Indie Interview with @LaylaTarar, author of More Than Strangers #romance
Conversations with authors and writers from the self-publishing world.
Meet Tara Quan
Genre: Romance
Best Known for: Tower in the Woods
Dear Tara, thank you very much for agreeing to participate in the Indie Author Spotlight.
How long have you been writing and
how did you get started?
I started writing Harry Potter fan
fiction back when I was in high school. I took a long break from
writing after starting college, though I continued to scribble in
various notebooks. I began dedicating large chunks of time to writing
again in 2010.
Your book More than Strangers is
doing well. Was this your first book? If not, what was your first
published book and did it do well?
More than Strangers is my third
published work, and I wrote it on a lark knowing it wasn’t likely
to sell many copies. My debut novella is Tower in the Woods,
which is a twist on the Rapunzel story set in a post
apocalyptic zombie world. Even after being out for more than six
months, it’s doing better than More than Strangers.
Tell us a little bit about More than
Strangers…
More than Strangers starts off
at a polo match in Dubai, where two strangers agree to have a
one-night stand. They spend a creative night together (with
champagne, strawberries, and a riding crop) in a gorgeous desert
resort.
My hero is a security specialist who
co-owns a company called Safe Harbor. Six months after meeting my
heroine, he’s contracted to extract a public health worker who had
gotten into a spot of trouble in Pakistan. Let’s just say he was in
for a bit of a surprise when he meets the woman he’s sent to
rescue.
How does this book differ from other
Romance novels?
This is the first time I’ve been able
to set a story in places I’ve lived in and know well. While I took
some creative license, the descriptions are as authentic as I could
make them. There might be other romances set in Dubai, though I
haven’t found any, but I doubt there’s one set in Pakistan as
well.
You have achieved what many indie
authors dream of- how did your success come about?
This is going to sound boring: writing
and research. Like many authors, I have countless finished and
unfinished manuscripts that will never see the light of day. I
actually have two 90k novels that I have written off as practice.
Once I had something I thought was publishable, I haunted writing
forums for months to come up with a list of ePublishers that might
take it on. And then came the dreaded submission process—racking up
rejection letters is an ongoing torture for most writers.
Do you have any special tips that
you’d like to share with other authors, regarding writing,
marketing or publishing?
Take this one with a grain of
salt—spend most of your time doing what’s fun for you. In my
case, writing gets almost all of my attention.
Is there anything you’d like to
say to your readers?
Thanks for giving my books a try. If
you have time, a review would be lovely.
Why did you choose to write in the
romance genre?
I’m a romance junkie. I started
reading them when I was in my teens, and I never stopped. I’m in
love with the genre, and I can’t imagine writing anything else.
Do you also read? What sort of
books?
Yes. Romances—all genres. I’ve been
more of a paranormal fan of late, but I’ll try anything with a
happily ever after. My favorite authors are Nalini Singh, Kresley
Cole, Julia Quinn, Linda Howard, and Judith McNaught.
How did you learn to write?
By reading and writing. I’m not sure
it’s the most efficient path, but I can’t imagine going about it
differently.
What are your thoughts on
self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
I chose something in the middle, so
this might seem a bit wish-washy. If I had liked the other aspects of
publishing (formatting, distribution, cover art, marketing,
accounting, etc.), I would have chosen self-publishing since it
offers immense freedom. Having a publisher (trade or ePub), means
conforming to genre rules and pricing. Everything also happens at a
slower pace than self-publishing.
Small press ePublishers offer some of
the advantages of trade publishers. The heavy lifting for my books is
done when I turn in the line edits. I don’t have to format it, buy
cover art, upload it to a dozen different distributers—my publisher
takes care of that. They have their own fan base, which helps my
sales potential as a new author. I’m still responsible for quite a
bit of marketing, and obviously my books will never be sold in
bookstores. Since I write category length books in a genre where
eBooks are gaining popularity, it’s a good fit.
Trade publishing is the ultimate dream
for many authors. I still sigh at the thought of a book of mine
siting on a shelf at Barnes and Noble. But because I like writing in
this genre and length, trying to get trade published just wasn’t a
practical option.
Do you have any more books being released soon?
I’ve got a few works in progress—I
just need to convince someone to take them on. I’m writing the sequel to More Than Strangers right now (and it will probably
be done by the time this interview goes live). I’m also revising
the sequel to Tower in the Woods, which is a twist on Little
Red Riding Hood.
Thank you, Tara!
Romance Giveaway!
