Tessa Dare is an author of romance novels with interesting and unusual pairings. Luckily she had some time to answer several questions for Lazy Literature. (Photo: Copyright Raphael Maglonzo)
Thank you for participating in this interview.
You were working as a librarian. How many of your experiences there have been influencing your writing?
In general, my love of books has made me the person I am. I was a voracious reader from childhood, and I started working in libraries at the age of 15. At first, I was just shelving books, but eventually I earned my Master’s degree and become a full librarian. Librarianship is the perfect job for a curious person—I learned something new every day by helping people find answers to their questions. It also showed me how important access to books and information can be in people’s lives. And lastly, reading stories aloud to unimpressed children taught me how to keep readers interested!
People working in libraries or bookstores often have the funniest stories to tell. Is there on episode you love to retell and can remember that made you and your colleagues laugh?
The funniest (or worst) things always seemed to happen to my colleagues. I remember coworkers who’d found everything from a pie stuck between the pages of a book, to a dead body in the library. I was never so lucky, luckily.
Your novels are very unusual in their pairings. How do you know which hero needs which heroine?
I try to fit them together like puzzle pieces. Each hero should have some quality the heroine lacks, and vice versa. That way they complement each other and become more complete as they fall in love.
How much research do you have to do for your settings?
Oh, this is the best part. I’ve taken a few trips to England to research settings for my books, staying by the seaside and in “haunted” castles. However, the internet is also an invaluable resource for photos and videos from the modern era, and also paintings and books that describe the sites as they appeared a few hundred years ago.
Do you still have time to read and which are your favorite novels/comic books?
I never have as much time to read as I’d like (because I could easily fill the whole day with reading), but I do love to read romance of all kinds, the occasional historical fiction or mystery novel, and also nonfiction.
Are you very organized to get everything in line – your life and your storylines?
Oh, no. I am not a very organized person at all! Not in writing, and not in life. I wish I were, but I have come to accept that a certain amount of messiness is just part of my personality.
Do you have an author you admire and would like to meet?
I’m lucky in that I’ve been able to meet many of my writing idols at writing conferences and book signings. The romance community is so friendly. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Julie Garwood. Her books made me fall in love with historical romance, so she is at the top of the wish list.
Do you get fanmail from Germany?
Every once in a while. I would love to get more!
Do you want to tell your readers something else?
Just this: Thank you! Readers are the reason writers have jobs, so I am always grateful and honored when people take the time to sit down with one of my books.
Thank you very much!
