CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Tania Westing from The Sixth Power

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

I’m Tania Westing from San Diego, California.  I just finished my senior year in high school, and I have a track scholarship to the University of Arizona in the fall.  I have long, black hair, brown eyes, and I’m tall.  I am interested in archaeology, sociology, and the history of the Native Americans, but ever since I learned about my Gift to heal, it seems to have taken over my life as a priority.  I may have to change my major in college.

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

What spare time?  My aunt drives me constantly to practice with the Gifts.  Actually, if I do get some free time, I enjoy reading fantasy and running.

What is your favorite color and why?

Definitely blue, the shade of Dan’s eyes!

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

I love pizza, especially my own creation of sausage, mushroom, and jalapeno pepper on a thin crust.  I love how the combination of spices, meat, tomato, and cheese flavors burst in my mouth, and I enjoy the crunchiness of the crust.

What would you say is your biggest quirk?

I enjoy teaching my dog, Peter, new tricks and watching the faces of my astonished friends as they try to figure out how I taught him that, or if he really is that intelligent.  I play it cool, but inside, I’m laughing.

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? 

I've come to despise Dan’s uncle, Ray Maclean, because there is no goodness left in him.  He’s made my life miserable from the first day we met.  But I also pity him, because I know why he turned out the way he did.  His boss, however, is so evil that I hate and fear him unconditionally.  He thinks nothing of killing and torturing innocent people in order to further his aims.  

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

I’d have to say, my boyfriend, Dan Maclean.  I’d do just about anything for him, and I know he’d do the same for me.  He’s saved my hide more than once.  But my dad and Dan’s sisters come in a close second.

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

Although my brother, Tom, died a few years ago, he still has this hold over me.  I loved him so much, and his death seemed like such a waste.  Everything that’s happened since then has to do with the problems he dumped on me.  It’s almost as if he’s still orchestrating things from the grave. 

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

I know I’m supposed to use my Gifts for good, especially my Gift of healing, but it’s so frustrating because I wasn't trained as a child for this responsibility, and now these bad guys are after me, and the people I care about are in danger, and sometimes I just want to scream.  I wonder if there will ever come a time when my life will settle down, and I can have some happiness and peace.   

Ask me any question. I've always wanted to know what a character thinks about writers like myself. I'll answer the question at the end of this interview.

Where do your characters come from?  Are they real to you?  Do you care about them and all the challenges they are going through?  Sorry, that’s three questions, but they’re all connected.

Thank you so much!

My characters come from my imagination as well as my heart. Sometimes they are bits and pieces of me or bits and pieces of who I wish to be. They are very real to me, and when I finish a book, it's hard for me to continue on without them. Perhaps that's why I enjoy a series so much. I want my characters to learn and grow and become better than they were at the first of the book, just as I hope to learn and grow and become a greater individual throughout my life.

Thanks for asking.

***

Learn more about Tania and The Sixth Power:

email carolcnicolas@gmail.com

web/blog http://carolnicolas.wordpress.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/carolnicolaswriter

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/carolcnicolas

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906036.Carol_Nicolas

Youtube Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCCu2Yo75rI

The Sixth Power is available

for Kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sixth-Power-ebook/dp/B00B4MHICQ

for Nook at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sixth-power-carol-nicolas/1114206559

for other eBook readers at:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277723

Friday Flicks: The Sixth Power by Carol Nicolas

See Carol's interview here.
Watch for her upcoming character interview on November 12, 2014.

Listen to the book trailer today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Carol Nicolas

Another great interview! Enjoy!

Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?  

I love to read.  Some of my biggest heroes are writers, so I've always wanted to someday emulate them.  I’d written poems and short stories most of my life, and as a teenager I wrote a romance novel, but it wasn't until my youngest son was in high school that I began to think seriously about writing books and getting published.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand?

I prefer to write on my laptop at my desk, because then I can play with the words and add things as they come to me.  But sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I have ideas for the story, and then I jot them down on paper so I don’t forget.   

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

My favorite part is writing the first draft, because everything is new and exciting.  It’s like reading a book for the first time, but it’s coming from my head to the computer screen.  It’s a blast.  My least favorite part is rewriting and editing, but I know it has to be done. 

How do you come up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?

Many times my ideas for books start out with a dream about the main characters in full color, detail, and action.  When I start to write the story, it’s as if I already know them.  I then make a file about the characters and start adding details about them to fully flesh them out.  But sometimes I’ll be writing, and a character suddenly pops into the scene fully formed and starts saying and doing things.  It’s really amazing.  I hope readers would like to get to know the characters because they are interesting, and they feel a connection to them.

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What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I write several times a week on my blog (http://carolnicolas.wordpress.com).  As well, I have a Facebook page, and I’m on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Goodreads.  I have done a couple of blog tours.  I also have attended several writers’ conferences.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

’m usually busy with family, household chores, and walking the dog in the morning and evening, so most of the time I end up writing in the afternoon.  However, if there’s not too much going on, I’ll try to write in the morning as well.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I have a new book called City of the Giants that is being edited right now and will be ready to publish soon.  It is a YA Urban Fantasy that takes place in an alternate reality Chicago.  A piece of a Giant city has fallen on top of part of Chicago, causing destruction and death.  In order to contain the radioactivity and the Giant rats, the government builds a huge wall around the entire area, dooming the people inside to eventual death.  But then a magician and a teenage girl join forces to find a way to get rid of the City of the Giants and bring freedom to their people.  I’m very excited about it. 

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

I am currently writing a YA Sci-Fi novel about a girl who finds out she is half alien.  When a message from deep space comes to Earth proclaiming that all aliens must vacate Earth, Mia is already having a hard time.  After all, her mother has just been murdered, and her grandparents want nothing to do with her.  Mia is forced to leave behind her friends, her crazy but beloved aunt, and her mercurial boyfriend.  Her long-lost father turns out to be a drunk who owns a ramshackle ship built out of space junk.  The pilot is young and handsome, but she is allergic to him. Things only get worse when she finds out that Earth is about to be destroyed by an armada of locust-like creatures, and the League of Humanoid Planets don’t think it is worth saving. 

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Keep on writing and creating!  It is only by writing that you become better.  Make sure you learn the rules of grammar, and read well-written books often to help and inspire you.  Prepare to spend many hours working on your craft.  Read books about how to write, take courses on writing, and go to writing conferences.  Above all, don’t give up.  The stories that you carry within you are unique, and you are the only one who can bring them forth.   

***

Thank you, Carol!

Contact/learn more about Carol at the links below:

email carolcnicolas@gmail.com

web/blog http://carolnicolas.wordpress.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/carolnicolaswriter

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/carolcnicolas

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906036.Carol_Nicolas

Youtube Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCCu2Yo75rI

The Sixth Power is available

for Kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sixth-Power-ebook/dp/B00B4MHICQ

for Nook at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sixth-power-carol-nicolas/1114206559

for other eBook readers at:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277723