Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "calling-all"
An interview with author Tara Ford
Today, I'm excited to be introducing you to one of the friendliest and most supportive authors I've met online. Tara Ford not only writes great fiction, she also helps support her fellow indie authors with promotion on her blog.
After reading the wonderful Calling All Dentists I was keen to interview Tara about the book and her writing life in general.
So, without further ado, here's the interview:
In Calling All Dentists you have two female characters who are best friends, but have totally opposite personalities. Which one of the two girls would you say is more like you?
I think that I am more like Emma than Ruby. Ruby is a very sweet girl but far too nice to be considered anything like me. She is somewhat naive too and hopefully I have a little more grounding and experience than she does.
I can empathize with Emma and her fears but I'm not sure I would be as brave as her when it comes to the bottom line.
Emma has a terrible fear of dentists. Is that taken from your own experience or someone you know?
Oh, that would most definitely be taken from my own experiences of dentists over the years - I was terrified of them. I really could never understand why though. After all, a dentist is hardly ever going to tell you some terrible news about your health, like a doctor could!
While I was writing 'Calling All Dentists' it became apparent to me that there were so many people I knew who hated dentists and had real fears about them. I was relieved to find that I wasn't the only one.
I'm also terrified of dentists!
The book is the second in a series although it reads well as a stand alone book. I enjoyed it very much even though I haven't read the first one yet. Are you planning more books in the series?
Yes, there are two more books in the series, 'Calling All Customers' (due out at the end of this year) and then the last book is 'Calling All Neighbours'.
The series of Calling All... books are based around the lives of one family (the Frey family) but the stories are not always directly related to the Frey's and their lives. 'Calling All Customers', in particular, is related to the Frey family in an indirect way, i.e. the book isn't actually about them but they are there somewhere.... The other exception is that the first book, 'Calling All Services' is set ten years before the other three books. Are you confused yet? I am!
A bit! LOL :)
Incidentally, I now have the firm base for my fifth book which is very exciting. I can't write the others quick enough to get on to the fifth one!
That's great!
Apart from the 'Calling All...' series, are you working on any other projects?
Oops - think I just answered that one in the previous question. Well I'm not actually working on it (apart from in my head).
I have also been asked to write a biography for someone which really surprised me. I felt quite honoured to be asked actually and I'm in the early stages of talks about this exciting venture.
Intriguing... I look forward to finding out more about that.
How long have you been writing?
Er... I learnt to write when I was about 4, so I guess it's been for ** years. On a serious note, I've dabbled in writing, bits and pieces, for years. I always wanted to write a novel but could never think of what to write. Now I have come to realise that I was looking too hard all of those years and actually, the subjects/genre/style were right under my nose all of the time.
What would you say is the best thing about being a writer?
The best thing about being a writer is letting my overloaded brain explode out through my fingers and in to a Word document, in the form of words. I am quite a shy person, contrary to popular belief, and have always found it so much easier to communicate through word, rather than speech. I sometimes think that the internet, or more specifically social networks, were created for me and others like me who are able to express themselves easier through written words.
And the worst?
The worst thing about being a writer is doubt. I hear or read a lot about 'writer's block' and yet (touch wood), I haven't experienced it yet. The worst thing for me is wondering and worrying about whether people will like my writing. I am well aware that there will always be those who don't like it but in general we all want it to be liked - right? I suppose that I worry too much about it and possibly have a slight insecurity about what I'm writing sometimes. Perhaps all writers do?
Or am I just a wimp?
I think all writers have that :)
Have you read any books recently that you would recommend? What was it about that particular book or books that you most enjoyed?
I've stepped back almost 40 years just recently. I've been reading some of my childhood favourites, like 'Charlotte's Web' (which incidentally, has now helped me to overcome my fear of spiders... well up to a certain size of spider anyway... I'm working on the bigger ones). I've also just re-read 'The Secret Garden' which I didn't enjoy so much this time around and almost wish I could have left it in my memory dump from years ago and not read it.
I now have a long list of books that I want to read and they are all staring at me from my Kindle - Help! I don't know where to start...
A familiar feeling!
When choosing a book to read do you have a favourite genre, or are you open to trying any genre?
My usual choice of genre is chicklit/romantic comedy. I am open to trying other genres (except maybe horror, due to my 'wimpish' nature) and have read some true and sometimes really inspirational stories in the past too. So, as long as you're not scaring me, I'll have a go at anything.
Put these influencing factors in order from the most important to the least important when you're looking for a new book to read: Characters, Genre, Writing style, Cover, Blurb, Author, Price.
Genre, Author, Cover, Blurb, Characters, Writing style, Price.
What do you think of the current trend of writers giving books away free?
I used to think that this was a cheap and tacky, almost desperate thing to do. I couldn't understand why an author would work so hard to write a novel over a long period of time (whether it be 9 months or 9 years), just to give it away for free.
However, now I do understand this concept as I have done it myself. I read somewhere, some while ago, about the power of free promotions to gain a fan base from where to start working and marketing from. It worked for me in the sense that my free book was downloaded over 3,000 times, in just a few days. What was more exciting and unexpected was the fact that my other book started selling at a daily rate, tenfold to previous sales figures. This has now happened twice for me and I will do it again in the future.
I must stress that these free promotions are only temporary promotions, lasting no more than 5 days and I'm happy with that set up each quarter, throughout the year. I do wonder though, what is the purpose of permanently free books to the authors who wrote them?
I know some authors who have one book permanently free as a sample of their work. I suppose that would work where the author always writes in the same genre, or where the freebie is the first book in a series.
What's your favourite genre to write?
Definitely comedy with some romance thrown in... or is it romance with some comedy thrown in? Not sure which way round but I hope you get the gist of it.
Do you do your best writing in the day or night?
I'm a day person, more specifically, a morning person. It all goes downhill at around 10am. By 7pm I'm an internet zombie, stunned in to a death-like state of immobility as I stare at other people's conversations on Facebook, watch numerous, sometimes pointless, video clips that jump out at me from the newsfeed, about all sorts of weird and wonderful things and then I trawl through the mountains of notifications, messages and general mayhem on Twitter. The internet is the bane of my life and the modern form of procrastination.
Some writers like music in the background when writing, others (me included) prefer silence. What is your preference?
I go for silence for 2 reasons. Firstly, I don't often get it in my busy household, therefore it's the ideal excuse not to write and to further my career in procrastination. Secondly, when it is silent and I do have to write, I can hear the characters in my head clearer. They may be talking to me or having conversations amongst themselves but at least I can hear what they're saying. Weird or what?
Hahahaha!
If you could meet one of the characters from your books and spend a day with him/her, who would you choose and what would you do?
I really liked Ruby from 'Calling All Dentists' and would love to spend a day with her. I would take her shopping to buy some outlandish clothing, sunbathe on a nudist beach (purely for the shock factor - both the shockingly, horrified looks of passers by [I'm not as sleek as I used to be] and to shock Ruby), encourage her to play 'Knock door run' with me, make some crank phone-calls, get extremely drunk in a local nightclub and 'pull' a one-night-stand. Hopefully after all of that, Ruby would be a little more worldly-wise and 'up for a laugh'.
Many authors write much of their fiction inspired by their own life experiences. How much of your own life goes into your fiction?
Quite a bit actually. I think of something that may have happened to me, or someone I know, but usually me. Then I twist it and turn it, take bits out, put other bits in (usually funny bits) and then scramble it all back together and throw it at a wall, just to splatter it a little further. I then scoop it all up and chuck it into a word document. I hope that's not reflected too much in my books, lol.
If you could invite 3 authors to dinner (can include authors from the past) who would you choose and what would you cook?
For a start I am the world's worst cook - I can burn a jelly! So I would hope that the 3 authors would be kind and forgiving. I would probably cheat due to my culinary inadequacies and either ask Mr Fordie (who is a wonderful cook) to pretend to be a hired cook for the evening (I'm sure he'd be up for that) or nip to the local take-away.
My 3 authors would be, Sophie Kinsella - I adore her and love her books. She seems to be a shy-ish person (like me) and I'm sure we would connect. Carole Matthews would be my next choice, she appears to be very outgoing, lively and fun and her books are fabutastic. She could bring me out of my little coconut shell. My final choice would be Roald Dahl, purely because I am so intrigued by his lifestyle, his shed (I would quite like one too) and his writing, I would love to know where his ideas came from. He would probably be the centre of attention actually, thus deflecting from the take-away or the fact that I had to get someone else to cook for me!
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Write, write, write... and keep writing. Don't give up on those 'bad days'. Keep at it and believe in yourself. I am completely sure that if I can do it, then anyone can. Another thing that I would say is, get your name known, well before your first book comes out. Social networking is an absolute must, particularly if you are going to be an independently published author.
It's a very good idea to set up a website/blog for yourself too. This is a window for interested readers/fans to go and take a peep through. I believe that the readers want to get to know you a little more, if they like your work.
I'm a great believer in 'what goes around, comes around', hence I do a lot of promotional work to help other authors too. I think this helps me as well.
How much research did you have to do for Calling All Dentists?
I did a little research for 'Calling All Dentists'. Luckily, I like my dentist, who I've been with for 3 years now and I used my experiences with her in either a negative or positive way (back to the 'chucking ideas at the wall' again). I've had some terrible experiences in the past and also my fair share of toothy problems so again, it all went up the wall.
Do you have any news for your readers?
Er... I think I've probably blown this question by waffling in previous questions. I'm looking forward to the release of my third book, 'Calling All Customers' at the end of this year. I'm hoping that it will be the best one yet. A fun read!
I will be going part time when I go back to school in September - yay! All thanks to Mr Fordie's kindly supportive role as husband-type-thing. So I hope to be able to write a lot more and procrastinate a lot less. I may well be banning myself from the internet for a certain amount of time each day, just so that I don't waste any more time. I can also catch up with the ironing!
Sounds wonderful, and I'm looking forward to reading more of your books!
Keep up with Tara Ford's news at the following links:
Author Website: http://taraford.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rata2e
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/Tara.Ford...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/rata2e2/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/tara-for...
After reading the wonderful Calling All Dentists I was keen to interview Tara about the book and her writing life in general.
So, without further ado, here's the interview:
In Calling All Dentists you have two female characters who are best friends, but have totally opposite personalities. Which one of the two girls would you say is more like you?
I think that I am more like Emma than Ruby. Ruby is a very sweet girl but far too nice to be considered anything like me. She is somewhat naive too and hopefully I have a little more grounding and experience than she does.
I can empathize with Emma and her fears but I'm not sure I would be as brave as her when it comes to the bottom line.
Emma has a terrible fear of dentists. Is that taken from your own experience or someone you know?
Oh, that would most definitely be taken from my own experiences of dentists over the years - I was terrified of them. I really could never understand why though. After all, a dentist is hardly ever going to tell you some terrible news about your health, like a doctor could!
While I was writing 'Calling All Dentists' it became apparent to me that there were so many people I knew who hated dentists and had real fears about them. I was relieved to find that I wasn't the only one.
I'm also terrified of dentists!
The book is the second in a series although it reads well as a stand alone book. I enjoyed it very much even though I haven't read the first one yet. Are you planning more books in the series?
Yes, there are two more books in the series, 'Calling All Customers' (due out at the end of this year) and then the last book is 'Calling All Neighbours'.
The series of Calling All... books are based around the lives of one family (the Frey family) but the stories are not always directly related to the Frey's and their lives. 'Calling All Customers', in particular, is related to the Frey family in an indirect way, i.e. the book isn't actually about them but they are there somewhere.... The other exception is that the first book, 'Calling All Services' is set ten years before the other three books. Are you confused yet? I am!
A bit! LOL :)
Incidentally, I now have the firm base for my fifth book which is very exciting. I can't write the others quick enough to get on to the fifth one!
That's great!
Apart from the 'Calling All...' series, are you working on any other projects?
Oops - think I just answered that one in the previous question. Well I'm not actually working on it (apart from in my head).
I have also been asked to write a biography for someone which really surprised me. I felt quite honoured to be asked actually and I'm in the early stages of talks about this exciting venture.
Intriguing... I look forward to finding out more about that.
How long have you been writing?
Er... I learnt to write when I was about 4, so I guess it's been for ** years. On a serious note, I've dabbled in writing, bits and pieces, for years. I always wanted to write a novel but could never think of what to write. Now I have come to realise that I was looking too hard all of those years and actually, the subjects/genre/style were right under my nose all of the time.
What would you say is the best thing about being a writer?
The best thing about being a writer is letting my overloaded brain explode out through my fingers and in to a Word document, in the form of words. I am quite a shy person, contrary to popular belief, and have always found it so much easier to communicate through word, rather than speech. I sometimes think that the internet, or more specifically social networks, were created for me and others like me who are able to express themselves easier through written words.
And the worst?
The worst thing about being a writer is doubt. I hear or read a lot about 'writer's block' and yet (touch wood), I haven't experienced it yet. The worst thing for me is wondering and worrying about whether people will like my writing. I am well aware that there will always be those who don't like it but in general we all want it to be liked - right? I suppose that I worry too much about it and possibly have a slight insecurity about what I'm writing sometimes. Perhaps all writers do?
Or am I just a wimp?
I think all writers have that :)
Have you read any books recently that you would recommend? What was it about that particular book or books that you most enjoyed?
I've stepped back almost 40 years just recently. I've been reading some of my childhood favourites, like 'Charlotte's Web' (which incidentally, has now helped me to overcome my fear of spiders... well up to a certain size of spider anyway... I'm working on the bigger ones). I've also just re-read 'The Secret Garden' which I didn't enjoy so much this time around and almost wish I could have left it in my memory dump from years ago and not read it.
I now have a long list of books that I want to read and they are all staring at me from my Kindle - Help! I don't know where to start...
A familiar feeling!
When choosing a book to read do you have a favourite genre, or are you open to trying any genre?
My usual choice of genre is chicklit/romantic comedy. I am open to trying other genres (except maybe horror, due to my 'wimpish' nature) and have read some true and sometimes really inspirational stories in the past too. So, as long as you're not scaring me, I'll have a go at anything.
Put these influencing factors in order from the most important to the least important when you're looking for a new book to read: Characters, Genre, Writing style, Cover, Blurb, Author, Price.
Genre, Author, Cover, Blurb, Characters, Writing style, Price.
What do you think of the current trend of writers giving books away free?
I used to think that this was a cheap and tacky, almost desperate thing to do. I couldn't understand why an author would work so hard to write a novel over a long period of time (whether it be 9 months or 9 years), just to give it away for free.
However, now I do understand this concept as I have done it myself. I read somewhere, some while ago, about the power of free promotions to gain a fan base from where to start working and marketing from. It worked for me in the sense that my free book was downloaded over 3,000 times, in just a few days. What was more exciting and unexpected was the fact that my other book started selling at a daily rate, tenfold to previous sales figures. This has now happened twice for me and I will do it again in the future.
I must stress that these free promotions are only temporary promotions, lasting no more than 5 days and I'm happy with that set up each quarter, throughout the year. I do wonder though, what is the purpose of permanently free books to the authors who wrote them?
I know some authors who have one book permanently free as a sample of their work. I suppose that would work where the author always writes in the same genre, or where the freebie is the first book in a series.
What's your favourite genre to write?
Definitely comedy with some romance thrown in... or is it romance with some comedy thrown in? Not sure which way round but I hope you get the gist of it.
Do you do your best writing in the day or night?
I'm a day person, more specifically, a morning person. It all goes downhill at around 10am. By 7pm I'm an internet zombie, stunned in to a death-like state of immobility as I stare at other people's conversations on Facebook, watch numerous, sometimes pointless, video clips that jump out at me from the newsfeed, about all sorts of weird and wonderful things and then I trawl through the mountains of notifications, messages and general mayhem on Twitter. The internet is the bane of my life and the modern form of procrastination.
Some writers like music in the background when writing, others (me included) prefer silence. What is your preference?
I go for silence for 2 reasons. Firstly, I don't often get it in my busy household, therefore it's the ideal excuse not to write and to further my career in procrastination. Secondly, when it is silent and I do have to write, I can hear the characters in my head clearer. They may be talking to me or having conversations amongst themselves but at least I can hear what they're saying. Weird or what?
Hahahaha!
If you could meet one of the characters from your books and spend a day with him/her, who would you choose and what would you do?
I really liked Ruby from 'Calling All Dentists' and would love to spend a day with her. I would take her shopping to buy some outlandish clothing, sunbathe on a nudist beach (purely for the shock factor - both the shockingly, horrified looks of passers by [I'm not as sleek as I used to be] and to shock Ruby), encourage her to play 'Knock door run' with me, make some crank phone-calls, get extremely drunk in a local nightclub and 'pull' a one-night-stand. Hopefully after all of that, Ruby would be a little more worldly-wise and 'up for a laugh'.
Many authors write much of their fiction inspired by their own life experiences. How much of your own life goes into your fiction?
Quite a bit actually. I think of something that may have happened to me, or someone I know, but usually me. Then I twist it and turn it, take bits out, put other bits in (usually funny bits) and then scramble it all back together and throw it at a wall, just to splatter it a little further. I then scoop it all up and chuck it into a word document. I hope that's not reflected too much in my books, lol.
If you could invite 3 authors to dinner (can include authors from the past) who would you choose and what would you cook?
For a start I am the world's worst cook - I can burn a jelly! So I would hope that the 3 authors would be kind and forgiving. I would probably cheat due to my culinary inadequacies and either ask Mr Fordie (who is a wonderful cook) to pretend to be a hired cook for the evening (I'm sure he'd be up for that) or nip to the local take-away.
My 3 authors would be, Sophie Kinsella - I adore her and love her books. She seems to be a shy-ish person (like me) and I'm sure we would connect. Carole Matthews would be my next choice, she appears to be very outgoing, lively and fun and her books are fabutastic. She could bring me out of my little coconut shell. My final choice would be Roald Dahl, purely because I am so intrigued by his lifestyle, his shed (I would quite like one too) and his writing, I would love to know where his ideas came from. He would probably be the centre of attention actually, thus deflecting from the take-away or the fact that I had to get someone else to cook for me!
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Write, write, write... and keep writing. Don't give up on those 'bad days'. Keep at it and believe in yourself. I am completely sure that if I can do it, then anyone can. Another thing that I would say is, get your name known, well before your first book comes out. Social networking is an absolute must, particularly if you are going to be an independently published author.
It's a very good idea to set up a website/blog for yourself too. This is a window for interested readers/fans to go and take a peep through. I believe that the readers want to get to know you a little more, if they like your work.
I'm a great believer in 'what goes around, comes around', hence I do a lot of promotional work to help other authors too. I think this helps me as well.
How much research did you have to do for Calling All Dentists?
I did a little research for 'Calling All Dentists'. Luckily, I like my dentist, who I've been with for 3 years now and I used my experiences with her in either a negative or positive way (back to the 'chucking ideas at the wall' again). I've had some terrible experiences in the past and also my fair share of toothy problems so again, it all went up the wall.
Do you have any news for your readers?
Er... I think I've probably blown this question by waffling in previous questions. I'm looking forward to the release of my third book, 'Calling All Customers' at the end of this year. I'm hoping that it will be the best one yet. A fun read!
I will be going part time when I go back to school in September - yay! All thanks to Mr Fordie's kindly supportive role as husband-type-thing. So I hope to be able to write a lot more and procrastinate a lot less. I may well be banning myself from the internet for a certain amount of time each day, just so that I don't waste any more time. I can also catch up with the ironing!
Sounds wonderful, and I'm looking forward to reading more of your books!
Keep up with Tara Ford's news at the following links:
Author Website: http://taraford.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rata2e
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/Tara.Ford...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/rata2e2/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/tara-for...
