Cate: Please welcome Antonia Tiranth. Antonia, will you please share a short bio with us?Antonia: Well, lets see, I'll be thirty-one in July this year. I live in Baltimore, Maryland and am engaged. I work in a research lab for Johns Hopkins. I'm a lover of cats, dragons and books. I've been writing for as long as I can remember but just got up the courage (i.e., swift kick in the pants from my writing buddy) to submit in 2007. My first book released in January 2008.
Cate: Gotta love those writing buddies. :) How do you develop your plots and characters?
Antonia: I'm a pantser. I never knew there was a term for how I write but once I got into the writing world, I found many others who write like I do. I start with a general concept, sit down and write. Usually the character comes to me first and his/her story follows. Many times, its a song, picture, or bits of other stories that inpsire me.
Cate: Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
Antonia: You bet. Its pretty crowded in my head. I wouldn't say they haunt my dreams so much as that short time just before you fall asleep. That's usually when they hit me with something.
Cate: What's next for you?
Antonia: I have my 2009 NaNoWriMo story to edit. Its a fantasy story about a set of twins, one is alive, the other is a ghost. I'm also finishing up a dragon story. I have the next book in my Tarot Kings series submitted and I need to start work on the next Tales of the Rikashi book.
Cate: Any other published works?
Antonia: I have three books available from Lyrical Press Inc and one from Red Rose Publishing.
The Tales of the Rikashi, about a race of dragon shape-shifters can be found here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/antonia_tiranth.
The first book in this series, The Quickening, was a CAPA 2009 Nominee and LASR Best Book of 2009 Nominee.
The Tarot Kings Series, a series of books where the heros are based on the Tarot Kings can be found here: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=248&products_id=628
Cate: Describe your writing in three words.
Antonia : Dragons, Dragons, dragons!
Cate: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?
Antonia: For me, the hardest part is writing a synopsis and blurb. The most rewarding is when someone, who I've never met before, tells me they liked the book. I just get tickled pink when I hear that.
Cate: What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Antonia: I think the one that stood out to me the most came from a Fallen Angel's review of Black Velvet, the third book in Tales of the Rikashi “one of the most original and well thought out story concepts I've ever come across in romantic fiction” That just blew me away.
Cate: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Antonia Tiranth: The answer to this question has definitely changed over the years. At one time I would have said Stephen King or Anne McCaffery. At this point in time, my favorite authors are Angela Knight, Jeaniene Frost, G.A.Aiken, and of course, my writing buddy Delilah K. Stephans. Specifically, Angela Knight's Master of Dragons, Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series, and G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin Series. Right now I'm reading First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
Cate: Where can you be found on the web?
Antonia: My website is www.antoniatiranth.com
Blog – www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/tiranth
Thanks for being my guest today, Antonia.
