Monday 18 February 2013

Author Interview: T.M. Franklin

T.M. Franklin has written More, Window and A Piece Of Cake.

1. What is your name and where do you call home?
My real name is Tami and I live in Washington state.

2. Do you have a pen name?
Yes, I write under the pen name T.M. Franklin

3. 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?
Well, my most recent book is an anthology, but my most recent full-length novel is More.
Here are my 20 words: On the run for her life, Ava teams up with Caleb, who’s not entirely human – he’s a little bit more.

4. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
Yes, the second book in the trilogy, The Guardians comes out this fall. I also have a paranormal romance short story called A Piece of Cake in an anthology called Romantic Interludes that’s out now, and another short story releasing in a month or so.

5. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing pretty much my whole life. Career-wise, I worked as a TV news producer for nine years out of college, so I wrote a lot of news stories. I freelanced for the web and print after I left television, and started writing my first novel during that time, although that book never saw the light of day.

6. Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?
My publisher provides ARCs and review copies for reviewers. We’re also on NetGalley.

7. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
I designed the cover of my book not long after I wrote the first chapter. More begins with a chase scene where Ava, the heroine, is being chased by a frightening man with mismatched blue and green eyes. Those eyes were the inspiration for the cover.

8. Which is your favourite cover of all the books you have written?
I’d have to go with the cover for my upcoming short story Window. It was a real struggle to create, and I went through about ten versions before I settled on the final one, but it really tells the premise of the story in the image – a girl who sees visions through her living room window.
Of course, I’m doing a cover reveal for The Guardians on April 1st, so I might change my mind then.


9. Is there anything you would change about your book covers?
I can’t think of anything at the moment. I spend so much time changing them while I’m creating them, that once I’m done, I’m done!

10. Would you have different book covers for different countries?
I’ve never thought of that, but I don’t think so. They tell the story in any language.

11. How did you come up with the title for your book?
It came from the basic premise of the book – that there’s an ancient race living alongside humans in secret. They’re different from humans, though, with special abilities. As Caleb says, they’re human, just a little bit More.

12. Is there anything you would change about your book? And why?
Yes, there is a typo and one error that made their way through the editing process. I might also make a few changes to the first few chapters to intersperse the background information with more action.

13. Do you have a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on book trailers?
I do – you can see it HERE. I like book trailers if they’re done well. When they’re just a re-stating of the summary, they don’t really add anything. I think they should be like movie trailers – a teaser, not a summary. They should evoke emotion and get people asking questions about the book – not give away all the answers.


14. What is your opinion on ARCs?
I like the idea of ARCs in that they give an author the opportunity to get feedback and actually make changes to the manuscript before publication. It can really be helpful for fixing errors or clarifying things. The difficult part is putting something out there for people to read that isn’t finished. It kind of makes me shudder a bit. Lol!

15. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
I pretty much read eBooks these days – and most on my phone with a Kindle app, because I always have it with me, so I can read when I’m standing in line or waiting to pick my son up. I do love to read a hard copy, but eBooks are just so convenient!

16. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
I’m published with The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House, based in Sydney, Australia.

17. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
Not very often, but I read the Twilight books multiple times.

18. Have you ever read a book just based on its cover?
A cover is usually what lures me in. If it’s a compelling cover, I’ll read the blurb. If the blurb hooks me, I’ll check out the first page. If I want to keep reading, I’m hooked.
That, and recommendations from friends, of course.

19. Has the quality of the cover of a book ever put you off of reading it?
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but everybody does. If the cover isn’t attractive or compelling, chances are I’ll skip it.

20. What is your favourite film based on a book?
Movies based on books are usually disappointing to me. I ALWAYS like the book more. I did like The Hunger Games, but I saw it before reading the book.

21. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
I’m reading Romantic Interludes on Kindle. It’s the romance anthology that I’m part of. I’ve read my story, of course, but am reading the other contributions.


22. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
I’d say if you love writing, do it – and do it a lot. Write every day. Stay true to your vision, but listen to criticism from those you trust or you’ll never grow. That’s both the best advice I’ve been given, and what I would pass on to others.

23. Where can your readers follow you?









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

2 comments:

  1. Great to hear that the sequel is coming out this fall. I really enjoyed MORE.

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  2. Thanks so much for your blog hospitality! :-)

    ReplyDelete