Please welcome Tina Bass!
When
you characters started talking to you and you decided to become an
author, what made you take the chance?
I’ve
always had ‘characters’ in my head but never thought too much
about it. Then one day I was talking with a very good friend of mine
and I jokingly made the comment about writing a book. She told me if
I wrote it she would help with the editing. I said something like
yeah might do that. Then didn’t give it much more thought after
that. About a week or so later I was sitting out on my back deck
listening to some music and Kade starting yelling “write this
down!” So I grabbed some paper and pen and starting writing.
What
helped you decide the genre to write and publish?
I
think it’s because romance is my go-to. I love the boy gets girl
happily ever after. So it just comes out on its own in my writing.
How
long did His Safe Keeping take to go from your head to "paper"
to "print"?
I
starting writing in November and it was published in April so about
four months.
What
is the most important thing you learned about the whole process you
think an aspiring author should know?
You’re
going to get bad reviews. It’s a given. Not every single person is
going to fall in love with your book. And that’s okay. That saying
“You can’t please everyone” well it’s true you really can’t
so don’t try. But don’t just dismiss them either. Read them, take
them into consideration and go from there. Most reviewers will tell
you the reason why they didn’t love your book and their ‘whys’
can be helpful as you continue to write.
Did
you decide to self-publish or use a publishing company and what
helped you make that decision?
I
went with Beau Coup Publishing’s because I started off knowing
absolutely nothing about publishing so through Facebook I contacted
some of the authors that I had friended to ask their opinion. One of
which was Sable Hunter and through messages back and forth and
telephone calls she told me a little of her experiences with
self-publishing as well as publishing companies. She also told me
about her publishing company that she was starting but at the same
time didn’t pressure me into submitting my work, instead she just
said she would give me advice from her experiences on any route that
I chose to go. I think that was the main reason I did decide to go
with Beau Coup.
What
helped you choose the cover art to use?
Again
Sable Hunter, although she didn’t know it at the time. I loved her
cover for Cowboy Heat and inside was a link to Romance Novel Covers
that she had used. I chose the picture that I loved and Beau Coup did
the rest.
Who
are some of your favorite authors?
I
have tons of favorites and with e-books I think I have a new one
every week but my top all-time favorite would have to be J. D. Robb.
I was given a copy of Memory in Death by a friend and honestly it sat
on my bookshelf probably a year or more before I ever picked it up to
read. It was that book that sparked my love of reading that turned
into a love of writing.
Who
is your favorite character from your story and why?
I
think it would have to be Draco, although in His Safe Keeping you
only get a few peeks at him I have finished his book Safe with Him
and the man has met his match.
Do
you characters tell you the story or do you discuss it with them?
The
best way I can describe it is, it’s like a movie playing in my head
I can ‘see’ the scenes as they play out but at the same time
they—the characters—break the fourth wall and allow me to
‘discuss’ bits and pieces as long as they agree. If I try and
change something that they don’t agree with, it’s like it’s
physically impossible for me to write it.
Do
you go by the "seat of your pants" or use an outline or
some other method when writing?
I
guess it would be seat of my pants. I sit and I write what I ‘see’
or what the character tells me to write. Although I have discovered
that I need to have a general outline of the characters and a
timeline for what happen when or who did what when. Things like that.
Do
you listen to music or have a book "playlist"?
Yes
I listen to music and include it in my writing. Each book has its own
playlist that I list not only on my Facebook page but I’m working
on a YouTube channel that will have each book’s playlist.
Your
novel, His Safe Keeping released April 20, 2014. Is there another in
the series in the works?
Yes
Safe with Him is the second in the series—coming soon—and there
will be eight in The Safe series and two—so far—that will spin
off from that series.
Are
there any events or upcoming releases we should know about?
Not
at the moment, no.
Where
can we find you on social media?
Excerpt
from His Safe Keeping
“You
ever rode a horse, baby?” he asked, but she only shook her head
because she was too busy looking at the beautiful creature standing
in front of her.
“Can
I rub him?” she asked, reverently, as her hand was slowly rising to
touch the horse.
“Yeah,
he likes to be rubbed by pretty girls.” He teased her. But, just
how many pretty girls were around to rub on the horse, and how many
rubbed on the horse’s owner? She thought, and had never known
before that she had a jealous streak! She was so into her own
thoughts that she didn’t notice Kade was putting a saddle on
another one and started walking it out. Grabbing her hand, he walked
them all out and into a fenced in area. “Time to ride.” He
scooped her up and placed her in the saddle on the horse. A very big
horse. That was very far from the ground.
“Are
you sure this is safe?” Krista asked nervously.
“Baby,
you’re safe.” He stayed standing right beside her leg.
“It’s
pretty far from the ground,” she stated, nervously because she was.
“Baby,
you’re safe.” Kade repeated, patiently.
“I
won’t fall off?” she asked the question, but before he could
answer, she continued, “I fall off, I could break something.”
“Baby,
you are not going to fall off.” Kade chuckled. She looked down at
him. Was he laughing?
“Fine.
But, just so you know, if I fall off and break something, there will
be no nakedness, until said something in no longer br—” She
began, and then squealed as big hands grabbed her by the waist and
yanked her back off the horse, and when her feet touched the ground,
she mumbled, “Broken.”
“Not
goin’ to be no nakedness around here. Nakedness yeah, no nakedness,
fuck no!” Kade stated. She looked up at him and it was her turn to
bust out laughing. He took her back inside the stables to another
horse, a bigger horse. She watched him saddle that one, then he
walked them back out again. He got on the horse, then leaned down and
held out his hand to her. “You can ride with me.” Before she
could decide whether she wanted to get on that horse with him, he
grabbed her up and had her in the saddle with him. Her back was
pressed to his front, his arms around her waist. She felt the horse
begin to move under her. “Relax, baby,” he whispered in her ear.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe. Look around, it’s beautiful.”
She thought he was wrong as she relaxed and began to take in her
surroundings. It wasn’t beautiful, it was breathtaking. She had
never seen anything like it. Green pastures, rolling hills, and off
in the distance, she could see mountains and the sun was just
starting to set behind them.
“Wow.”
she breathed, quietly.
“Yeah,”
he answered low.
“Irish,”
she whispered as she melted more into him. She never wanted to learn
how to ride a horse on her own if this was the results. Being held by
Kade, tight in his arms. Perfect,
she thought, absolutely perfect, though she never said a word. Words
weren’t needed now, just this…this perfection.