Check out my fiction - http://www.jaletac.com
Check out my science fiction series - The Fall of the Altairan Empire

Monday, March 19, 2012

Author Interview - Teresa Fendley

Please welcome Teresa Fendley to the Far Edge of Normal. T.W. Fendley writes historical fantasy and science fiction with a Mesoamerican twist for adults and young adults. Her debut historical fantasy novel, ZERO TIME, was voted Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel in the 2011 P&E Readers Poll. Her short stories took second place in the 2011 Writers' Digest Horror Competition and won the 9th NASFiC 2007 contest. Teresa belongs to the St. Louis Writer's Guild, the Missouri Writers' Guild, SCBWI and Broad Universe.

How can we find you?
My author’s website: www.twfendley.com
My blog: www.thewriterslens.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/twfendley
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TW-Fendley/129072687185040

Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up? I write stories that don’t fit into neat categories, which makes marketing…ahem…“interesting.” But that’s just how my brain works. As far as favorites, my first published story is pretty special to me. “Solar Lullaby” is a sci-fi tale about solar flares -- a timely topic these days. And naturally, I’m quite fond of my debut historical fantasy novel, ZERO TIME. Currently, I’m writing the sequel, WHITE HERON, which tells the master shaman’s story. I’m also looking for an agent/publisher for my contemporary YA fantasy set in Peru called THE LABYRINTH OF TIME.
 
What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?
I love to read, so whenever I get some quiet time, I curl up with a good book. My husband and I also like movies. We generally stay away from murder and mayhem, except for the likes of Sherlock Holmes. We also enjoy Castle, mainly because of Nathan Fillion (loved him in Firefly!), and I could watch Big Bang every night (and often do).
I also have a passion for remote viewing, defined as “the gathering of information, operating within a pre-specified protocol, from distant targets using intuition rather than the intellect or the usual five senses.” I host a blog on Associative Remote Viewing at www.arv4fun.com. We have a lot of “precognitive” fun while trying to expand our consciousness!
 
What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?
Generally I don’t play music, but when I do, it’s usually something New Agey with Andean flutes or native drums. Or I play Hemi-Sync CDs engineered to improve concentration.
 
"All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet? Sadly, our only pets these days are tropical fish—not very cuddly. But I do keep company with giraffes….

What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?
I really enjoy Broad Universe. It’s a great group of women who are serious about writing and who have fun, too. They’re helping me learn how to do podcasts, which I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I also recommend Goodreads, Library Thing and Authors’ Den, which are communities of writers and readers. Locally, I’m active in the St. Louis Writer’s Guild, and met some of my critique partners there. I met another one at the local sci-fi convention a few years ago. That’s my key bit of advice—find some people you trust to read your work. Good critique partners are worth their weight in chocolate!
 
What writers inspired you to become an author?
My list is a long one and it seems like I always leave someone off that I want to go back and add. The authors who come to mind right now are Jules Verne, Michael Crichton, Diana Gabaldon, Jonathan Carroll, Tim Powers, Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey, Mary Stewart, Mary Renault, Jean Auel and Isaac Asimov.
 
Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?
Writer’s Digest will promote my short story, “Origin of the Species,” in its May/June issue! It took second place in their 2011 Horror Competition.




Congratulations! Good luck with the book tour and your launch. Thanks for stopping by.

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The ZERO TIME 2012 Virtual Book Tour Party is here!

To celebrate, T.W. Fendley is giving away a Maya-Aztec astrology report, a Mayan Winds CD, ZERO TIME tote bag and fun 13.0.0.0.0. buttons. Check out the prizes and other posts on the Party Page.

3 ways to enter  (multiple entries are great!)

1) Leave a comment here or on any of the other PARTY POSTS listed on the Party Page.

2) Tweet about the Virtual Party or any of the PARTY POSTS (with tag #ZEROTIME2012)
Example: Join the Virtual Party for historical #fantasy novel ZERO TIME by @twfendley for a chance to win prizes! #ZEROTIME2012 http://bit.ly/x91NgP

3) Facebook (tag @T.W. Fendley) about the Virtual Party. (NOTE: tag must have periods to work)
Example: Join the Virtual Party for historical fantasy novel ZERO TIME by @T.W. Fendley for a chance to win prizes! http://twfendley.com/?page_id=510

5 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for a fun interview, Jaleta, and for being a Party Host!

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  2. Congrats to TW on a great release. I'll have to mark this one.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and joining the ZERO TIME party! I appreciate your interest.

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  3. Such interesting questions and answers. Needless to say, I enjoyed the interview. No cats for me either. But we did babysit our daughter-in-law's cat several times. I prefer the grandchildren!

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  4. Thanks,Jacquie -- I know what you mean. Grandkids are the best. I don't get much writing done when they're around, but that's okay!

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Keep it clean, keep it nice.