Interview Tamia Dawn Osburn

by

Dorothy Bodoin

1) Congratulations on your May release, The Wizard. First, can you tell us about yourself?

 I live in a small town in California, after having moved a month ago. I write full time since I’m a stay-at-home mom. I guess you can say writing is my hobby, and I also love to read. I have three small dogs: Brownie, Gizzmo and Peaches, and four cats. They’re all males: Muffin, Romeo, Brother and Carl. My youngest son, David, named the cats and they belong to him but I’m the one who takes care of them. VBG.

2) Your one-line blurb makes me curious to know more about the plot. Could you summarize it in a paragraph?

Daemon went in search of answers in California. He’d been dreaming about a woman who resembled the Queen of Wiccan and was drawn to a small town. There he discovered the woman in his dreams, and she happened to be the sister of the queen. Megan had no idea that she had a sister, let alone that the man in her dreams would come true. Together they soared through the universe and found true love, among other things. VBEG.

3) The Wizard is a futuristic romance. Is this science-fiction with romantic elements, or a romance with futuristic elements--or an even balance of the two genres?

A little of both, since its modern time on Earth with space travelers.

4) Is it difficult to strike that balance?

Sometimes it’s difficult. You have to remember what time period you’re in to make that balance.

5) I noticed that you have six futuristic romances with Wings. Are they’re stand alones or part of a series?

For now, they’re all a part of the series. Coming soon will be a three-part series but not a part of my Wiccan/Alliance series. These are completely different location. The Guardian of Paradise and The Guardian of Her Heart aren’t part of this series; the second part is the sequel to the first book. Actually I’ve lost count on how many more I have coming out with Wings, but I do know that I’ll be with the company in 2008. VBG.

6) What sparked your interest in the futuristic romance genre?

Ever since reading Dara Joy, I got hooked. I got tired of waiting for new books to come out, and it was also a dare from a friend of mine to start writing my own books. So I did and look what happened.

7) Are there any special tricks you have to create a futuristic hero or heroine that the modern day reader can identify and sympathize with?

There are no special tricks at all, no matter the time period--modern, past or future--we all can identify with characters of any book.

8) How long have you been writing seriously for publication?

I’ve been writing seriously for about four years.

9) What was your first published work?

My first published work was The Guardian of Paradise. It’s still available with Wings.

10) Have you written in other genres?

As a matter of fact, I’ve written a book that’s going to be published with Titan Press that’s totally different. It’s set in the modern day and gives a behind-the-scenes look at paranormal investigators. I do plan on making it a series, but we’ll see how that goes. The title of this book is called Haunted Investigators. Just from the name alone, you know that it’s about ghost hunting.

11) Have you been influenced by past or present science-fiction writers?

Actually both. I was raised in sci-fi, and I love today’s sci-fi, so I’ve been influence by both.

12) Every story has problems for the heroine or hero to work through. Do you stay with basic problems like finding true love or defeating an enemy, or do you create specific problems for a future setting?

Each story is unique in its own way, and I try to create a story that everyone who reads can identify with. Sometimes I like to throw in a tragedy for the characters to deal with and to help them get through it together.

13) Where do these ideas come from?

Sometimes in the middle of the night when I’m sleeping or from a dream I’ve had. Other times I’ll be driving along when ideas start forming in my mind. I really hate it when ideas come right in the middle of doing something else.

14) Do you research your costumes and settings or rely solely on your imagination?

I rely solely on my imagination since no one really knows what kind of clothes we’ll have in the future.

15) Do you have a favorite character?

I don’t have one particular favorite character, I love them all.

16) Do you have a favorite scene from The Wizard or any other book?

My favorite scene is when Megan finds out that she’s on a space ship and that she has a sister who’s also the Queen of a planet.

17) If you could cast present day actors in roles for a screen version of The Wizard, who would you like to play the part of the hero? The heroine?

The hero would be played by Dean Cain. The Heroine will be played by Sandra Bullock.

18) Do you change phrases to reflect times--as in Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book in which live-in’s were mentioned more often than husbands or wives?

I haven’t read this book, but it does sound interesting, so I can’t say.

19) What is the most challenging or exciting aspect of writing a futuristic romance?

Writing futuristic is both challenging and exciting for me. You don’t want other worlds you’re trying to create to sound too much like Earth, yet you want them to sound exciting and exotic and totally different from Earth. You also want to make the reader believe that there are other worlds out there besides Earth so it can be a challenge when you really don’t know what’s out there.

20) How long did it take to write The Wizard, including a planning period, and did you work with an outline?

Actually when I wrote The Warlock, which is the first book, I wasn’t planning to make it a series; it sort of happened. It took me a month to write The Wizard. There was no outline, it sort of wrote itself.

21) What is your next book?

I believe the next book in line for this series is--LOL, I forgot--I have to find out which book is next. Only With You, I think. As for the upcoming release, it will be Her Imprisoned Heart, then The Prisoner of Her Heart.

22) How do you plan to promote The Wizard?

Right now, I’ve been posting excerpts in the groups I’m in on-line. I was planning on having a contest on my website, but something happened with another publisher I’m with… Needless to say we sort of had a falling out, and they reverted the rights to those two books back to me.

23) Do you have a favorite author?

I have way too many favorite authors to list.

24) Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

There’s not much else to say except that I’m a private person and can be quiet at times. I have three children who really make my day, every day. If they’re not driving me up the wall. LOL.