Tamara McKinley is author of Matilda's Last Waltz,
Summer Lightning, Jacaranda Vines, Undercurrents, Dreamscapes,
Windflowers and the Oceanna Trilogy. Her latest book is The Ocean Child, available from Amazon.
Read her blog on tamaramckindley.blogspot.com.
Tamara is also writing as Ellie Dean and her latest title is Always in My Heart, which is part 5 of the Beach View Boarding House series.
1/ What first
attracted you to writing?
I’ve always loved reading, and really enjoyed making up
stories as a child. My family had a very interesting background, and I always
knew that one day I would write it all down
2/ How did you
come to write your first book?
I was forty, my children were leaving or had left home, and
I was going through a nasty divorce and had bailiffs banging on the front door.
To stay sane I began to write my family story. It took two years, but by the
end of it, I realised that writing was something I could do as well as enjoy.
It was then that I started to write fiction novels.
3/ What is the
best thing about being an author?
Being able to disappear into an imaginary world where I can
be in charge of what happens!
4/ And what’s the
worst?
Trying to write and have a life at the same time. Writing
demands absolute commitment, and is ultimately a consuming and rather selfish
occupation. Family, friends and loved ones need to understand this – and I’m
lucky, because they are very supportive.
5/ Which is your
favourite book?
I have just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak,
and the language of the prose and the sheer brilliance of it is quite haunting.
6/ What do writers
groups offer.
Writers’ groups are brilliant for the beginner. Writing is a
solitary occupation and one can get far too close to one’s work and it’s
invigorating and helpful to have someone else’s point of view. Anderida Writers
and Tunbridge Wells Writers’ groups were a huge help to me, and now I am
published and successful, I can give something back to groups with talks and
workshops, and am presently the patron of the Hastings Writers’ Group, which
has a huge well of talent that needs direction.
7/ Tell us about
your work experience.
I wrote six novels before I got a two book deal with Hodder
& Stoughton with my psychological thrillers, Reap the Whirlwind and Queen’s
Flight. The next two thrillers were rejected, so I returned to writing
mulit-generational family sagas, and Matilda’s Last Waltz became a world-wide
bestseller. Piatkus UK (now part of Little Brown) took Matilda and the next
five titles, Jacaranda Vines, Summer Lightning, Windflowers, Dreamscapes, and
Undercurrents. My next project – a trilogy following three families’ fortunes
against the backdrop of Australia’s history from 60,000 years ago to 1917 was
rejected by Piatkus, but taken up by Hodder & Staughton. Lands Beyond the
Sea, A Kingdom for the Brave, and Legacy have sold all over the world and been
shortlisted for several literary prizes. Hodder then rejected my next book, and
now I am with Quercus, who have recently released all six back catalogue titles
(not including the trilogy) s e-books as well as releasing The Ocean Child as
both paperback and e-book. Firestorm and Morning Glory are also to soon be
released. In the meantime, I am now writing as Ellie Dean. The Beach View
Boarding House series is set on the south coast during WW2, and follows the
trials and tribulations of the family who own the boarding house – as well as
those billeted there. There’ll be Blue Skies, Far From Home, Keep Smiling
Through, Where the Heart Lies and Always in My Heart have consistently been in
the best-selling charts. All My Tomorrows is due for release in March, 2014,
and I am presently writing Reaching for the Stars, which will come out in
August, 2014. There will be at least one more title to add to the series.
8/ Have you ever
had an embarrassing moment?
I’ve had plenty of embarrassing moments – the latest was
introducing someone to the wrong editor. She wasn’t happy!
9/ What do writers
need most?
Writers need tough skins and an ability to accept criticism
and rejection. They need an unfailing faith in what they can do – and the
tenacity to keep on doing it regardless. They need time and space and silence
to be creative – but above all they must be able to tell a story that will hook
the reader..
10/ What are you
reading at the moment?
I’ve just started Reginald Hill’s A cure for all Diseases –
finding it a bit tough going, but know it’ll be worth it in the end.
11/ Which author
do you admire most?
I admire every single author because I know how hard it is
these days to get published and to build a readership. My favourite authors are
Penny Vincenzie, Lesley Pearse, Judy Nunn, Peter James and Leon Uris.
12/ What did you
want to be when you were twelve?
I probably wanted to be a dancer, singer or actress. I
always had aspirations for the theatre – or something dramatic.
13/ What is your
proudest achievement?
Having my three children – surviving divorce and bankruptcy
– and getting published. I’ve achieved far more than I’d ever dreamed through
my writing, and was honoured with an invitation to Buckingham Palace to attend
a small reception with Her Majesty and Prince Philip – my proudest day – and
all because I am an author.
14/ What would you
like to see happen in the future?
I’d like to be number one in the English best-selling list,
either as Tamara McKinley or Ellie Dean. I’ve achieved that in at least
eighteen countries, but it is the UK that matters.
15/ What are your
fondest memories?
Of my childhood in Tasmania – and my return there forty
years later.
See answer to no. 11
17/ Tell us about
your hobbies away from writing.
I don’t have much time for hobbies, writing is all
consuming. I like to dance, to socialize and catch up with my
friends and family. I love to travel, take photographs, paint and
garden
18/ Where do you
hope to be when you’re 70?
Still alive! Perhaps retired – but then I might get bored.
19/ How would you
approach writing a feature on a dream holiday?
I’d go on the holiday and record everything, the scents,
sights, sounds and atmosphere – then write it and send it to the appropriate
magazines. I don’t really do articles or short stories – they aren’t my
strength.
20/ What would be
the one piece of advice you would give to a writer?
Never give up
