Welcome to my blog interview with novelist, Tamar Hela, author of Spirit Lake and The Wrong Fairy Tale.

Hello, Tamar,

What books have most influenced your life most? 

Great question! So many books have influenced my life, as well as my writing style. Since I read such a large variety/genre of books, I’ll share the ones that come to the forefront of my mind at the moment: The Narnia Series (CS Lewis), The Icarus Deception (Seth Godin), Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen), The Seven Sleepers Series (Gilbert Morris), The Knowledge of the Holy (AW Tozer), The Harry Potter Series (JK Rowling), The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas), The Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan), The Pendragon Cycle (Stephen R Lawhead), The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot), Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), & To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

What are your current projects? 
So many right now! I’m trying to get to the next installment of my Spirit Lake Series (book 3). I plan on having it finished this spring so it can be in edits during the summer. I’m also working on a SciFi, Epic Fantasy, and Assassin/Rom-Com type of book. I’m super excited about these projects and hope to finish them all—first drafts, at least—this year.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest (or first) book? 

Funny you ask that. I’m actually working on my first book again. I’m stripping it apart and reconstructing. I think that when you are an artist, you’re always looking back at your work, thinking of how you can make (or could have made) it better. Since I was independently published in 2012, I had the freedom to go back and re-examine my first book. I wanted to make the characters older, make the dialogue less pretentious, as well as make the overall story arc have more at stake—more danger, more to lose.

So . . . since I’ve just signed a contract with a traditional publisher, Cosby Media Productions, I’m now busting my butt to get my first book rewritten and up to par for a re-release (which will actually be its third release since 2012). Now that I’ve been writing for 5 years and have also edited a bunch of books for my clients, I have learned so much more about the craft of writing—probably more than any class or workshop could ever teach me.

What is your favorite motivational phrase or positive saying?

Hard to choose! But here’s one that’s been a long time favorite: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –Howard Thurman

So, I decided to mix it up a little. Tamar has answered the following questions on video:

What was the hardest part of writing your book? 
Do you have any advice for other writers? 
Do you write an outline before every book you write? 
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
What inspired you to write your first book?

THIS OR THAT: The Speed Round

 Which do you prefer – Reading or writing? Both!
Writing during the night or writing during the day? During the night, when it’s nice and quiet.
Reading an eBook or print? Both. I’m not a purist. 😉
Buy books online or buy in a bookstore? Online.
Writing from home or someplace else? Depends on my mood. 🙂
Weather: Hot or Cold? Hot
Music or Silence? Music
Classic Fairy tales or Fairy tale retellings? Retellings
Chocolate or Vanilla? Umm . . . wine? =P
The Beach or The Mountains? Beach
The World being taken over by zombies or sexy blood sucking Vampires? Vampires, obvi.
Time Travel to the future or Past? Future
Facebook or Twitter? Twitter
Being able to fly or being able to go invisible? Invisible
Bookmark or Dog-eared? Both.
1st character POV or 3rd character POV? Depends, but I typically write in 1^st.
City or Country? City
Pen or Pencil? Pen
Books or Movies? Books
Coffee or Tea? At this point in my life: Tea with cream
Manicure or Pedicure? Pedicure all the way!

 How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Website (you can also hire Tamar to be your editor here!)/blog: www.tamarhela.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelabooks

Twitter: @helagirl

LinkedIn: Tamar Hela

Pinterest: helachick

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/Tamar-Hela/

Spirit Lake: http://amzn.to/1OF0VhR

The Wrong Fairy Tale: http://amzn.to/1uGoD2I

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/TKHela