Thursday 15 March 2012

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - TABITHA VALE



What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
My name is Tabitha Vale and I live in Portland, Oregon. 

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
Yes, I've always wanted to be a writer. Even know as I work on my degree I'd much rather be writing than doing any of that other stuff.

When did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?

I still don't consider myself a writer. I won't give myself that title until I can earn enough money to live off of it. The reason I do this is because anyone can be a writer. I don't want people to think that this hobby of mine is my career if it really isn't. 

Did it take a long time to get your first book published?
It took me a couple years of querying agents to finally decide to self publish. At first I had never considered it, but after hearing some good things about it I tried it out. After I decided to do it, the process was quick and easy. 

Do you work another job as well as your writing work?

Nope, just a college student.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
VENUS CITY, which is my debut novel. Gosh, 20 words? That's so hard! Let's try this; Braya grew up believing the magenta-eyed boys were inferior to her, but one handsome foreign boy with blue eyes shatters those beliefs. Close enough to twenty words? Haha. 

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
Self publish and proud of myself for doing it all on my own.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
Three weeks! I'm a college student, what else would I do with my time? lol

Which of your books were easier/harder to write than the others?
I'm in the process of writing the sequel to VENUS CITY, and I'll definitely say that VENUS CITY was harder to write because it was the first one I intended to publish and I was really nervous about making it perfect. 

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
Lots and lots of more books in the same genre. I love my urban fantasy/romance category! That's all my brain seems capable of imagining.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

Yes. The sequel to VENUS CITY (titled EPHRAIM CITY) will be out on March 5, 2012, and the third book in the series is set to come out April 1, 2012. Beyond that, I have even more plans to continue the series to to start up a few more series. 

Do you have a favourite character from your books? and why are they your favourite?

Asher is definitely my favorite. He's so handsome, so playful, and so skillful, yet he is deeply flawed. I don't want to say too much because his flaws are something that become more apparent throughout the series as he develops and Braya gets to know him better. It's for the reader to discover.

If you had to choose to be one of your characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?

Braya, the main character. She goes through a lot of troubles, but she really learns her lesson (and will continue through the next several books) yet as she learns those valuable life lessons she's still flawed, and I think that's something I can relate to well, and I hope others can too. Plus she transforms from an arrogant little girl to a really powerful and confident young woman later on in the series. 

Where do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
They usually come at me out of the blue when I'm least expecting it from the least likely sources.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I like to move to different places in the house, go to a library, go to a bookstore. Change things up. Sometimes mood-setting music can help me portray a certain emotion better, too. 

Do you have anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?

I let my younger sisters read them while I'm in the process of writing them just they can yell at me to keep writing because they want to know what happens in the next chapter.

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Yes, I love doing that.

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?
I think about the titles a lot. I want it to be memorable but also make the readers somewhat curious. Plus, I like titles that no other books would have. As for the book covers, I like symbolic designs better than just a girl or guy's face. I'm not criticizing those kinds of covers, though, believe me. Some of them look great! I designed the cover for VENUS CITY but I had a friend design the one for EPHRAIM CITY. 
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Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
Write first for sure. Sometimes the title might be apparent to me in the middle of writing, or at the end, so if I can't come up with anything right away I'll be patient. It always comes to me eventually. 

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
I think of my character names very carefully. I don't always look up the meaning behind the names, I do sometimes, but mostly I try to pick names that appeal to me, and names that aren't on the top 100 or something. Place names...I usually make those up on the spot haha.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I usually know a couple things about my characters. Like things about their general personality and some things they might have to do through the course of the book (and for the main character I know way more information than the other characters) but generally they end up changed through the course of my writing. 

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
I have to make extensive plans or I'll get lost in the middle. It's happened to me many times. I love planning. It's half the fun!

Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
Everyone does at one point, right? I escape from the story. Usually when I'm going about my day it's always there in my head, looming in the background, nagging me. If I have writers block that gets really annoying, so I do something to distract myself so that maybe the next day or the day after that I can return to it with a fresh head. 

What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a hobby?
Writing is my hobby right now haha. But other than that I like watching movies, traveling, spending time with my boyfriend, shopping, and discussing fashion ;) And I study of course!

Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you?
I always hear "write what you know" so yes, most of my characters are based off of bits and pieces from people I know, and even some things from myself are added to them as well. 

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

Yup! Can you guys find them? I love embedding morals into the story. I think it makes it easier for a reader to attach or relate to the story. 

Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?
Love paperback, but I also love ebooks. I grew up reading tons of fanfiction so on my laptop or phone is very comfortable for me!

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
It's possible. These kinds of things have a tendency to surprise us.

Do you think children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?
Reading, yes. At least the schools I went to, and that wasn't that long ago, so I can't imagine they changed it! Writing, however, wasn't encouraged so much (creative writing, at least)

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
Yup, I was a bookworm, especially in middle school. In high school I wrote a few books. Even my senior project was writing a book! Everyone seemed to think that was amazing, but I thought it was just normal haha. 


Your blog details?
I blog about my writing, my books, publishing (sucesses/trials/tribulations of self publishing) and sometimes about my own life. I don't get hardly any visitors as of yet since I'm still brand new. That's okay :) Here's the link: tabithavale.blogspot.com

Your facebook page?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tabitha-Vale/343271342372372

Your Goodreads author page?
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5753762.Tabitha_Vale

Your Twitter details?
https://twitter.com/#!/TabithaVale

And any other information you wish to supply?
My Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00792MJJ2

I'm a brand new author (only published 1 week ago) so my sites are all very follower-less. Just letting you know it's not because I'm repellent :)
Aaw hopefully we will change that soon and you will gain many more followers! Thanks so much for the Interview!

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