princes kidnaps his sister. The series follows the Sebboyan royal family as the various princes and princesses find danger and romance in their new lives as imperial captives.

The next book, Adored, is scheduled for release in June. That book is MF and has—get this—a pregnant heroine. Can a hunky hero fall in love with an intelligent, outspoken woman who is clearly not a virgin?

It will be followed in the fall by Victory Portrait, a MM novel about Peta, the youngest prince, now a slave and bound over to an artist charged with painting the portrait of his country’s conqueror—Darius Arrento. Peta has idolized the Uttoran general for years, but the general has hated royal princes for far longer.

Your Don’t Read in the Closet entry last year, The Last Cannoli, was one of my favorite MM stories of the year. Are we going to see more stories like that from you?

That was such a fun story to write! I have to thank Gillian St. Kevern again for that great prompt. What’s not to love about cannoli and Italian-American families? I have a continuation of that story in mind; it involves Wisconsin and a cruise ship.

I have a few other contemporary stories like that I want to write. Contemporaries scare me, though. When I write fantasy, none of my family calls up to ask if I wrote about them!

So let’s talk Thick as Thieves. Unicorn horn soap and all. Tell us about that book and what’s next.

Thick as Thieves it sword and sorcery with a fun MM twist. It was another fun book to write. Vorgell the barbarian uses a unicorn’s horn in a way unicorn horns are never meant to be used and ends up in a state of almost perpetual lust. He becomes smitten with a pretty male witch and agrees to help him. Romance and adventure ensues.

They have another adventure coming up in Thick as Ice. I hit health problems and a snag while writing it, but I should have news on that book shortly.

What else are you working on that you can talk about?

I have an epic fantasy series fully written that I’m just starting to shop around. It’s about two young men—one of whom is possibly destined to become a god—but who at the moment only want to kill each other. And they might just succeed.

I have a series of novels set on an alien world where the native males die immediately upon completing the sexual act—but human men don’t, which makes them rather useful.

Also, I am dying to write historical fantasy set in Colonial Peru. I spent a lot of time in Bolivia and the stories of that region really speak to me. A portion of the story is free on my blog for anyone interested.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

The creative part, just letting the story flow. I love when something or someone unexpected happens along.

What’s your least favorite?

Does marketing count? {Absolutely it counts! Umm, sorry please continue.} It’s the end game of writing. I hate putting my work out there and then hawking it. I love holding giveaways and writing blog posts, I do lots of those… but I dread contacting people and asking them to read my book.

What have you read lately that most people haven’t read but should?

Honestly? The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing, by Marie Kondo. Hey, you asked! LOL Because seriously, this book changed my life. My guiding principle since reading it: Does this (person, thing, activity) spark joy? It really helps to examine our relationships, whether with people or our socks.

If you could meet any writer, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

MA Church. We’ve talked on the phone and are good friends, but I would love to meet her in person. She’s very interesting—funny, smart, and absolutely delightful.

Besides reading and writing, what else do you enjoy?

A game called Pandemic. My husband and I play it all the time—sometimes we save the world from a gazillion plagues, though sometimes the world comes to a putrid end. I love going to the theater; we have season tickets to the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia where I live. Going to concerts is always fun, too. Bring on the live performances! Oh, and I love taking cruises! I am a water sign, after all.

Last question is all yours – feel free to talk about anything you want your readers to know about you, your book, anything at all.

As a writer, I’m most comfortable not letting my ego follow my books out the door. I learned this lesson after my first novel was published back when I was a baby writer. I thought it would be fun to hang out at Barnes and Noble and watch people buy my book. I think a hundred people picked it up and looked at it and only one person carried it to the cashier. Lesson: Don’t watch readers. They won’t do what you want them to do. LOL

That same lesson also taught me to love the readers I have. When I meet one, I’m thrilled beyond words. They’re why I write my stories down and why I put them out in public.

About The Author:

Tali Spencer fell in love with writing at an early age and never stopped, though she took a lot of detours. It’s not unusual to find her daydreaming at a window or sitting in the corner of a busy room, people-watching and scribbling character tips in a notebook.

Thanks to a restless father, Tali grew up as a bit of a nomad. You may have gone to school with her if you lived in Virginia, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, or Wisconsin. It was during this time she developed her superpower sense of direction and love of diverse landscapes, people, and cultures. As a young adult she spent a lot of time in Bolivia and deeply loves the people and cultures of South America. Her longest stint in one place was Milwaukee where she went to college, enjoyed a series of interesting careers, and raised three surprisingly well-adjusted sons. She still loves to travel whenever she can. She married her second husband on a cruise ship and they love to cruise whenever they can, hoping one day to cruise around the world.

Since marrying her true love, Tali has put down new roots in Philadelphia, where she lives in an ongoing Italian American family sitcom. At least she’s learned how to make her own gravy and pasta. When not writing, Tali reads everything from sweet goofy romances to medical research, manages her fantasy football team—go Gekkos!—and takes long walks with her loving, if slightly neurotic, poodle.

Links:

I’m pretty easy to find.

My blog: http://talismania-brilliantdisguise.blogspot.com/

My Amazon.com author page.

My Goodreads author page.

I’m on Facebook

and Twitter

And my email: tali.spencer1@gmail.com

Thick as Thieves

Paperback available in paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Dreamspinner Press.

ebook available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Dreamspinner Press, and AllRomance.

Sorcerer’s Knot

Sorcerer’s Knot is available at Amazon, Dreamspinner Press, and AllRomance.

The Prince of Winds

The Prince of Winds is available at Amazon, Dreamspinner Press, andAllRomance.

Dangerous Beauty

Amazon, Resplendence Publishing and AllRomance. Also available in paperback.

The Last Cannoli

http://www.mmromancegroup.com/the-last-cannoli-by-tali-spencer/