Author Spotlight - Tanith Davenport

Erotic romance author Tanith Davenport is a graduate of the RNA's New Writers Scheme. Her debut novel, The Hand He Dealt, was nominated for the RNA's Joan Hessayon award. She's here today to talk about her latest release, I Heard Your Voice.

What is your writing process?

I'll spend about ten minutes planning first - I have to plan out each chapter or I'll sit staring at the screen all day. Then I give myself a time limit and get going, but always with a web browser open in the background so I can give myself breaks every so often.
Oh yes, and I have to get dressed. I don't know why, but I can't write in a dressing gown.

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?

Fortunately I'm not a lover of shoes! I usually have several pieces on the go at once, so if I can't force myself into one story I'll hop to another for a while. Failing that, a glass of wine is always helpful for loosening up the brain.

Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?

I wish I did, but the most I manage is half an hour on the Wii Fit.

Do you believe in writer's block?

Not really. I’ve never suffered from it anyway. I’ve had days when I’ve had trouble getting in the zone, but usually I give myself a specific amount of time and number of words to get through and force myself past it.

Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble?

Yes, and not so far! Luckily I've always had to make changes to fit the story, so nobody has recognised themselves yet, although I'm waiting for the day when someone calls and says "That's not what happened!"

In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?

It’s less stressful, oddly enough. The advantage of writing romance is that you have a lot of freedom in terms of genre – if I want to write paranormal or historical, for instance, I can – and with e-publishing I can also write short stories while I’m working on full-length novels. It allows for much more creativity than I had expected.

Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers?

Apart from Facebook, Twitter and my blog, I’ve done blog tours, put adverts in magazines, written articles for magazines and made use of as many “If you like X, then you’ll love me…” opportunities as I can. “Fifty Shades of Grey” has been particularly useful on that score.

What is your top promo tip for other authors?

Get yourself out there! When I’m promoting I usually have a blog tour set up for me so I can do as many guest spots and radio interviews as possible. I also comment on other blogs to put my name out where it can be seen – the more it appears, the better.

What did you learn while writing this story?

I went on a paranormal investigation for research purposes. It wasn’t especially eventful – we had a few bumps and bangs and some table-tipping which I suspect was faked. However, the idea of investigating hauntings absolutely fascinated me. I’ve since joined a parapsychology course and will definitely be working on more paranormal stories in the future.

What was the most fun part of writing this story?

The investigation sequences. It was rather like choreographing a ballet, especially when the paranormal activity reached a pitch. Also, the character of Reed was great to write. He’s not the hero, so I could make him as arrogant and affected as I liked.

And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?

A tour of haunted locations in the US – the possibilities are endless!

BLURB

Tamar Steele’s life was never supposed to be like this. A sensitive working with a team of paranormal investigators, she is trapped in a loveless relationship with the team’s medium, Reed James, who believes that having sex on haunted ground enhances paranormal activity. Tamar maintains their partnership for the sake of the crew, forcing herself to ignore the burgeoning sexual tension between her and fellow investigator Jason Bray.

Until one night when, alone and bored, Tamar sings to herself and is knocked to the ground by an invisible force. Somehow she is able to invoke spirits with the power of her voice. And one particular sexy, matchmaking spirit is determined to turn her life upside down.


You can follow Tanith on Twitter, Facebook, or on her blog.

I Heard Your Voice will be available on pre-order from www.total-e-bound.com on 10 September.