Author Interview - Tamelia Tumlin

Meet Tamelia Tumlin...

Tamelia Tumlin

My interview today is with romance author Tamelia Tumlin who is in the middle of a virtual tour for her latest book, DEADLY IMAGE. 

Tamelia sold her first piece of writing to Dogwood Tales Magazine while taking a creative writing course in college. That short story, titled "The Traveler," was the feature piece for that edition. A career in elementary education and a wonderful son consumed her time for some years afterward, yet the yearning to write never went away. She now pens fabulous romantic tales with to-die-for heroes and spirited heroines in her spare moments. 

Tamelia has worked with several online publishers, but currently writes for Steel Magnolia Press. Juggling motherhood, teaching and writing is a challenge, but one she welcomes while pursuing her passion. Her novels range from sweet and sassy to dark and dangerous. As a disclaimer, I should also tell you Tamelia is my niece by marriage.

JB: Weclome to the blog, Tamelia. It's a pleasure to have you with us!

Thank you for the warm welcome, Jennifer. It is an honor to be here today. I’d also like to invite your readers to visit my website www.tameliatumlin.com for a chance to win one of two $10.00 Amazon gift cards I’m also giving away at the end of my book tour.

JB: Readers enjoy a personal glimpse of what a writer is like as a person. Tell us a bit more about yourself.

I’m an elementary teacher by day and a writer by night. In between, I’m a proud mother of my ten year old son. I also enjoy reading, writing and traveling. My son has a large US map on the wall where he collects hat pins from each state we’ve traveled to. So far we have most of the Southeast covered. It;s about time to work on another region.

JB: How would readers find out more about you?

           I've recently revamped my website, www.tameliatumlin.com, to make it more

           reader friendly. My books, blurbs and current projects are listed there as

           well as my blog, "Tamelia’s Tidbits," where I share quirky posts about my

           very busy life.

JB: When did you decide you wanted to write, and what triggered that decision?

I have always enjoyed reading. In my early teens I used to read the Silhouette young adult line. During this time you were writing and selling books and my mother was trying her hand at the craft as well. So at fourteen, I thought I had enough knowledge to give it a go too. After all, I loved to read. How hard could it be? I wrote a teenage romance targeted to Silhouette's young adult line. Of course, the book never saw the light of day and it was rejected as it should have been. However, I received something very valuable with that experience even though I didn’t realize it at the time; the knowledge that I could write and finish an entire book on my own and a rejection letter which was full of encouragement from the editor and a critique of my work as well. The fact that the rejection letter was not a form rejection was a milestone in itself. That it had suggestions and encouragement was pure gold--it just took me several years to realize it. I still had quite a bit to learn about writing, but because one editor many years ago saw promise, I had the courage to hone my craft and pursue my dream.

JB: Where and at what time do you write?

My favorite time to write is late at night after my son has gone to bed and I know no one should be dropping by for a visit. I generally pen my stories on the couch with the TV on low. For some reason, I seem to need background noise in order to concentrate--which is ironic, now I think about it, since I expect my son to do his homework without any distractions. Hmm, maybe I need to reconsider that rule. Maybe he takes after me and needs some “white noise” in the background too.

JB: What is your must-have book for writing?

Kate Walker’s 12 POINT GUIDE FOR WRITING ROMANCES. Kate is a well-know Harlequin author and she has some very good advice in her book on how to craft romances.

JB: Tell us any quirks you might have about the writing process.

I generally start with a small idea and write a very bare-bones outline of how my story will play out; I usually only know the beginning and the ending and a few other details. I do fill out a short character chart with just a few notes on each character and add to it as I write. I spend a lot of time staring at the computer screen tossing around ideas in my head and hoping they will magically appear on the screen in logical order on their own. Of course, they never do. Sometimes what I write is drivel, and I have to take out chunks and start over. This may seem like a waste of time, but it actually helps me flesh out the story and get to know my characters a little better. Everything I write isn’t necessarily what the reader needs in the story, but it is what I need to dig a bit deeper into the plot or character growth.

JB: What genre(s) do you write?

I’m a romantic at heart, so romance is the main genre I write in--but with the occasional paranormal sub-genre thrown in here or there.

JB: Among those you’ve written, which is your favorite book and why?

That’s a hard question. By the time you finish writing a novel you know your characters inside and out and each of mine are special to me in one way or another. But, if I had to choose, I would have to say A TIME FOR HEALING. The hero in this story has to find his way again after a personal tragedy leaves him broken and bitter. The heroine has a past she’s not proud of and guilt she has carried around for years. Both characters must learn to heal their hearts and forgive themselves-as well as God-in order to help a teenage boy who’s headed down the wrong path. I also have a secondary character in this story, Old Pete, who not only plays a pivotal role in the story, but is also an endearing character.

JB: Do you ever think of writing in other genres?

I enjoy writing romances and I do like to dabble in several sub-genres of romance, but the only other genre I’ve considered writing is chick-lit. My writing voice tends to be a bit humorous and I think chick-lit could be a good match. Of course, there would probably be a thread of romance running through it.

JB: Can you tell us a bit about your latest release?

DEADLY IMAGE is my Inspirational Intrigue. I’ve always loved reading Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense stories so I decided to write one similar to that line. The story is about a young widow whose daughter is missing. Although she is desperately trying to find her child,  the evidence keeps pointing back to her. As the heroine faces her past, she discovers everything she had held dear was a deception. With her faith shattered and her daughter missing, her only hope lies with the hero, a special CARD agent assigned to her case. The hero has a few issues of his own to deal with, but he really wants to believe the young widow is innocent. Still, he’s determined to find out the truth, no matter what.

JB: Any new projects, works in progress?

I'm currently working on the next novella in The Gatekeepers series. This is my paranormal series involving four dragon shifters who guard the portals of their realm here on earth. The first story, A DRAGON'S SEDUCTION, was well received by readers. It's available now through Amazon.com.

JB: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom to share with aspiring writers?

My only advice is to never give up. Study the market, study the genre and pursue your dream.

JB: Thanks so much for taking the time from your busy schedule to let us know what’s happening with you and your writing. Warmest wishes for much success with your career!

Thank you for having me. It has been a pleasure talking to you and sharing with your readers.

Special Notice! Leave a comment below for a chance to win one of two free ebook copies of DEADLY IMAGE that Tamelia will be giving away in honor of this stop on her book tour! 

Also, look for Tamelia at the following locations--and don't forget to register for those two $10 Amazon gift cards she'll be giving away on her website!

           www.tameliatumlin.com

           www.steelmagnoliapress.com

           https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romance-Author-Tamelia-tumlin/136280626492728?ref=hl

          https://twitter.com/tameliatumlin

          http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tamelia-tumlin/3b/676/61b

       http://www.goodreads.com/TameliaTumlin

New beginnings

Today is the first day of the rest of my blogging life. After months of confusion while reading articles and books on how to blog, what to write about and how often to post, I’ve decided to ignore all the advice and do it my way. This means returning to my original plan when I named this blog Jennifer’s Journal: it will be an online record of my days to let readers know what’s happening with my life and career. And if I sometimes post the odd thought that runs through my mind, perhaps you‘ll bear with me.

This is such a minor decision compared to some I’ve taken recently!

Last November, I submitted a proposal for a new medieval trilogy called the Tudor Heiress Brides Books. My editor approved it and made an offer. The advance was somewhat less than for the previous Three Graces trilogy, but came with promises of a sizeable commitment for promotion. Three-way negotiations began between me, my agent and the editor.

But in the middle of these talks, my husband had a heart attack that resulted in quintuple by-pass surgery. It was a traumatic time, with long weeks spent in hospitals. It seemed something was telling me I needed to get off the merry-go-round of constant deadlines I’d been on for over 30 years and enjoy our time together. I turned down the offer for the trilogy and withdrew the proposal.

As one door closes another opens, so they say, and that’s how it turned out. I’d been in contact with a niece who writes as Phoenix Sullivan (http://phoenixsullivan.blogspot.com/). She had indie published two of her books on Amazon, as well as an anthology of stories by several of her online friends. Not only was she familiar with the process, but she had impressive data geek credentials, as well as having held writing and editing positions at a series of high-tech firms for more than 20 years. As it happened, I’d been reading about the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing phenomenon. We began to talk about the possibility of putting some shorter titles of mine online, novellas I’d done in the 1990s for which rights had reverted to me as the author. The more we talked the bigger the plans become—and in December we established Steel Magnolia Press.

A sizable factor in this undertaking was that several of my full-size backlist novels, out of print but out there as ebooks from E-Reads, Inc., were coming up for rights reversion. Then I had another niece, Tamelia Tumlin, who had worked with several online publishers, a daughter, Lindy Corbin, who had published a book with a traditional house that went belly-up, and another daughter, Katharine Faucheux, who was at a place in her life where she might finish a couple of great stories she’d started. A couple of other relatives had writing ambitions, Phoenix was working on new material and I had several things in my files that could be revamped. Then that new medieval trilogy lurked in the background. With lots of possible books lined up for publication, we forged ahead.

Discussion about the reversion of my backlist titles began immediately, but turned into a lengthy dialogue. Agreement was finally reached for the release of 36 titles, but more weeks passed while previous ebook versions were removed from their online sales outlets. Meanwhile, much work went on behind the scenes at SMP. New covers were commissioned from Dara England of LFD Designs, and new text formatting put into place. Different descriptions were created and more complete copyright and review details added. A production timetable for all titles was finalized and promotion schedule established.

The changes made did not affect the stories, in case you’re wondering. Beyond minor editing on a couple to comply with modern usage, the text in each case is the same as when these books were printed by traditional publishers. The main purpose behind the revamping was to give them a brighter, more romantic look and feel for greater reader appeal.

The first quartet of books now out includes ARROW TO THE HEART, MIDNIGHT WALTZ, SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL and TENDER BETRAYAL. As the stories are all set against the backdrop of antebellum Louisiana’s aristocratic plantation society, they’ve been dubbed the Louisiana Plantation Collection. Each is a stand-alone book, however, with no connection to any of the others. Special promotions will be coming up for these titles in the near future, so check back often for information on them.


August will see another four titles released in a collection which chronicles different time periods and events in my home state's colorful history. Others will follow in additional groups of four to six over the next eight or nine months. And I can't wait to have them all online!

Mine weren’t the only titles released this week by SMP. I’m delighted to announce the debut of NIKO’S STOLEN BRIDE by my older daughter, Lindy Corbin. Set on Sanibel Island, Key West and the Bahamas, it’s an exciting tale with a gorgeous Greek hero who is determined to prevent a bride from changing her mind after canceling her wedding to another man. My niece, Tamelia Tumlin, also has a new book out. DEADLY IMAGE is a different genre for her, a Christian romantic suspense tale about a young woman who must depend on a handsome but suspicious FBI agent to find her missing daughter. Tamelia has updated her web site in honor of this release. See it here: http://tameliatumlinbooks.webs.com/

Something new and different seems to happen every day with this venture into independent publishing. I’ll be keeping a chronicle of these events, as I said before. Meanwhile, what do you think about this development in the book world? Do you prefer reading "real" books or on an electronic device? If you use an e-reader, how many books do you download per month, on average? Leave a comment, and let’s start a conversation!