Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Tammy Powell was born in North Carolina and relocated to Michigan when she was five years old. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Language Arts. She is currently working on her Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist. She works full time as an online educator teaching math and English. She creates and sells teaching products for other elementary teachers which she enjoys doing very much! For fun, she bowls on a league and reads every single day (otherwise she will go nuts!). Some of her favorite books include The Giver, The Handmaid’s Tale, Divergent, and Left Behind. She reads all different genres and enjoys young adult novels especially. When she’s not working or playing, she likes to spend time with her family including her husband of twenty years and her two children, one who is in college and one who is in middle school. When she’s home hanging out, she spends lots of time spoiling her dog, Coconut. Some day, she would like to travel to a warm, tropical island and do nothing but relax! For now, she is working on her second book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Cover of Night: A Behind the Scenes Novel
I have wanted to write a book for a long time, so the inspiration was always there, but time was not. I finally got to a point in my life where I felt like I could take the time to devote to a book so that is what I did.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I start with a chapter outline and write down what I think each chapter will be about. Once I have the main points listed, I just sit down and start writing. Sometimes, I forget details so I have found myself writing down specifics that I think I may need later on in the book.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read this book in college and absolutely loved it. I read my copy once every 6-8 months. Each time I read it, I discover something new about the story. I also love the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I read this book so many years ago and it is also a book that I read again and again just because I love it so much. Both of these books struck a cord with me, for very different reasons obviously, but I love them both. I am currently reading the Left Behind series and I really enjoying them.
What are you working on now?
I am working, part time, on my second Behind the Scenes Novel. I have two titles chosen for this book and am waiting for the book itself to choose the title once I have more written. It is a follow up to my first book, Cover of Night, and explores one of the characters from that story, Jack Pepper. He gets his own suspense story that involves a mysterious woman with whom he is very attracted to!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For promoting my books, I compile lists of websites and try to get my book on their promotion sites. I use facebook, goodreads, amazon, and word of mouth. Because I am new to this, I will confess that promoting my book tends to be the hardest part of being a new writer.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to write a book then you should go ahead and do it! You’ll never know what the experience is like unless you give it a go!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hmm…be kind to others because you never know what is happening in their life.
What are you reading now?
Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on completing my second book but other than that I have no idea what life has in store for me but I plan on going with the flow.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James
Any Nora Roberts book
Any Jonathan Kellerman book
Author Websites and Profiles
Tammy Powell Amazon Profile
Tammy Powell’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile