Anonymous, Book Giveaway and Author Interview with Tess Moody

Hi Everybody:

I am SO excited to share an interview with  fellow blogger and author, Tess Moody.  Tess’ blog,

Six Feet Under Blog, is always a great read…but what I am really here to share today is my interview with Tess about how she gets her ideas and how she writes her books (because, ummm…that’s what I want to do!!)….I read her last book, Anonymous, in just a few hours…so we’ve decided to give one copy away for FREE (hooray!!).  I’ll tell you how you can win it in a second, but first let me tell you about the book…Anonymous is about a woman named Paige McDonald who is a well-known blogger and, when one of her  reader’s obsession with her goes too far, Paige finds herself in danger. Soon, other bloggers start turning up dead. So….will she listen to her family and stop blogging, or will she ignore everyone and keep blogging-at the risk of losing her life? You’ll have to read it to find out….!

Ok, here’s how you can win the book….follow me on Google Friends Connect, Twitter, and on my Facebook page (all links over to the right ), leave two comments on this site about my posts, and tell me you are done with these steps in one of your comments.  I’ll do a random drawing from everyone who participates and then we’ll send you your book!  Yippee!!!

Ok, now for my interview with Tess – enjoy!

1) How do you get your story line ideas? 
My stories either kind of just come to me out of the blue, or sometimes I dream the endings-not to copy Stephenie Meyer. lol. I have to say though, that my first novel came from a real life experience and I turned it into a thriller.

2) What advice do you have in creating the narrative arc as you do so well with your mystery, Anonymous?

This may be a left-handed thing (lol), but I like to start from the ending and go backwards. I guess I like to solve the "crime" before it happens, then go back and make it happen. Outlining on paper is important though, to stay focus on a beginning, middle, and ending to keep your readers interested. If you keep going on and on about their day, the reader will get bored and go away.

3) How/why did you decide to use i-universe to self-publish?
I love iUniverse! Sure, I would love for my books to be picked up by a publisher, but if you don't want to wait, iUniverse is the route to go. They have lower prices then some PODs, many services, and a quick turn-a-round.

4) How long have you been writing, what else have you written, what's your favorite?
To be fair, I've been writing since junior high. My language arts teacher loved my short stories, and always told me that I had such an imagination.
My first novel, The Accident, was published in 2002. I would have to say my favorite story would have to be that book. I wrote it while going through a big change in my life-a story too long to write about, but it is a bit similar to the storyline of that book.

5) One piece of advice I'd wish I could've given myself when I first started writing books...
Hmmm, I guess I would have told myself to try harder to get my book published. Self publishing has it's perks, but it's a lot of hard work.

6) What blogs do you enjoy reading?
I don't think anyone has ever asked me this before. I have too many to list, but my favorites are the bloggers that have been there for me in the beginning and are still there, leaving me comments to this very day:
Creative Junkie, Too Many Hats, Eight Helping Hands (you know you (Swati) are my new favorite too!) I love looking at foodie blogs too- I love looking at beautiful photos of food and it inspires me to learn how to cook. I'm a really bad cook!

To buy Tess’ book or see what else she’s written, go to:

http://www.teresamoodyauthor.com/

Have a great day!

Swati

Tags: Anonymous, Tess Moody