Meet Tania Penn!!

 Welcome back to another Monday Mention. Today we bring you the talented Tania Penn. We hope you enjoy her interview and glimpse into who she is. Be sure to check her out on facebook.

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 2^nd 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.

Bio: Tania Penn is the author of debut young adult novel, The Morning Star, soon to be released through Tiger Dynasty Publishing, as well as  an MA novel, Catching Frogs.   And, because she's  loco in the roco, Tania has about 28 more story ideas on the back burner. When  not writing she can be found kayaking, hiking, ninja-training, traveling, and taking a ferry over to the San Juan Islands to search for the elusive creature known as the "Orca." She is also constantly adding ridiculous wants, needs, must-see's and do's to her  ever expanding bucket book.  Yes, book, not list!

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.