Interview With an Author - Number 7 - Tamara Geraeds

Author Bio

I was born in 1981, in a small village in the south of The Netherlands.

I started writing books at the age of 15 and my first book was published in 2012. After 6 books in Dutch, I decided to start writing a young adult fantasy series in English: The Cards of Death.

The first book in this series will be published February 2019.

Updates on this series can be found on my Facebook page, and if you're also looking for tips, Q&As with other authors, and inside info on my writing process, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Author name: Tamara Geraeds

Are you a traditionally published/indie/hybrid author?

My Dutch books are all traditionally published. I have switched publishers a couple of times, so my work is divided over 7 different publishers.

In February 2019 I’m publishing my first indie book, in English. It is the first in the YA supernatural fantasy series Cards of Death, of which the first three books will be released in 2019.

What was the last book you released?
That was the 3^rd book in my Christopher Plum series, a Dutch fantasy book for 9- to 12-year-olds about the modern Knights of the Round Table. They are tasked with finding magical objects and beings and keeping them safe. Book 4 in the series will be released March 2019.
If you live in the Netherlands, you can buy it here 

The Cards of Death series will be available through Amazon.

How long have you been writing? 

I wrote my first poem just after I learned how to write, so at six. Later on, I wrote some short stories at school. 

At fifteen I wanted to try to write a whole book. It took me nine years to finish because of school, college and work, but after that I was hooked. My first book was published in 2012, so I have officially been a writer for almost seven years.

What is the most challenging thing about writing for you?

To create believable, lively characters. 

The hardest thing about that is imagining what people who are different than me feel, think and do. We all have a tendency to make all our characters behave the same way we do. But in real life everyone is different. In a book it should be that way too. So as a writer you have to try to really get into someone else’s head.

That was especially hard when I wrote Echo, a heart-breaking story about abuse, that was based on several true stories. To make the mother believable, I had to try to understand her, which was the hardest – but probably most interesting – thing I ever did as a writer.

And what is the best thing about writing?  

When characters decide to throw all your plans for their lives overboard and just do whatever they want to do. This behaviour started when I was writing the book that eventually became my debut, and thankfully it hasn’t stopped.

When I was writing my second book Jasper, I had planned the last ten chapters. This makes it a bit easier to write, because you have a basic idea of what is going to happen in each chapter.

But Jasper didn’t want to do the things I made up for him. Where I wanted him to go right, he turned left. I decided not to force it, but just go with him on his journey.

Since then, this is the way I always write. When characters want to do something else than what I planned for them, I just go along with it. I let them lead me. This way the characters behave according to their personalities, and I have more fun, because they keep surprising me.

Where is your favourite writing spot?

My favorite writing spot is in the mountains in Germany. Somehow they always inspire me.

I do however like to sit inside to write, with a cup of hot chocolate and a snack in front of me and a view of the mountains.

What do you do during times of self-doubt or (goodness forbid) if “writer’s block” strikes? 

Feel really bad mostly. When I get insecure, I remember everything that was traditionally published and all the great reviews I got.

A writer’s block can be broken by writing somewhere else or talking about the story with someone. If that doesn’t work, I probably need a break.

What is the most frivolous thing you’ve purchased with your royalties?

I really don’t remember.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Keep going.

Most authors that make it, have been trying for years (to get published or to get more readers). You have to keep going and keep learning. Practise and never give up, if you really want to get published and/or be successful. 

Do you prefer tea/coffee/hot chocolate?

Well, I prefer hot chocolate, but I try to stay away from it as much as I can, because my tummy is already not so yummy anymore. ;-)

I don’t like coffee and I sometimes drink tea, but usually not at home. While writing I drink water, then milk and in the afternoon and evening diet coke.

Is there anything you’d like to add…?  

Thanks for having me and to the readers of this interview: thanks for reading this. J

If anyone wants to beta read book 2 in the Cards of Death series (in January) or the next one, please contact me through my website: www.tamarageraeds.com