Blog Tour: Interview with YA Author Tamara Hart Heiner

Today's stop on the Altercation Blog Tour features my interview with Tamara Hart Heiner, an up-and-coming author of Young Adult fiction.

Tamara lives in Arkansas with her husband and three children. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English. She is also the author of Perilous, the prequel to Altercation. Besides writing, she enjoys all things food, especially baking. Perhaps someday she'll own a bakery and sell her own books inside. That sounds like an ideal mix of two passions!

Here's the summary of Altercation:
 
The FBI promises Jacinta Rivera and her friends that they are safe. Jaci wants desperately to believe them but weeks of hiding from their kidnapper, alias "The Hand," have left her wary. Hidden from the public eye in an FBI safe house, Jaci must reconcile both the mysterious disappearance of her father and the murder of her best friend.

A betrayal lands Jaci back in the grasp of The Hand, shattering her ability to trust and leaving her to wonder if she will ever piece together her broken life.
~~~

That sounds so intriguing! Let's get to our interview with Tamara. 

Welcome. Thank you for coming. How long have you been writing? What made you start?

I started writing when I was twelve. My motivation: boredom. I had too much free time. I finished my first book when I fourteen, and then took a ten-year break. :)
 
That's an interesting beginning. I wouldn't have thought boredom could motivate a writer. I guess life happened afterward, as it does so often with us all.Tamara, why did you choose to write in the YA genre?

It's the genre I read. I can't imagine writing anything else!
 
Hmm. So many adults read YA now, that you'd think someone would catch on and write books for adults that are attractive and exciting, too. What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead and plot, simply fly by the seat of your pants, or something in between? 

I have to outline. I didn't with my first book, and the story went all over the place! It's like getting in the car to go somewhere. I have to know where I'm going or I might never get there! But my outlines are basic. I leave lots of room for creativity.
 
I agree that you need to know where you're going, although I don't do a hard-and-fast outline. We all write in such individual ways! Do you write best at a certain time of the day? 

When everything's quiet! This usually means nap time and bedtime. :) My goal is 30 minutes a day.
 
Good for you for setting a time goal for your writing. What food or snack keeps the words flowing? 

None. I absolutely cannot eat when writing.
 
LOL! I don't have children in the house, so I write or work on the computer all day. I need food nearby or my blood sugar crashes. But with your stricter time limitations, I can see where you don't want to stop everything to snack. What fictional character do you wish you had created? 

Katniss
 
Don't we all have that wish, to write a great character? What author(s) do you look to as a role model and inspiration? 

All mom-authors who write in crazy hours and sporadic moments, like Stephenie Meyer.
 
And they are myriad. That's a nice tribute to them. What's the best writing advice you ever received? 

Write every day.

Yes. That's good advice. Now tell me about the Giveaway you have going on.

Since this is a blog tour, EVERY DAY I will randomly select one person who made a comment on that day's blog. The winner will then get to decide if they would like an ebook copy of Perilous or Altercation. That means I'm giving away 21 ebooks! And all you have to do is leave a comment! There's just one catch: there must be AT LEAST ten comments on that day for me to do the giveaway.

But if that's not enough, leaving a comment also gets you entered into the PRIZE DRAWINGS. This won't be random; it's cumulative. Every comment you leave counts as 1 point. If you are a follower on my blog, you get 1 point. Every time you tweet or share on Facebook about the tour, it's one point. I'll even add it up for you; just include me in on the tweet @tamaraheiner or on Facebook @tamarahartheiner (unless you don't trust my math, and then feel free to tally it up and send it to me).

THIRD PRIZE: 50-page critique of something of your choice (if you're not a writer, a $5 amazon.com gift card)
SECOND PRIZE: lot of five YA books
FIRST PRIZE: $20 gift card to Amazon.com

That's a generous Giveaway, Tamara. I'm glad I don't have to do the math. Is there anything else you want to add?

Yes, you can find out more about what I'm writing and catch deleted scenes from my books on my blog at http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com. My website is at http://tamarahartheiner.com. And of course, you may buy Altercation as a print book on Amazon at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Altercation-Tamara-Hart-Heiner/dp/1937178218
and for Kindle here: http://www.amazon.com/Altercation-YA-Suspense-ebook/dp/B0085AJQEI

Deleted scenes? I'm so there. Thank you for coming on so I could interview you, Tamara.

Thanks for doing it for the Tour.
~~~

Here are the other stops on Tamara's Blog Tour. Go check them out, but be sure to make a comment here TODAY to enter the GIVEAWAY!

June 1: Lydia Kang
June 4: Rashelle Workman
June 5: David West
June 6: Tristi Pinkston
June 7: Shannon O'Donnell
June 8: Kate Hart
June 11: Jennifer Shirk
June 12: Saumya
June 13: Justine Dell
June 14: Laurel Garver
June 15: Diana Miezcan
June 18: Elizabeth Mueller
June 19: Bonnie Harris
June 20: Nichole Giles
June 21: Marsha Ward
June 22: Jo Ramsey
June 25: Arlee Bird
June 26: Laura Bingham
June 27: Carrie Harris
June 28: Jenni James
June 29: Deborah Davis