Welcome Tara Fox Hall! I'm so excited to have you here.
Before we start the interview I'd like to tell you a little about her. She is an OSHA-certified safety and health inspector at a metal fabrication shop in upstate New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a double minor in chemistry and biology from Binghamton University. Her writing credits include nonfiction short stories, flash, short and novella-length horror stories, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. Her horror stories have appeared in Deadman’s Tome, Flashes in the Dark, Ghastly Door, The Halloween Alliance, Black Petals, SNM Horror Magazine, Microhorror, Dark Eclipse, Cemetery Moon, and various anthologies, including the recently published charity works Fear (Vol. 1) and Shifters. She also coauthored the essay “The Allure of the Serial Killer,” published in Serial Killers - Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). She is the author of the paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic drama Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice.
You have quite the long list of credits. Why do you write about vampires, like you have in your novel Promise Me?
I’ve loved vampires since I saw Frank Langella in the first “hot vampire” version of Dracula years ago. That love intensified in my later teens with The Lost Boys, and reading Interview with the Vampire, along with anything vampire I could get my hands on. But I wanted more than the evil monster chasing young virgins; more than the sweet, misunderstood handsome fanged stranger that becomes the perfect mate for the woman who captures his heart after so many lone centuries. I wanted a vampire so well-crafted in detail that I could believe he was real. I wanted something different to happen in the story, other than girl becomes vampire, or vampire becomes dust. I wanted passion, tragedy, romance, suspense, action, and the haunting sweetness of poetry and song floating on a soft night breeze. So I penned my own vampires.
Before we start the interview I'd like to tell you a little about her. She is an OSHA-certified safety and health inspector at a metal fabrication shop in upstate New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a double minor in chemistry and biology from Binghamton University. Her writing credits include nonfiction short stories, flash, short and novella-length horror stories, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. Her horror stories have appeared in Deadman’s Tome, Flashes in the Dark, Ghastly Door, The Halloween Alliance, Black Petals, SNM Horror Magazine, Microhorror, Dark Eclipse, Cemetery Moon, and various anthologies, including the recently published charity works Fear (Vol. 1) and Shifters. She also coauthored the essay “The Allure of the Serial Killer,” published in Serial Killers - Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). She is the author of the paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic drama Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice.
You have quite the long list of credits. Why do you write about vampires, like you have in your novel Promise Me?
I’ve loved vampires since I saw Frank Langella in the first “hot vampire” version of Dracula years ago. That love intensified in my later teens with The Lost Boys, and reading Interview with the Vampire, along with anything vampire I could get my hands on. But I wanted more than the evil monster chasing young virgins; more than the sweet, misunderstood handsome fanged stranger that becomes the perfect mate for the woman who captures his heart after so many lone centuries. I wanted a vampire so well-crafted in detail that I could believe he was real. I wanted something different to happen in the story, other than girl becomes vampire, or vampire becomes dust. I wanted passion, tragedy, romance, suspense, action, and the haunting sweetness of poetry and song floating on a soft night breeze. So I penned my own vampires.
What other types of genres do you write?
Mostly I write supernatural-related fiction stories, such as the paranormal fiction series Promise Me and Lash. But as per above, I also have written erotica, suspense, horror, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction.
Tell me about your latest?
My latest book is Taken for His Own, the fourth installment in my Promise Me Series. It takes up where the third book left off. Sar had done her best to rebuild her life when her fiancé Theo went missing. She’s partnered with her former vampire lover Danial to raise Theo’s daughter Elle (Elle’s natural mother is dead from childbirth complications). She’s also had a child of her own with Danial, Theoron, and is trying to come to terms with her inevitable turning from human to vampire. When she finds out Theo’s alive, she can’t stop herself from journeying west to find him, and confront him about where he’s been for the last year and a half. This is where Taken for His Own begins. After a passionate reunion and a hasty marriage, the two
lovebirds are headed back east. But picking up the pieces is far from easy. While Danial is accepting of Theo’s return, Elle prefers her vampire adoptive father over Theo. More than one enemy is waiting in the wings, making repeat attempts on Sar’s life. Add into the mix Devlin, Sar’s old enemy who’s now turned good guy, and a new paramour for Danial and you’ve got a powder keg primed to explode.
Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?
The Hobbit. I like the message; that it’s not who you were or what you can do that influences what you will do, it’s how willing you are to step outside your own boundaries and push for what you think is right.
Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
That it’s never too late to take control of your destiny…and that you are the only one that really ever can. You may not be able to control what happens to you, but you can always control how you react to events. And that it’s important to always try to do the right thing…but that isn’t always possible.
What challenges have you faced in your writing career?
Getting published. I spent 4 years getting rejection after rejection from every agent under the sun and also some publishers. But the near misses were the worst, to think that I finally had an agent or a publisher and then to have it fall through at the last moment. Those were the crushing blows. The newest thing I worry about are bad reviews.
Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Bits of me are in all my characters, being my creations.
Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to quit?
Of course. Getting my first 2 star review on Amazon made me want to quit. Poor sales in a given quarter makes me want to quit. Having no free time makes me want to quit. But I didn’t survive years of fighting to get my stories out to give up now.
Did you have a moment when you realized you were meant to be a writer?
Yes. I realized I was good at imagining both sides of a conversation between two characters or more. It’s something that comes naturally and I don’t feel affinity with either character especially, so I can imagine to be both with equal believability. That makes really good dialogue, which is an essential part of any story. The other key part of story is a good plot. When I’m reading what I wrote, I ask myself if I’m interested at every paragraph. If I can’t keep my own interest, how can I expect to keep a reader’s interest? And what a writer wants to produce and what a reader wants to read are not always the same things. To gain—and keep—series readers, you have to give them what they want while keeping enough back to entice them to keep reading subsequent books. I try to do that.
After this book, what is next?
There will be more books in this series. Two more will be out this year--Immortal Confessions and Her Secret—with more in 2014 and 2015, until the series is done. The next
installment in the Lash Series, Revenge, will be out this fall, and hopefully my second anthology of short suspense/horror stories will also publish. There will also be the first Promise Me anthology and a Latham’s Landing anthology this fall. A new Lash short story,
“Spiritwalker”, will debut in the Shifters charity anthology from
Hazardous Press, and I also have a short story called “The Lie” in the upcoming
anthology Brief Grislys, both due out in a month or less. I’m also working on a sequel to my transgender short Grow a Pair, and another compilation of BDSM stories for the late summer/fall.
Your website? http://www.tarafoxhall.com
Your blog?http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5286654.Tara_Fox_Hall/blog
Other websites?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TerrorFoxHall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Fox-Hall/151813374904903
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/index.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Fox-Hall/e/B005YPAA4W/
Where can your book be found?
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Taken-For-His-Promise-ebook/dp/B00CZ4IGC8/
Amazon
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taken-For-His-Promise-ebook/dp/B00CZ4IGC8/
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/319416
Melange/lulu link for Print, PDF and HTML copies: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/takenforhisown.html
All Romance E-books:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-takenforhisown-1215939-140.html
Barnes and Noble.com: not there yet
Mostly I write supernatural-related fiction stories, such as the paranormal fiction series Promise Me and Lash. But as per above, I also have written erotica, suspense, horror, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction.
Tell me about your latest?
My latest book is Taken for His Own, the fourth installment in my Promise Me Series. It takes up where the third book left off. Sar had done her best to rebuild her life when her fiancé Theo went missing. She’s partnered with her former vampire lover Danial to raise Theo’s daughter Elle (Elle’s natural mother is dead from childbirth complications). She’s also had a child of her own with Danial, Theoron, and is trying to come to terms with her inevitable turning from human to vampire. When she finds out Theo’s alive, she can’t stop herself from journeying west to find him, and confront him about where he’s been for the last year and a half. This is where Taken for His Own begins. After a passionate reunion and a hasty marriage, the two
lovebirds are headed back east. But picking up the pieces is far from easy. While Danial is accepting of Theo’s return, Elle prefers her vampire adoptive father over Theo. More than one enemy is waiting in the wings, making repeat attempts on Sar’s life. Add into the mix Devlin, Sar’s old enemy who’s now turned good guy, and a new paramour for Danial and you’ve got a powder keg primed to explode.
Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?
The Hobbit. I like the message; that it’s not who you were or what you can do that influences what you will do, it’s how willing you are to step outside your own boundaries and push for what you think is right.
Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
That it’s never too late to take control of your destiny…and that you are the only one that really ever can. You may not be able to control what happens to you, but you can always control how you react to events. And that it’s important to always try to do the right thing…but that isn’t always possible.
What challenges have you faced in your writing career?
Getting published. I spent 4 years getting rejection after rejection from every agent under the sun and also some publishers. But the near misses were the worst, to think that I finally had an agent or a publisher and then to have it fall through at the last moment. Those were the crushing blows. The newest thing I worry about are bad reviews.
Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Bits of me are in all my characters, being my creations.
Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to quit?
Of course. Getting my first 2 star review on Amazon made me want to quit. Poor sales in a given quarter makes me want to quit. Having no free time makes me want to quit. But I didn’t survive years of fighting to get my stories out to give up now.
Did you have a moment when you realized you were meant to be a writer?
Yes. I realized I was good at imagining both sides of a conversation between two characters or more. It’s something that comes naturally and I don’t feel affinity with either character especially, so I can imagine to be both with equal believability. That makes really good dialogue, which is an essential part of any story. The other key part of story is a good plot. When I’m reading what I wrote, I ask myself if I’m interested at every paragraph. If I can’t keep my own interest, how can I expect to keep a reader’s interest? And what a writer wants to produce and what a reader wants to read are not always the same things. To gain—and keep—series readers, you have to give them what they want while keeping enough back to entice them to keep reading subsequent books. I try to do that.
After this book, what is next?
There will be more books in this series. Two more will be out this year--Immortal Confessions and Her Secret—with more in 2014 and 2015, until the series is done. The next
installment in the Lash Series, Revenge, will be out this fall, and hopefully my second anthology of short suspense/horror stories will also publish. There will also be the first Promise Me anthology and a Latham’s Landing anthology this fall. A new Lash short story,
“Spiritwalker”, will debut in the Shifters charity anthology from
Hazardous Press, and I also have a short story called “The Lie” in the upcoming
anthology Brief Grislys, both due out in a month or less. I’m also working on a sequel to my transgender short Grow a Pair, and another compilation of BDSM stories for the late summer/fall.
Your website? http://www.tarafoxhall.com
Your blog?http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5286654.Tara_Fox_Hall/blog
Other websites?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TerrorFoxHall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Fox-Hall/151813374904903
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/index.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Fox-Hall/e/B005YPAA4W/
Where can your book be found?
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Taken-For-His-Promise-ebook/dp/B00CZ4IGC8/
Amazon
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taken-For-His-Promise-ebook/dp/B00CZ4IGC8/
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/319416
Melange/lulu link for Print, PDF and HTML copies: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/takenforhisown.html
All Romance E-books:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-takenforhisown-1215939-140.html
Barnes and Noble.com: not there yet
More on the Promise Series (Promise Me Series #1) – Vampire romance
Format: print and e-book
Pages: 233
Date Released: June 2012
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B0086G4GDC
Lulu link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/tara-fox-ha...-20146694.html
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B0086G4GDC
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors...all/index.html
Blurb: When young widow Sarelle McGarran finds the vampire Danial Racklan unconscious and hurt in her woods, intuitive concern quickly becomes passionate love. Together Danial and Sar work to overcome their own past heartbreaks, their vastly different lifestyles, and Danial's relentless enemies. Yet Danial needs more; an Oath of forever. But can Sar give
Danial his greatest desire?
Thank you for stopping by Tara. I enjoyed your company.
Format: print and e-book
Pages: 233
Date Released: June 2012
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B0086G4GDC
Lulu link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/tara-fox-ha...-20146694.html
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B0086G4GDC
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors...all/index.html
Blurb: When young widow Sarelle McGarran finds the vampire Danial Racklan unconscious and hurt in her woods, intuitive concern quickly becomes passionate love. Together Danial and Sar work to overcome their own past heartbreaks, their vastly different lifestyles, and Danial's relentless enemies. Yet Danial needs more; an Oath of forever. But can Sar give
Danial his greatest desire?
Thank you for stopping by Tara. I enjoyed your company.
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