First, tell us a little bit about you!
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
My imagination began with my mom on the playground. I wrote
my first novel when I was in 5th grade-I had an amazing teacher who
inspired me and my father was a children’s book author. When I was a teenager,
I was really into poetry and lyrics but once I grew older, I didn’t write for
years. I don’t know when it was that I let that side of me die, but it died
along with my passion for dance and music and so many things. When I wrote
again, I realized what a big part of me had been missing. I think I was born a
writer…but I didn’t realize until now that it is something I never want to let
go of again.
What inspired you to write this book?
I hadn’t written in years and was convinced to do the Nano
challenge. Because I was crazy busy, I made a personal goal of 10,000 words and
thought even that was a stretch. I had no idea what to write about. I decided
to write about an experience I had while I was in Alaska and trusted the wrong
person. He had been stalking me for months and I had no idea. I found out he
was wanted for murder in Florida and I did have to switch cars with someone to
avoid being followed and have people hid me until I was safe. I thought my
experience may make a good story. The novel began as a suspense novel, but then I wrote a scene about one of the
bands that was playing in the club and Dylan was created. I fell in love with
him. He started flirting with Nicole and soon my suspense novel became a
romance novel. I had to cut a bunch of scenes because my 10,000 words in a
month was over 130,000 and my novel had became a trilogy. (Now the trilogy is a
series… lol ) That damn muse!
How did you come up with the title?
Because the original story was based on this guy that
totally fooled me into thinking he was a friend, it was easy to come up with
the title The Impostor. I added A Love Story because it is just as much a love
story as it is a suspense series. I wanted people to have an idea what they
were getting when they bought the book.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to
grasp?
Yes, so many. The series is layered with messages. I like
layers. J In the first book, I
think the main messages are 1. To be careful who you trust. (Don’t be naïve
like me. I have put myself in some dangerous situations because I assume
everyone is good. ) 2. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you need
to get back up. You are stronger than you realize. 3. Don’t lose yourself for anyone
and 4. There is a life after abuse.
How much of the book is realistic?
A large portion of the first book is based on my experiences
in Alaska.
Are you working on a new project?
I am currently writing the 3rd and 4th
book in the series. My muse is teasing me with the fouth book but I really need
to work on the third. I wrote some of the other projects at the end of the
interview.
Do you see writing as a career?
I don’t think I will ever have just one career. There are
too many aspects of me to focus on only one. But yes, I would love to see this
as a successful career.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
For me final edits are my biggest nightmare. Auto spell
check and stupid mistakes that my mind just fixes and editors totally miss. I
hired editors, really good ones, but it is hard to find those stupid errors
when you have over 100,000 words.
And time! Yes, time. I wish I could lock myself in a cabin
in the woods with no bills and be able to focus on writing. Finding time in
your crazy schedule to write is challenging.
Who designed the covers?
Who designed the covers?
Su from Earthly Charms. I love her. She takes my ideas and
finds a way to make them beautiful.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write! Study your craft. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
If you are anything like me, you will try to figure it all out by yourself and
you will waste so much time. I spent a whole weekend going through my novel and
changing David’s name to Bradley because I couldn’t have two main guys whose
name began with a “D”. Someone came over for something and said why didn’t you
use Find/Replace? So when I changed Julie’s name to Emily, I used find/replace
and it took me two seconds! Two seconds! I had wasted a beautiful spring
weekend for something that could have taken two seconds! There are ALWAYS people who know more than
you. Take Hope, for instance. My first
novel was published 6th months ago. I was chatting with some people
online and she was talking about all of these things I didn’t do and had never
heard of before. She was an angel and gave me all kinds of advice. Always be
willing to learn in writing, in marketing…in life.
I hear you are bringing teens
to Puerto Rico to serve the less fortunate. What can we do to help?
I have two projects I am
working on right now besides my Alaska Series and would love your help. (Either
in the projects or in spreading the word about them)
As some of you know, one of
my passions is service. For over 10 years I have tried to take some of my
vacation time to make a difference to people in need. I love to take teens to
let them experience serving the marginalized and opening their eyes to
different cultures. I was considering doing an auction to help raise money for
the teenagers to be able to go. Would any of you wonderful Authors or Bloggers
be interested in donating things for it? I have never done an auction...does
anyone want to help :) Email or PM me :) Thank you! We will be going to
volunteer at Casa Julia-a home for abused woman and Children and a homeless
outreach community.
And what is the other project
you are working on right now that my readers may be able to help you with. Can
you tell us a little about that as well?
Out of the Shadows is a
project I am working on. As many of you know, I, like Nicole in The Alaska Series,
escaped an abusive relationship to begin again.
Yes, I NEED YOU! I am looking
for people who have been through a physically, or mentally abusive relationship
and survived. The book will be compiled of our stories. I feel if we can give
even one person the courage to leave and break free of the cycle of abuse, we
will have succeeded.
If you or anyone you know would like to be a part of this project, please contact me at tiffanycarmouche @ ymail.com
I will be accepting submissions through April. (You can remain anonymous if needed)
Submissions can be:
*Poetry
*A chapter ~Your story (A paragraph -5 pages)
*Quotes from you on hope or overcoming obstacles
*Pictures, photography or drawings (black and white)
*Submissions can be from an adult or child’s point of view
*If you would prefer interview questions, I can send them instead/as well.
Out of the Shadows will be used to give hope to people who are afraid to leave or have begun their journey out of the shadows and into the light. All the money will go to help provide service to victims of abuse.
If you or anyone you know would like to be a part of this project, please contact me at tiffanycarmouche @ ymail.com
I will be accepting submissions through April. (You can remain anonymous if needed)
Submissions can be:
*Poetry
*A chapter ~Your story (A paragraph -5 pages)
*Quotes from you on hope or overcoming obstacles
*Pictures, photography or drawings (black and white)
*Submissions can be from an adult or child’s point of view
*If you would prefer interview questions, I can send them instead/as well.
Out of the Shadows will be used to give hope to people who are afraid to leave or have begun their journey out of the shadows and into the light. All the money will go to help provide service to victims of abuse.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your
readers?
I would love to say thank
you! I could not do this without you. I love to hear from you. You have no idea
how much it means to hear your feedback on my books. I can’t believe I have
fans all over the world. Thank you for reading the books, for recommending them
and spreading the word about them, for reviewing them, for sharing my post, for
the awesome graphics and videos you have made…for everything! I really can’t do
this without you. I don’t have a big publishing company behind me pushing my
books. It is all word of mouth. You are truly treasured! Please keep in touch.
I love hearing from you!
Links to stalk
me
but NOT if you are a serial killer please.
Goodreads The Impostor
Buy
Links UK and US
The Imposter (Amazon ebook)
UK
LINKS
The Imposter (UK) ebook
When
Tiffany Carmouché is not writing romance novels, you can find her sculpting,
traveling, teaching, singing, dancing, escaping in music or enjoying her
family.
From skydiving in Alaska
to scuba diving in Hawaii, Carmouché has traveled the worlds seeking adventure.
These include riding camels in Africa, swimming under the stars in Puerto Rico,
dancing salsa in Ecuador, and walking the cobblestone roads of Assisi, Italy.
She has found fulfillment working with the disabled and orphans in Argentina,
and Mexico. Her most cherished moments, however, have been watching her two beautiful
daughters grow and strive to accomplish their own dreams.
Despite all of these amazing
experiences, she has survived many struggles. There was a time she felt
defeated, but now she is recommitted to savoring experiences both in the novels
she writes and in the life she lives each day. Her secret hope is that anyone
who is struggling will realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel and no
matter how hard the fight, no matter how many times they have been knocked
down, it is always worth staggering up to their feet and learning to
breathe again.
I've read both these books and am anxiously awaiting the third in the series. Post below to win a copy of the first in the series, THE IMPOSTER. A winner will be chosen using Random.org on 6/15.
sounds like an interesting read :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the chance to win a copy!