Interview:
11.)
Tell
us what a day in the life of ____________________ is like.
Well, I reluctantly
wake up at 6:45, drag myself out of bed, stumble to the kitchen, trying not to
trip over my blind and deaf 14 year old Italian Greyhound, whilst brewing then
pouring a cup of ambition….wait, that’s part of a song, right? After my Dolly Parton moment, I try to shake
awake my very loveable night owl of a 7 year old, to get him ready for
school. Anyone with kids knows it’s a
daily struggle…Of course, inexplicably, he wakes up at 7 on the weekends when
mommy needs to sleep in! I drop him off
at school, then fire up e-mails and check facebook and do some writing. Then, because I don’t have enough on my
plate, I am looking into opening my own kickboxing facility, so I’ve been
researching demographics, potential locations, and trying to secure funding for
my ninja training endeavor!
22.)
What
made you want to start writing?
I’ve been writing stories
for as long as I was able to string words together, around 6 years old. One of our class projects in the 2nd
grade was to create a book (writing and illustrating). Then we laminated it and it was sent to our
school library. My book was about the
“Magical Pegacorn”, you know, a unicorn/Pegasus hybrid. I was so excited, because it was always
getting checked out! I decided then and
there that I was going to become an author one day. I continued to write some craptastic pieces,
with my English teachers telling me I should become a writer.
3.) When writing, do you
prefer silence or some kind of background noise?
Definitely silence. I turn into Achmed the Dead Terrorist if
anyone chatters or makes any kind of noise during my creative moments…”Silence,
I keel you!!!!!” (Jeff Dunham, anyone?)
4.) Morning person or
night owl?
A little bit of both. My mind is constantly brewing with ideas for
stories, so I’ll be up late. Then I have
to wake up early. I don’t think I’ve
slept more then 3-4 hours a night in over 7 years!
5.) Do you
prefer to have a schedule or wing it?
I definitely wing it. I tried to have a schedule but then I get
distract…..SQUIRREL!
6.) When you
have downtime from writing, what do you like to do?
I love to ride my bike on
the trails out here. Well, I did, until
some jackass cut the lock on it off my bike rack on the back of my SUV and
stole it last week! I also live a mile
from Six Flags Magic Mountain, (and yes, I do walk there, I ain’t paying the $18.00 park your car fee!) My family has season passes, so we’ll go on a
Saturday or Sunday. When we lived in
Washington two months ago, I would do a lot of kayaking and hiking as
well. Just outdoorsy stuff J
7.) Do you
make an outline or just write?
I make a very loose
outline, mostly of the characters, the setting and a general idea of where I want
the story to go. I’m too ADD and/or
impatient to do an outline, though I probably should!
8.) What
advice would you give aspiring writers?
Just keep writing! You’ll have some people who may not like your
story, but don’t listen to them. If you
love what you write, that will shine through!
If you love to write, then just keep doing it!
9.) How do
you come up with your ideas?
Martini infused dreams,
most definitely! Sometimes, I will just
hear or see a word or phrase and my mind will take it from there, and it will
develop into another potential story.
10.) Do you
like to base your characters on pure fiction or is there a little of real
friends in them?
I wouldn’t call them
friends….Those who suffer a terrible death in my books are definitely inspired
by people who have ticked me off!
;) The other characters I’m nice
to or like have qualities, habits, physical attributes and sayings that my dear
friends do.
11.) Do you
have a favorite author and why?
I am completely, utterly,
irrevocably obsessed with James Patterson.
I love that he writes YA, thrillers, has series books, etc. Love, love, love him. It’s on my writers bucket list to one day
co-write a novel with him.
Links:
Facebook like page - Tania Penn - Author
Twitter - @TwistedTanita
Google plus - Tania Penn
Thank you for joining us yet again. Be sure to check back next Monday when we bring you yet another author from Tiger Dynasty Publishing.