Interview

Hi Tarah and welcome. I am so glad you could join us here at

RomanceJunkies. To start, will you please tell us a little bit about your current projects?

 

Thanks, Brooke, it’s great to be here.

 

I’m currently concentrating on two large projects. Aside from my historical romance, I write paranormal and romantic suspense as Shawn M. Casey, and I collaborate with a very talented author, Evan Trevane. We’re just starting revisions our agent has requested on our first romantic thriller, FOR HIS EYES ONLY. Our heroine, Jesse Evans, is a top secret operative who finds herself outside the system when she is framed as the informant in a high profile rescue mission that went very bad. Our hero, Cole, is the one man who can find her and bring her out into the open. When he tries, however, he gets more than his share of surprises.

 

I’m also finishing up my turn on the rewrite of our first paranormal suspense, KNOT OF THE SLAIN. Our protagonist Gerry Forstner is head of the Miami Serial Killer Task Force, and is investigating a string of brutal murders. The strange paranormal elements in this case revive unsettling feelings relating to the, less brutal, but no less strange, murders he investigated in the Everglades five years ago.   This book has turned into a three-year project!

 

When do you feel most creative?   In the morning?   Perhaps the evening?   Do you ever get up in the middle of night because you just “have to write”?

Believe it or not, there is no ‘time of the day’ I feel most creative. Unless I absolutely must concentrate on something other than writing, that’s what I’m thinking about. I’m a true junkie. I get up on weekday mornings knowing I have to get my daughter off to school, then get myself ready for work, but under it all, I’m thinking about my schedule and when I’m going to get to write.

 

I seldom get up in the middle of the night to write, but that’s usually because I stayed up late writing, and went to bed only to have my stories roll around in my head all night long and channel into strange dreams. I probably should just get up again.

 

Do you write to music or other background noise, or must you have absolute silence?

 

I prefer peace and quiet during first draft. Once I have those first very rough words on the page, I can write in the middle of a raging party and remain oblivious. On rewrite and revisions I often play music, especially if I’m working on the sexier or more emotional scenes. One of my favorite albums to write to is Charlie Robison’s “Good Times”. Very sexy, country blues.  

 

Have a favorite beverage or snack by your side?

 

Coffee! That beverage goes with anything sweet.  

 

What do you like most about being an author? What do you like least?

 

That is a very tough question. It’s much easier to answer your next question: What do you like least? The final read, where I’m looking for nothing but typos, words to cut and punctuation. By this time, I’ve read the manuscript to death and have put all I can into it—until next revision.  

 

I probably like rewrite and revision more than first draft. There is something about molding rough words into a thing of beauty that appeals to me on an elemental level. I find the idea of making each draft better than the last a never ending, and never boring, challenge.

 

Do you have any favorite hobbies or collections?

 

ROFL. I’m really rather boring. I love to read, both fiction and nonfiction, and have a modest collection of modern and old books that I’m rather proud of.   What is the one project you started but have never found the time to finish? The first two novels I started are unfinished. I do have plans to finish one of them. The idea has bugged me all these years. That’s a sure sign it’ll get me in the end.

 

Okay, Texas Girl!   What is the one thing that surprised you most about the east coast?   Is there anything in particular you miss about Texas?

 

People who have never been to New York think NYC is New York. It isn’t! I was shocked at how much ‘country’ there is in this very large state.

 

I really do love the East Coast. However, having grown up around the Gulf of Mexico and the canyons of New Mexico I do miss those desert canyons and white sandy beaches that go on forever.

 

Who is this Black Cat that lives with you, and exactly how was the “lethal” title earned?

 

Tony Hawk. ROFL. Little did my daughter and I know there was a famous skateboarder with that name! She wanted to name the cat Steve. I said no way, no cat has the name Steve. I suggested the name Hawk. She wanted Tony, so we settled on Tony Hawk. We laughed really hard when a close male friend told us about the famous Tony Hawk. Our Tony Hawk is jet black and big! Being black and a young male, he looks very tough! He is an absolute doll, though.

 

If you could go anywhere you wanted, no worries about packing or getting there, where would you go?  

 

New Zealand. ROFL. Rather tame, I guess. I love everything I hear about New Zealand. The quiet beauty, the friendly people and no snakes or spiders!

 

Have you been there before?

 

No. But I plan on traveling there with my daughter when she’s older.

 

There are many stories and movies about superheroes. What in your view constitutes a real-life hero? Which real people do you consider to be heroes?

 

Courage. Whether one doesn’t have time to think about the danger, or they plow ahead despite fear, that is a true heroism.

 

Last winter I heard a report on the radio about an 18 year old kid who heard his mother shouting, and he leapt out of bed and raced outside to discover that two kids who had cut across their property had fallen into their pond. This kid shimmied out onto the ice to save the two younger kids, 13 and 16—I think. The two kids kept crying “We’re going to die!” The 18 year old kid told them “No, you’re not.” He got each one to grab his hand and pulled them both to safety. My eyes still get moist with that picture. There are many everyday heroes like this kid, who no one hears about.

 

From high profile heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., who stood up against seemingly insurmountable opposition, to the mother who quietly encourages her child to be all that he or she can be, or the father who comes home dog tired after a hard day’s work. Life is full of heroes. I’ve been lucky enough to know a few.

 

How old were you when you had your first “romantic” kiss?   Was it with your little kindergarten classmate, or the first major crush of your young life?

 

Oh! I was 15. Well, there was the neighborhood boy who took me to the movies when I was 9. My brother, who is three and a half years younger than me, teased me mercilessly. Some things never change.

 

How do you describe Tarah Scott? How do Tarah Scott’s family and friends describe her?

 

HA! I definitely have the nutty professor thing going on—emphasis on the nutty. I’m driven, determined, and studious—I read everything. Most of all, though, I’m a big joker, a true clown, I find humor in just about everything.

 

They would agree with the nutty professor and, yes, they know I play the biggest jokes and love it. I’m told by many that I’m a great source of amusement for them. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that’s not due to the times I’m actually trying to be funny.

 

MORE FUN…

 

Spring is here!   What was the first thing you noticed about its arrival? Is it your favorite season, or is there one you like better?

 

The tiny buds that look like a fuzzy coat on the trees.   I’m always sooooo glad to see spring. I’m reminded each year of the miracle of life with the onset of Spring. No two Springs are alike. Summer makes me feel free—except for those two weeks we invariably swelter. And Fall, this may truly be my favorite time of the year, watching the metamorphose of green trees melt into a myriad of colors captures my imagination every single year. Winter is a little more laid back, but there is a stark beauty that gears us up for Spring again.

 

Are you a bath person or a shower person?

 

Shower!

 

Which household chore do you abhor?  

 

Ironing. That’s a true prison sentence for me.  

 

Which one doesn’t bother you at all?

 

Dishes. This is probably due to the fact I associate the chore with food, even if it is at the final stage. (I tend to snack while doing dishes.)  

 

And lastly, no interview of a writer would be complete without this

question:   what is your favorite comfort food?

 

Toast made from homemade bread. I could subside on homemade bread.   

 

Just the smell when it’s baking is sheer luxury!   Thank you, Tarah, for spending time with us.   Best of luck with your writing in the future!

 

 

By Brooke Wills

Romance Junkies Publishing Editor

Top of Page