AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]: Tessa Adams

Today I have Tessa Adams here with us, discussing what it’s like writing under different pseudonyms. Please welcome Ms. Adams to The Book Vixen!

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First off, I want to thank Brianna for having me. I love this blog and I’m really excited to be here :)

You know, one of the questions I get asked most about being a romance novelist is what is it like to write so many different types of books? You see, I’m not just Tessa Adams, writer of paranormal romance. I am also Tracy Wolff, writer of erotic suspense and contemporary romance, Tracy Deebs, writer of paranormal and dystopian/near future young adult romance and Ivy Adams, writer of YA contemporary romance with two of my good friends. Which means I’m really blessed and really busy writing all these books, but which also means I very often feel a little nuts. After all, I rarely get to write two of the same types of books in a row. Instead, I jump from 3rd person to 1st person, from contemporary to paranormal to dark suspense. It’s a lot of fun and I never get bored, but at the same time, it does take some adjustment.

One of the hardest things about writing so many different types of books for different kinds of readers is staying true to my characters’ voices. For example, Hidden Embers, my April book, is the second book in my Dragon’s Heat series, a dark paranormal dragon shifter series. It features my very dark hero, Quinn, and my kick-ass heroine Jasmine, as they battle a deadly virus that is ravaging Quinn’s clan. There’s lots of steamy sex and violent battles in this novel, along with some really deep emotional scenes. I enjoyed writing it a lot, but I went from writing this book to writing Tempest Rising, my YA debut.

Tempest Rising is a coming of age story, written in first person, about a California surfer who is facing a major decision with the advent of her 17th birthday: to remain human like her father or become mermaid like her mother. This book, too, is filled with shifters and dark paranormal stuff, but trying to get Tempest’s voice right after years and years of writing third person adults, was difficult. Fun, exciting, and always entertaining, but definitely difficult.

The other thing I find challenging about writing so many genres and under so many names, is publicity. It’s hard to keep websites and blogs and social network accounts straight. It’s hard to find the time (and the money) to target two very different audiences. Sure, there’s overlap between them—from my romance readers down to my YA (or at least I hope there will be) but not so much from my teen readers over to my sexy romances (or at least, I hope not, LOL). Plus, sometimes they all come together—like this spring, when I have three books out from three of my names (Hidden Embers by Tessa Adams, April 5, Deserving of Luke by Tracy Wolff, April 12, Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs, May 10).

And the other problem I have is a really mundane one, but one that has cost me a fortune in unusable books nonetheless—and that is remembering which name I’m supposed to be signing. :) I can’ t tell you how many books I’ve had to slip under the table to purchase later because I signed Tracy Wolff instead of Tessa Adams, or the other way around.

At the same time, difficulties or not, confusion or not, I wouldn’t trade my varied career for the world. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I knew what it meant to put letters together to form words, which means I have about thirty years of ideas stored up in my head, knocking for a chance to have their turn. Writing seven different types of books ensures that all of these stories, and all of their characters, will eventually get a turn.

But if I had to pick a favorite of the genres, I’d have to say it’s definitely paranormal. Whether I’m writing paranormal YA, erotica or urban fantasy, there’s just something about losing myself in a world of my own creation that makes me happy. Plus, the dark, devastated heroes I love to write kind of lend themselves to the fantasy/paranormal sub-genre. How about you?

What kind of books do you like to read? Paranormal, contemporary, romantic suspense, historical? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Dark Embers, book one in the Dragon’s Heat series and Unguarded, my December Superromance. Have a great rest of the week!

 

Thanks for stopping by Tessa Adams! Very interesting post! I think it’s worth mentioning that Tessa Adams will be attending the RT Booklovers’ Convention in Los Angeles April 6-10, 2011.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

And for all of those who want the unedited version:
Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

Find the author online: website | blog

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ABOUT THE BOOKS

Hidden Embers (Dragon’s Heat, #2) by Tessa Adams

Dive into the latest Dragon's Heat novel.

In the New Mexico desert there is a secret race on the brink of extinction-the pure-blood shapeshifters of the Dragonstar clan. Their last hope for survival lies in the hands of Quinn Maguire, the desperate clan healer lost in love with a human female.

 

 

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

Deserving of Luke by Tracy Wolff

Stepping into her Oregon hometown, Paige Matthews remembers why she left. Being the subject of the local rumor mill should be old hat to her. Maybe the reason she's a little touchier this time around is her son. One look at him and there's no doubt Logan Powell is his father. With the past between her and Logan, the gossips have a field day with that.

The grown-up Logan is very appealing, but is he parent material? Paige's top priority is giving her son the family he deserves. Can she and Logan do that? Can they overlook their differences? The attraction simmering between them suggests they might be partway there…

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GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Thanks to Tessa Adams, one lucky winner will receive a print copy of Dark Embers (book one in the Dragon’s Heat series) and a print copy of Unguarded (her December Supperomance)!!

• Giveaway open to US and Canada residents.
• You must answer Tessa Adams’ question (put your answer in the comments) AND fill out the form below in order to enter the giveaway.
• Please read the Contest/Giveaway Policy for complete list of rules.
• You have until midnight (your time) on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 to enter.

Good luck to all who enter!