Meet Tessa Marie
Dauntless Indies Sit Down with Tessa Marie
DI - What books/authors have inspired your life most?
TM - I was never a big reader when I was
younger. I never really liked the books we had to read in school. But then I
discovered R.L. Stine and from there Hailey Abbott and Sarah Dessen. I still
remember reading my first Sarah Dessen book and thinking this is what I want to
write. I was lucky enough to meet Sarah last year at BEA and got to tell her
this in a total fan-girl (aka making a fool of myself) moment. I had just
arrived when I saw her and afterwards I looked at my Mom and said, my day is
made, we can leave now.
DI - What book(s) are you reading now?
TM - I’m so behind on my TBR list, but I
recently finished Wallbanger by Alice Clayton and loved it. I’m hoping to read in
the next couple of months Sarah Dessen’s The Moon and More, The Fault in Our
Stars (I think I’m the only person on the planet who hasn’t read it), Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, The Gathering by Kelley
Armstrong and Before You Break by Christina Lee. Also last year for the month
of October, I read a bunch of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and Fear Street books and
I plan on doing that again.
Top ten book couples
TM - I’m so excited I get to pick ten!!!
Brittany and Alex (Perfect Chemistry
Simone Elkeles)
Avery and Cam (Wait for You J. Lynn)
Macy and Wes (The Truth About
Forever Sarah Dessen)
Lucky and Tessa (Whisper Falls Toni
Blake)
Bianca and Lucas (Evernight series
Claudia Gray)
Chloe and Derek (Darkest Powers
series Kelley Armstrong)
Meg and John (Going Too Far Jennifer
Echols)
Amy and Avi (Ruined series Simone
Elkeles)
Anna and Étienne St. Clair. (Anna
and the French Kiss Stephanie Perkins)
Wesley and Kayla (Switched Cassie
Mae)
I‘m already at ten! I could
seriously keep going!
SC - How many books have you written? This can include both
published and unpublished works. Describe each of them in 1-2 sentences apiece
(if published, feel free to include the links as well).
TM - I’ve written 10 books (currently
working on several more), coauthored 3 and we’re currently working on the 4th.
My published works include:
(Never) Again (under my real name
Theresa Paolo) – (NA contemporary Romance) Just when Liz had finally moved
on…Zach moved back.
(Once) Again (under my real name Theresa
Paolo) - (NA contemporary Romance) Josh will have to reconcile his past…In
order to make Kat his future.
Home is Where You Are – (YA
contemporary Romance) Anna is on a one way street to Ivy League and Dean, a
homeless teenager, is just trying to survive. Slowly, Anna and Dean let each
other in, blending their two worlds, until a series of events has Dean
questioning if their worlds can ever really be one.
Co-Authored:
King Sized Beds and Happy Trails – (YA
contemporary Romance) When best friends, Ryan and Lexie, get jammed in the same
cabin, with one king-sized bed and a whole lot of history, Ryan fights to keep
his feelings hidden, while Lexie discovers some of hers.
Beach Side Beds and Sandy Paths (YA
contemporary Romance) –Ryan Parker never knew he had a half brother until he shows
up on his doorstep and Ryan is forced to bring him on his Spring Break vacation.
Lexie tries to mend the growing rift between the two brothers, while Ryan tries
to forget his brother even exists.
True Love and Magic Tricks – (YA contemporary Romance) Nate Hatfield needs an assistant
for his magic act in the schools talent show, and finds it as the perfect
opportunity to ask and talk to his crush, Kaylee Sperling, a social butterfly
with no real friends. But after a disappearing mishap, resulting in an accident
with one of Kaylee’s only friends, Mr. Pippi, Nate must figure out how not only
to keep his assistant, but someone who’s come to mean much more to him than his
illusions.
****
DI - What does writing preparation look like for you? Do you do
full outlines and character profiles, or do you just start with a general idea
and write?
TM - I’m mostly a pantser. I start with a
general idea and let my characters take me wherever they want to go. I’ve
outlined in the past, but I always wind up somewhere completely different by
the end.
DI - If you have been published (self or traditionally), what
type of marketing did you find worked the best for you? What was the least
helpful?
TM - When it comes to marketing, more
than anything you are marketing yourself. Right now, I try to be available to
my readers. If you message me, I message you back. If you mention me on
Twitter, I’ll always respond. I love talking about books, writing, Dawson’s
Creek and Vampire Diaries.
Also Takeovers are always great. It
gives me a chance to introduce myself and my books and I love to get
conversations going.
On release days I always have a
release party to celebrate. I share teasers and try to include as many
giveaways as I can.
And of course giveaways. Who doesn’t
love a giveaway? So really the methods that I find work the best are ones where
you can interact with readers.
DI - What genre do you write in? What are some of the challenges
to writing this particular genre well?
TM - I write mainly
contemporary romance. The biggest challenge is trying to bring something new to
the table. There are a lot of books out there that fall into this genre and
while they all have the romance in common it’s finding that little something
extra that will set your book apart from the rest.
DI - What advice would you give to a writer who is starting out?
TM - When I was starting out I would love to read about successful
writers. I was reading Alyson Noel’s Evermore series and went on her website.
She had a FAQ section and this was one of the questions. Her answer: BIC Butt
in Chair. I swear by this. In order to be successful as a writer you have to
write. So sit in that chair and write. Also it’s okay to write crap. We all do.
But don’t let it keep you from continuing. Sometimes you need to get the crap
out of the way so you can write something great. Also critique partners. Find
one that you connect with and then find more. It helps if they have different
strengths. I seriously couldn’t do it without my CP’s.
DI - Finally, is there anything else you would like your readers
to know?
TM - I love to chat! So please stop by my Facebook page or
Twitter and say hi!
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