Author Interview: Tammy Blackwell

Tammy Blackwell has written Destiny Binds.


1. What is your name and where do you call home?
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Wait. That is wrong.
*looks at name sewn into underwear*
It appears that my name is Tammy Blackwell, and you should return me to Calvert City, Kentucky, USA, should you find me.

2. What is the name of your most recent book, and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
If you’re reading this before January 2012:
Destiny Binds, Timber Wolves Book 1: Werewolves, Seers, and Hot Boys! Oh my!
If you’re reading this after January 2012:
Time Mends, Timber Wolves Book 2: “It’s complicated” just got more complicated.

3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
As I’m typing this, Time Mends, the second book in the series, is near completion. Fate Succumbs will be the final book in Scout’s story.

4. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
Destiny Binds has two covers. The first cover I did myself. It’s actually kind of a cute story (to me, at least). You see, as I was putting the finishing touches on Destiny Binds I found this little wolf figurine buried in the mud by my front door. Thinking it was cool that I found a wolf when I was writing about wolves, I brought him in and cleaned him up. Then, when I was searching for cheap images I could afford for my cover art, I found that exact same figurine. It was fate!
Sadly, my design skills are completely lacking. And no matter how cute the story, Alex the Figurine didn’t make a compelling cover.
Then, another amazing thing happened. A fan sketched out her own cover of Destiny Binds and put it on Facebook. That image, made by the amazingly super-talented Victoria Faye, is now my cover art. She will also be doing the cover art of Time Mends... and every other book I ever write if I can talk her into it!

5. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers, or audiobooks?
Honestly, I just like to read. I’m not a huge audiobook fan, although I will do one if I’m in a car for a long period of time by myself. But I devour paperbacks, hardcovers, and e-books equally. Actually, that might be a slight lie. I do tend to read more e-books simply because I find myself at home with nothing to read and end up buying something on my Kindle.

6. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so, what was it?
When I was a teenager I read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton so many times the cover fell off and the pages started to disintegrate. I don’t re-read one in its entirety much any more, but I do have a habit of going back and skimming through and re-reading my favorite/the most important parts, especially when I’m getting ready for the new release in a series. (And, let’s be honest, all the kissy/sexy parts get re-read more often than anything else.)

7. Have you ever bought a specific edition of a book because of its cover?
I love reading stories, but have no desire to really collect books. (I realize this makes me  strange in the world of book lovers. I’m sorry.) So, when it’s a book for me, it doesn’t really matter. However, when I’m buying books for my library (my day job is as a librarian), I do often seek out certain covers. One vivid example is Holly Black’s Modern Tales of Faerie series. I refused to buy the ones with he models on the front because I loved the originals so much and thought they would circulate better.

8. Have you ever read a book just based on its cover?
I’m not going to lie, I judge books by their cover all the time. There have many books I’ve picked up simply because they had a gorgeous cover. Actually, that was the whole reason I read Twilight way back in the day. (Yes, I’m one of those annoying people who say they read it before anyone else... But I really did! No, really! I had to anxiously await the release of New Moon!) On the other hand, I’ve almost missed some really good books because I wasn’t fond of their cover. (The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series both come to mind.)

9. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
As soon as this round of revisions is done I’m starting on The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (hardcover) and Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (e-book). I’m excited about both of them. I like the concept of The Future of Us (two teens sign onto AOL in 1996 and discover their future Facebook pages), and I love all of Nalini Singh’s books. She is my absolute favorite paranormal romance writer.

10. Where can your readers follow you?

Well, I leave the house around 8:15 every morning...

Oh wait. You mean in cyber-space, don’t you?

In that case, I can be found on Goodreads, Twitter (Miss_Tammy), and my blog: www.misstammywrites.blogspot.com. Destiny Binds is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most everywhere e-books are sold.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!