Welcome readers to our latest installment in our author interview series. Today, we have a special treat for you. I’ve been working with Tamela Miles for almost seven years. She is not only a brilliant writer of paranormal romance, but she also does an impressive job at horror. Tamela is a lovely person, too. I asked her for an interview, and she agreed. So grab your favorite beverage and join us. Tamela, take it away…
What is your writing process?
It all starts at midnight. That’s when my energy really comes on, the motivation and creativity. I set up my hot tea and begin outlining – which I used to loathe. I was a pantser all the way. Now, I do both: pantsing with a good outline, which leaves room for me to just pull ideas from the warehouse in my mind that’s been busy collecting and storing inspirational things absorbed from all around me. I put soft background music on that moves me, like a bit of Matchbox Twenty or Prince, and I’m off and running!
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you?
Umm, I read a lot of Christopher Pike and other similar authors when I was a preteen and that naturally led right into everything Stephen King as I grew up. I still look to both for inspiration sometimes and have added Charlaine Harris and Richelle Mead to the list.
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
Wow! Great question. Though she appears so sweet in real life, I’m sold on the idea of actor Gabrielle Union as the evil through and through Draecea from the short story Hands Clean. I think she would rock it! Megan Fox would make a fantastic Paris, from the story Paper Dolls. And the late Paul Walker would’ve nailed Chase from another short story, Be Home by Sunrise.
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?
Names are very important to me, very personal. I’m known to turn names over and over in my mind for days before deciding which ones to use. If the character in my mind’s eye hates the name, I toss it and start over. If I don’t, the character won’t cooperate and flesh out properly.
Have you always liked to write?
Always. I’ve been writing my little stories since about age 10. My greatest inspiration at that age was my grandma’s soap operas. If I didn’t like a particular story arc on the soaps, I would spend all day re-writing it in one of my many notebooks until I was happy with the ending.
What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?
Revisions, revisions, revisions! I do, however, do my best to make them fun.
Do you write naked?
No, but it sounds fun! I normally disappear into my writing nook and get comfortable in a pretty chemise and bare feet – year-round. I just can’t work fully dressed.
Have you ever gotten into a fight?
Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
What do you want your tombstone to say?
Tamela Miles – She Loved, She Lost, She Lived
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?
Sooo many places! But I can narrow it down to Nigeria and Ireland, to start. Both of those places are rich in cultural traditions and generational history, in addition to their geographical beauty.
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
I would be an indoor kitty. They have it made and many of them live better than some people. I can only imagine the constant cuddling and snacks.
What were you like as a child? Your favorite toy?
I was a curious child and that, blessedly, has never changed. I was usually doing stuff I had no business doing. *laughing* My favorite toys, which also haven’t changed, are Barbie dolls! I absolutely adore Barbie and I’ve been collecting them, as an adult, for over a decade.
Thank you, Tamela, for the insightful interview. I feel like I know you really well now. Readers, scroll down to read all about Tamela Miles’ latest release.
Title: Kiss Me Deadly
Author: Tamela Miles
Genre: Horror/Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
You never see the claws until you feel them.
Kiss Me Deadly is the chilling follow up horror and paranormal romance anthology to the fan favorite collection of stories, Rock Paper Scissors, brought to you from author Tamela Miles. Five unsettling tales of horror, with a pinch of the paranormal romance many readers have come to enjoy.
Excerpt:
Hands Clean
Lili jerked awake in the early morning, rays of sunlight shining in. She lay in bed next to Nate, who was still sleeping deeply. The dream stayed with her, and she could recall every detail. She whispered the words, “Make him pay,” to herself softly. Dracaea. The name lingered in her thoughts as she rolled over and closed her eyes to rest a bit more. What if she really existed? What if she could help her give Max some payback?
Her foot rubbed against her other calf as she lay there, and she noted the roughness. Frowning in confusion, she sat up and pulled the covers aside to reveal a good amount of sand clinging to her feet. She hadn’t been on the beach at all the night before. Dracaea’s face came to mind. Or…maybe she had?
Lili’s mind spun with the possibility of finally being able to punish Max while keeping her own hands clean. Payback using the supernatural was intriguing. Though she did believe in the power of the paranormal, she had never cast a spell in her whole life. Hell, even Ouija boards scared her a little. She didn’t know any Wiccans, but she knew exactly where to find them. Today, once she and Nate got back to Caddo, would be a busy day.
Later in the morning, she and Nate had said their goodbyes to the crew and were headed down the interstate in his huge black Jeep. As they sped along, she tried to keep up her side of the conversation, though she was distracted by the idea of using the occult at her bidding. Of course, it won’t work, she scolded herself. How delusional are you, Lili? But…what if? That what-if was tantalizing.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Apple iBooks
Author Biography:
Tamela Miles is a school psychologist with an Ed.S degree and is a graduate of California State University San Bernardino and California State University Dominguez Hills. She is also a former flight attendant. She grew up in Altadena, California in that tumultuous time known as the 1980s. She now resides with her family in the Inland Empire, CA. She's a horror/paranormal romance writer mainly because it feels so good having her characters do bad things and, later, pondering what makes them so bad and why they can never seem to change their wicked ways.
Social Media Links:
@jackiebrown20 on Twitter
@tamelamilesbooks on Instagram
Tamela Miles Books on Facebook