Author Interview - Tami Hoag

On Wednesday I reviewed Tami Hoag's book, Secrets to the Grave.  She has graciously agreed to answer a few of this huge fan's questions.  It is hard to not be caught up in the giddiness and be serious!  Please help me welcome Tami Hoag to Under The Boardwalk

What are your favorite books, and what makes them special to you?

This time of year I always go back to my favorite Christmas read: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It's funny and touching and real.

In general, I don't have favorite books, nor do I re-read books. I get so little time to read for pleasure, I want to have a new experience every time I get the chance.

If you were stranded somewhere, what book would you like to have with you?

If I was stranded in the wilderness, I would want the biggest fattest book on survival ever written. If I was stranded at the airport, I would want something that could sweep me away, touch and amuse me. I've been wanting to have the time to pick up Eileen Dreyer's historical romance, Barely A Lady.

Do you have any special writing rituals? Do you write consistently in one place or anywhere the mood strikes?

I'm a nester. I have my office with my stuff around me and my dogs on their bed at the foot of my desk. I always paint my offices the same warm, Tuscan yellow, and I have a big fat leather desk chair designed by NASA so I can sit in it for hours on end. That said, I'm writing this sitting in a rental car in a supermarket parking lot in LA, so I can and do write anywhere I have to. I just prefer home.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Famous! I always wanted to be a writer, but also went through a practical phase when I thought I would go into psychology. Turns out I get to do both.

What's the most daring thing you have every done?

When I was 9 I got up on one of those giant slides at an amusement park on a dare from my father. I was absolutely terrified. I didn't even like climbing up to the top. I don't like heights, and I don't like feeling out of control, but I did it anyway because I'm a knothead. I lived to tell the tale, but I wouldn't do it today

Every writer has a dream about the impact of their writing. What do you want your readers to come away with after the last page is turned?

I want readers to come away from a book feeling exhausted, exhilarated, satisfied, but a little disappointed that the ride is over. I want the characters to continue to live on in the reader's mind. I want them to want more.

Can you discuss with us what you're currently working on?

I'm just doing the research and preliminary work for another book set in Oak Knoll in the late 80's-early 90's. It has to do with the disappearance of a teenaged girl and the impact that has on her family and on the man accused of the crime. It's about the need for revenge and the dark road that need can take a person down.

Thank you Tami for taking time to share with us.  I, too, love The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  Looking forward to the third book in your series after Deeper Than Dead and Secrets to the Grave.

Tami's publisher has graciously offered a copy of both books (Deeper Than Dead and Secrets to the Grave) to be given away.  Please do not enter here, but on this post.