Tanya, its an honor to have you at Pen to Paper.  I have read some your books and I must say they are among the best I have ever read.  So, let’s get started so I can pick your brain.

 

 

Tell us something about you and your books

 

 I seem drawn to the Old West, so I guess you could say that’s the “brand” I want for myself. I’m also interested in trying a romance about Ollokott, the brother of the great  Nez Perce chief Joseph, and his wife Cloudburst. Of course, the Nez Perce did not have a HEA, but it sounds like they were happy while it lasted.

 

Are there any new authors who have grasped your attention?

 

I totally love Western authors. The “fillies” at Petticoats and Pistols have each written favorites of mine. I also like Linda Lael Miller and Diana Palmer. And just about any book with a cowboy in it.

 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

 

Keep at it! Join your local chapter of RWA. Submit! It won’t happen unless you get your work out there. And if you get rejected, well, we all do. And it isn’t fatal LOL.

 

What’s your latest book about?

 

Marrying Mattie will be released some time mid 2010. It’s a follow-up to my current release (which has been a top seller at the Wild Rose Press since its release in June.), Marrying Minda, and concerns Minda’s sister Mattie and a handsome horse doctor. Their initial romance can be read in a free short story, His Christmas Angel, available at The Wild Rose Press. The novel concerns the bad guy who breaks up their wedding…and an epidemic that threatens the hero’s future as a horse doctor.

 

 

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

 

 This is a hard one to pinpoint. My current and next books take place in Nebraska (there is a third book planned) so sometimes I get local color and family lore from a close friend who was born near my fictional little town of Paradise. Her mom is 91 and loves to help me with details. A wip however, is set in Arizona, and I got the idea simply from visiting Cathedral Rock in Sedona.  The story, Outlaw Bride, finalled in last summer’s Romance Through the Ages Contest at the RWA online chapter, Hearts through History, and spins off an outlaw girl from the outlaw gang in Marrying Minda. So I think I have a lot of stories about that gang in my head.

 

What promotional ideas can you give to other beginning authors?

 

First of all, google the pen name you want to use. There is a porn star with my name which I didn’t know beforehand.  You need a website, so contract your domain name even before you publish. You can feature excerpts of your work and contests you have won. Also blogs are generally free. I don’t get to my blogspot as much as I’d like, but I do find I get “hits” so it does help.  I also think it’s good to enter some of the more prestigious contests out there.

 

Are there any thing you would like to say to other aspiring writers?

 

Never give up!

 

As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?

 

I think I always wanted to be a teacher. I loved school and my mom went back to teaching when I was about ten. So it never felt like I had a “working mom.” And I never felt like one when my kids were little. We had all the same days and vacations off together.  That said, I knew I would always be a writer, ever since the day I was about  eight years old and read Little Women. It’s always and forever my favorite book.  I was able to visit Louisa May Alcott’s grave and home, Orchard House, in Concord. Massachusetts not long ago for me, it was quite a sacred journey.

 

As a writer and published author how do you feel about e-publishing

 

I’m all for e-publishing. My book Midnight Bride is solely available in e-form, and it’s probably my favorite book so far. But I do like having a book to hold in my hands; I don’t deny that. So I am fortunate that The Wild Rose Press, my current publisher, offers both formats.

 

Please give us a list of all of your books currently available.

 

The Outlaw’s Woman is no longer in print but can be found on Amazon.

 

Midnight Bride—Cobblestone Press. I loved working for Cobblestone but the editor in chief informed me earlier this year that they are no longer acquiring sensual historicals, but rather erotic ones. I was thrilled, however, with the good things they said about my work, and their regrets at our parting of the ways. But I am very comfortable at The Wild Rose Press, and hope to submit inspirational Western romance, both contemp and historical, to their White Rose inspirational line. .   

 

Marrying Minda is available at The Wild Rose Press, and Marrying Mattie will be released in 2010.

 

How long does it take you to do research on the books you write?

 

Depends. Seems I am double checking things even in the edits stage after a sale.

 

 

What inspired you to become a writer?

 

Louisa May Alcott

 

How did you go about getting published?

 

I entered a contest, and the editor wanted the whole thing.

 

What is your novel “Marrying Minda” about?

 

Mail order bride leaves home and finds herself married to the wrong man! And he’s a hottie Texas cowboy who can’t wait to get back to the cattle trails, even as he falls in love with her.

 

Where do you do most of your writing?

 

I have a writing room but we are converting it into a guest room soon, so I will make some kind of new lair downstairs. Which is okay. I get easily bored with things.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about your writing?

 

I just love to write.

 

Thank you, Melinda. I can be reached at www.tanyahanson.com or http://www.tanyahanson.blogspot.com   I totally appreciate you featuring me and my books.

 

Your welcome, Tanya.  It has been a pleasure and I hope to have you back here soon.

 

Walk in peace and harmony,

 

Melinda