Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing when my job at the BBC came to an end and an academic I knew suggested that I should enrol for a PhD. I didn’t take him seriously, but with hindsight I’m very grateful to him. Trying to puzzle out a complete stranger’s life suits me – this is what I did for my PhD. With the help of arhival material I put together an Estonian diplomat’s biography. So that was my first book (The Last Ambassador: August Torma, Soldier, Diplomat, Spy).
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the biography of a British intelligence officer, Brian Giffey (Portrait of a Secret Agent). He knew the diplomat I had been working on and it all seemed intriguing. At first I had very little material but then I traced a living relative of his wife’s who had his papers. This meant travelling to Sweden, but it set the ball rolling – all a big mystery because so much of the intelligence world is secret.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write best when I am at home, in my living room, with my husband across the room working on his writing. He writes about Mongolian politics. Occasional eye contact somehow helps.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been much impressed by Lionel Davidson – he has this magnificent geographical sweep while writing adventure stories. I am delighted to see that his “Kolymsky Heights” is back in print. I also very much admire Richard Flanagan’s “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” – he can almost freeze time.
What are you working on now?
I have nearly completed my manuscript on an Estonian who in a way betrayed his nation and became a Soviet intelligence officer – another biography. The fascinating thing is that the 1917 October revolution in Russia affected Estonia greatly – the nation split into nationalists and communists well before independence was gained the following year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Publishing is a restless world and I am learning all the time. I have had to learn. I have a website and social media accounts, but greatest enjoyment has come from the talks that I have given, mostly in libraries, particularly when people have questions.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Spare some thought to marketing while you are writing. The earlier you identify your target audience, the easier it will be to promote your book. You can devise your marketing strategy well ahead of publication.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Spend time on editing and proofreading and choose the title of your book carefully.
What are you reading now?
“The First Circle” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It has got me gripped from the start – something I didn’t expect.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to write a good thriller. Something international but involving Estonia where I was born. If it is successful, it would help put Estonia on the map.
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?
I guess it would be something fat, like “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy that I could read again and again (is it in two volumes?). It would not matter that another book would be thin: “The Cat” by Georges Simenon – such an excellent study of a relationship. And the third would be a collection of short stories by Somerset Maugham, just to dip in and marvel.
Author Websites and Profiles
Tina Tamman Website
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