For March we are welcoming Tallie Rose to our featured Q&A session. An indie author who I connected with through the World Indie Warriors members group, I really wanted to shine a light on her brand new novel!
Tallie Rose lives in Charleston, SC, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing or reading she loves finding strange things at thrift stores, trying to keep her house plants alive, and watching cheesy tv shows.
Getting to Know You
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I’ve always wanted to write and have been dabbling in it since I was a kid. I got serious about it after I had my kids and was staying home with them. I realized I’d never have another chance to sit down and actually write something worth reading. The rest kind of fell into place.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
When I’m not with my family or friends I love going to the thrift store. That’s my biggest hobby. Most of my home décor and wardrobe is secondhand and I love it so much. My inspiration for my house is “possible forest witch museum” and anyone who comes over can spend time just looking at all of the unique things I’ve managed to get my hands on.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Getting to send it to people and having them love it. It warms my heart to think of my stories having a life of their own within someone else; that my characters will always be with them in some way.
The Writing Process
What is your writing process?
I start with an idea, however vague, and start plotting it out and adding characters and ideas in a notebook. Once I’m ready I write a few chapters, which often end up rewritten or very heavily edited, but those help me to get to know the characters and the story. Then I go back to plotting and figure out the story. Once I finish my rough draft I let it sit for a month or so before coming back to it and polishing it. Sometimes after a few drafts it ends up sitting again for a while so I can come back with fresh eyes a second time.
How do you get inspired to write?
I always want to write, I very rarely find the well dry, so to speak. For me it’s more of a matter of finding the time to write now that I’m working again.
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Don’t worry if it’s not good at first, and it won’t be. That’s fine. Hone your craft, listen to the experts, learn how to tell good advice from bad and just keep writing.
Reading
What are your five favorite books, and why?
I honestly don’t have a proper answer for this, which is probably bad for an author, but I fall in love with so many books every year and for so many different reasons. I love the Anne Rice books because they introduced me to fantasy and vampires and were such a getaway for me as a teen. I love Kurt Vonnegut books because they are so raw and I wish I could write like him. I love Sarah J Maas books because it was the first fantasy romance I ever read and that’s my favorite genre. I love every young adult book with a queer lead character because I wanted to find that so badly when I was young and never did.
How do you discover the books you read?
Almost every book I read is recommended to me by a friend.
What books are on your reading list this year?
I just finished A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and I absolutely must get my hands on the third book as soon as it comes out. I really want to read the sequel to Crier’s War as well.
Sea and Flame
Seraphina grew up listening to the stories she’d heard of the Brethren, those who saved the world from the faerie magic that had almost ripped the land apart a thousand years ago. They were just a story told to children, though, or so Seraphina thought. When her own magic starts to backfire on her, she must take a closer look at her family tree and the Brethren in it.
Tallie Rose
Her newfound abilities draw the attention of Casmyn, a fae that swears he’s desperately been searching for someone like her—someone whose blood can open the path to the Land of Faerie and stop the fae lord Nilas from ruining their world.
And though the fate of two lands rests on her shoulders, Seraphina can’t help but be distracted by Casmyn’s infuriating and beautiful best friend Shevard.
What inspired you to write Sea and Flame?
I’m actually note sure. I had a few random ideas written down in a notebook and was looking over it one day and had the original idea for Sea and Flame which involved a faerie prince and stolen children. That never came to be, but it did lead to the final plot of the novel.
Is there going to be a follow up to Sea and Flame?
Yes, it’s called Scale and Smoke and I’m editing it now. I also have an adult series I’ll release at some point called As Played by Gods, about a queer socialite and her involvement with a mysterious Goddess.