Friday, April 15, 2016

Talking Books with Tamara Lush, author of 'Tell Me a Story'



During the day, Tamara Lush writes news as a journalist with The Associated Press. At night, she writes fictional romance tales about complicated, sexy men and the women who love them.

When Tamara isn’t reporting, writing or reading, she’s doing yoga, cooking for her Italian husband or chasing her dogs on a beach on Florida's Gulf Coast. She loves connecting with people on social media.

Her latest book is the erotic romance, Tell Me a Story (Book 1 The Story Series).
For More Information

Can you tell us what your book is about?

Tell Me a Story is about a bookstore owner who also writes erotica. She attends a literary event in her city called Story Brothel, where people pay writers to read their work aloud. A mysterious and handsome man pays her to read a sexy story, and they embark on a relationship.

Can you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters?

Emma Price is the bookstore owner. She’s fought and struggled for what she wants – a successful business – and has surrounded herself with friends and writing and art. But her livelihood is
threatened when someone buys the building her bookstore is in.

Caleb King is the hero of the book. He’s a wealthy real estate developer and widower. He’s captivated by the lovely and quirky Emma, but doesn’t understand why she won’t trust him more.

Other characters include Emma’s best friend, Sarah, and Caleb’s sister, Laura. They are lesbians and also begin a relationship in Tell Me a Story (and will likely get their own novella at some point).

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

Totally from my imagination, although some of the characters have traits of people I’ve met in real life.

Are you consciously aware of the plot before you begin a novel or do you discover it as you write?

I plot and outline heavily before I begin writing, down to what will happen in each chapter. I don’t always follow the outline, but I usually do.

Your book is set in Orlando, Florida.  Can you tell us why you chose this city in particular?

I live in Florida and so far, most of my books are set here, too. Florida’s such an interesting place. I wanted to set Tell Me a Story in Orlando because to a large degree, this is a fairy tale. Emma grew up poor and meets her Prince Charming. Orlando is known for magic and fairy tales because of the theme parks.

Does the setting play a major part in the development of your story?

Yes. In all of my books, the Florida heat, the sun, the bright colors and the odd happenings here all play a role in my books in some way. I am in love with Florida and I want to reflect that in my work.

Open the book to page 69.  What is happening?

For the first time, Emma asks Caleb questions about his deceased wife, who died of cancer.

What would you do with an extra hour today if you could do anything you wanted?

I would probably exercise more. I seem to spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer!



 If we were to meet for lunch to talk books, where would we go?

If we were in my city of St. Petersburg, I would take you to The Canopy, which is a rooftop bar/lounge along the waterfront. We would have a beautiful vista of Tampa Bay, The St. Pete Yacht Club and a gorgeous green park. We’d have dragonberry mojitos and share a flatbread.

What do you like to do for fun?

I love going to the dog beach with my husband and our two small dogs.

What kind of advice would you give other fiction authors?

Read. And then read some more. Read in your genre but pay special attention to reading outside of your genre as well. Read the classics.

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