Interview and Giveaway with Tamara Hogan

Tamara Hogan Interview Intro:

Hello everyone!  LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are very happy to welcome Award Winning author Tamara Hogan to our sites today!  

Tamara loathes the cold and snow, but nonetheless lives near Minneapolis, MN with her partner Mark and two naughty cats.  When she’s not telecommuting as a quality and process engineer for a global networking company, she enjoys writing edgy urban fantasy romance with a sci-fi twist.  A voracious reader with an unapologetic television addiction, Tammy is forever on the lookout for the perfect black boots. 

Tammy’s first book, “Taste Me”, won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Mystery and Suspense, and was also nominated for RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart Award. 

The second book of the UNDERBELLY CHRONICLES series, “Chase Me”, was just released on 6/5/12!

For those of you not yet familiar with Tammy’s work, we thought we’d give you the synopses of the books to get you up to speed.

THE UNDERBELLY CHRONICLES

“Taste Me”, Book #1:

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The first novel in a gritty, fast-paced, and sexy new urban fantasy romance series featuring a world where incubi, sirens, valkyries, vampires, and werewolves live undetected alongside humankind. Someone has to keep the peace—and the secrets.

He Wants Her So Badly He Can Taste It...

Ever since their tempestuous fling years ago, incubus Lukas Sebastiani has known that siren Scarlett Fontaine was meant to be his. But when you’re a sex demon with an insatiable desire, relationships are way more than complicated…

Her Siren Songs Bring Men to Their Knees...

Rock star Scarlett Fontaine desperately needs a break after a grueling tour. But with murder and mayhem surrounding her band, and the one man she never thought to see again put to the task of protecting her, life is going to be anything but peaceful...

Every encounter between them creates more turmoil—and heat—until Scarlett pushes Lukas to the boiling point, and unleashes forces that go way beyond anything she can hope to control.

Read an excerpt!

“Chase Me”, Book #2:

JUST RELEASED 6/5/12!

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Incubi, sirens, vampires, Valkyerie, faeries, and were-creatures live secretly alongside humanity in this gritty, sexy series.

In the second installment, Valkyrie archaeologist Lorin Schlessinger and werewolf geologist Garbriel Lupinsky are assigned to work together on a dig site. Gabriel's methodical work practices and Lorin's inexplicable attraction to him grate on the archaeologist's nerves. But when she unlocks a cryptic box that sends a signal to intergalactic enemies, Lorin will have to set aside her feelings and work with Gabriel...
....or risk losing everything.

Read an excerpt!

They sound fabulous right!?  We can personally attest to the fact that they are, and we strongly suggest that you add them to your TBR and scope them out at your favorite bookseller.

How about we get to the interview now though and learn a bit more about Tammy and her series?

LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews:  Hi Tammy!  We’re very happy to have you here today.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.

TAMMY: Thanks so much!

LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews:  We always start by getting to know our guest author a little bit better.

Q1): Can you tell us 3 things about yourself – no matter how random - that we couldn’t find out easily on the Internet?

TAMMY: I was a competitive gymnast from age 12-22, specializing in balance beam as the injuries, alas, mounted. TASTE ME was my first manuscript. I have a completely un-ironic love for hair metal and other music of the 80’s.    

Q2):  What are 2 things that always make you smile, and 2 things that never fail to piss you off?

TAMMY: Smile: puppy breath, and eating the season’s first wild blueberries—which, preferably, someone other than me has picked and cleaned. Things that piss me off: GUM SNAPPING!!! GAH!! and cruelty, especially to animals.

Q3):  What’s your favorite inspirational quote?

TAMMY: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  


Q4):  Besides shopping for great boots and reading, what are some of your hobbies and/or things that you enjoy doing when you’re not writing or taking care of other author business?

TAMMY: Though I don’t have as much time to enjoy it anymore since I signed a publishing contract, I love making contemporary quilts—the more obnoxiously colored, the better!  I’m also a TV addict, with a particular love for competitive reality shows like PROJECT RUNWAY and TOP CHEF. I fast-forward through the faux drama and bitchiness to hone in on the process of creation.  

      

Q5):  Who were some of the authors that inspired you and perhaps helped to mold you into the writer you are today?

TAMMY: I’m a huge fan of old-skool Anne Rice; “Interview With the Vampire” and “The Witching Hour” are two of my all-time favorite books. Everything I ever learned about dialogue tagging, I learned from Nora Roberts—I own every book she’s written. I learn something new about world-building and use of sensory language with every book Nalini Singh releases. I have long counted Frank Herbert and Stephen King among my favorite authors.

Q6):  What are some of your favorite TV Shows and Movies?

TAMMY: In addition to the competitive reality shows I mentioned above, “must-see TV” at our house includes THE BIG BANG THEORY, BONES, DEADLIEST CATCH, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, MY CAT FROM HELL, TOO CUTE (puppies! kitties!) , and WHAT NOT TO WEAR. If I’m clicking the remote control and happen upon a show about space, the universe, aliens, tsunamis, rogue waves, asteroid strikes or earthquakes, all bets are off—I won’t be moving off the couch for a couple of hours. Movie-wise, I love CONTACT, WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (original), SPINAL TAP, OFFICE SPACE and the entire STAR TREK series, with a particular soft spot for WRATH OF KHAN and the 2009 STAR TREK reboot. Zachary Quinto as Spock? ((shiver)) Perfect casting. Utterly, sublimely perfect.   

   

Q7):  What are your favorite types of scenes to write (i.e dialogue, action, sex, etc) and why?

TAMMY: I would have to say action – and I personally consider love scenes and action/fight scenes as being similar from a craft perspective. I write in deep third person point of view, so whether a character is making love or fighting, I’m deep in their head, with intimate access to their physical reactions and emotional state. I like writing scenes where the POV character tries to read another character’s body language, and sometimes misinterprets.

Q8):  What is a typical writing day like for you - Do you have a routine that you follow?  Are there specific things that you have to have with you to get the creative juices flowing, etc?  Do you have any unique writing quirks? Etc.

TAMMY: I work on my current manuscript first thing every morning, setting my alarm for 5:30 a.m. and driving to the coffee shop, where I’m usually the first customer. Every day, I buy a bottomless cup of cup of coffee (medium roast with cream), slap on my headset, and start writing. On weekdays, I write for two or three hours, and then go back to my home office to start my day job (I telecommute to Silicon Valley), responding to emails from my publisher, blogmates and writing colleagues between day job meetings. On weekends, I write in the mornings for three to four hours, take a break, then in the afternoon, attend to the bulk of the business of writing: writing blog posts, reading other people’s blogs, doing some social media work, exchanging pages with my critique partner, judging contest manuscripts, and doing any revision, copy editing and page proofing work that my book about to be published might need. In terms of quirks, despite being a technologist, I write first drafts with a pen and notebook. I then use voice recognition software to transcribe what I’ve written. And voila! Ready for revision, completely bypassing the discomfort of looking at a blank screen and a blinking cursor. ;-)  

Q9):  Was there any specific inspiration behind the creation of THE          UNDERBELLY CHRONICLES?

TAMMY: Believe it or not, I got the idea for the Underbelly Chronicles’ world at a Motley Crue show. All these middle-aged women were flashing their boobs at drummer Tommy Lee, and I thought to myself, “They must think he’s half-incubus or something!” (Incubi are sex demons.) Something in my head just went ‘click.’ The next morning, I set the alarm, drove to the coffee shop, and started writing.

Q10):  How many books do you have planned for the series?

TAMMY: Right now, the series is plotted through nine books and several novellas, with Sourcebooks having contracted the rights to publish the first three full-length books.  

Q11):  What were some of the challenges in bringing “Taste Me” and “Chase Me” to life? 

TAMMY: My biggest challenge has been dealing with a steep personal learning curve while simultaneously writing on deadline and under contract. As I mentioned above, TASTE ME was my first, and at that time, only, manuscript. After it was named a Golden Heart finalist and won a Daphne, I sold it, and two follow-up books not yet written, to Sourcebooks in a three-book deal. And frankly? I was scared sh*tless. Prior to signing on the dotted line, I’d written exactly one full-length manuscript, and it had taken me three years to do it. Afterward, I was contractually obligated to write two more manuscripts, one per year, and for publication—meaning as a writer, I had no opportunity, no window of time, to learn, to make my mistakes in private. Add to that the challenge of learning the publishing business, which is undergoing a radical transformation right now. And did I mention the day job and managing chronic health conditions? Let’s just say that time management and work-life balance are ongoing day-to-day challenges.        

Q12):  What about the books are you the most proud of so far?

TAMMY: A number of readers have told me that my handling of TASTE ME’s antagonist, the incubus Stephen, made them…quite uncomfortable because, even knowing he was the bad guy, they LIKED him!  Call me weird, but I find that very, very satisfying. 

I love writing antagonists who are complex and three-dimensional, whose personalities exhibit many shades of gray. They say that villains are the heroes of their own stories, and in my experience, “good” and “evil” are rarely black and white.  

Q13):  What’s next for Tamara Hogan?  What do you have going on in the immediate future that your readers and fans should know about?

TAMMY: I’m just finishing the manuscript for the third book in the Underbelly Chronicles series. TEMPT ME is slated for publication in July 2013. Book 1, TASTE ME, is getting some love on the contest circuit, having recently been named a WisRWA Write Touch and PRISM paranormal finalist. For anyone going to the Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim in late July, my friend Susan Sey and I are doing a workshop on writing villains called “Superbad: How Unleashing Your Villain Can Unlock Your Story.” If you’re there, please say “hi!”

Q14):  Is there anything special that you’d like to say to your readers while we have you here today?

TAMMY: Thanks so much for being readers! And for taking chances on debut or new-to-you authors.  

LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews:  Tammy, thank you so much again for being with us today.  We’re very happy to help you promote your new release and the entire series and hope to turn some new readers on to your work! We’re excited to talk with you more later and we’d LOVE to have you back if you’re interested.

TAMMY: I’d love to. Anytime!!!!

If you want to keep up with Tammy, you can find her here:

Website:  http://www.tamarahogan.com/

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/tamarahogan1

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4317450.Tamara_Hogan

Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tamara-Hogan/232541540189788

Tammy is graciously offering up a mass market paperback copy of CHASE ME to a winner from Book Monster Reviews and another winner over at the LITERAL ADDICTION Website
  (US and Canada street addresses only.) 

Book Monster will gift an eBook copy of CHASE ME from either Amazon or B&N (Kindle or Nook ONLY!) if our winners should happen to be International. 

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