Welcome Tosca, can you share a little about your recent book –
Firstborn is the sequel to The Progeny—a story about the fictional descendants of the infamous “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory. It’s about a group of mostly young people living in hiding, having been hunted for centuries by a secret society committed to eradicating their bloodline. In particular, a 21-year-old American girl named Audra, who has chosen at the beginning of the book to electively erase the last two years of her memory in order to protect a powerful secret—one that she soon learns refuses to stay buried.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
It’s something I’ve just always done, even from a young age. I never really thought of it as a job per se, until I was talking about some of my favorite books with my father and how much they move the heart and can feel like a fabulous emotional roller coaster—and blurted out that I’d like to write one myself. And I’ve been writing ever since. Why I do it: to explore other lives and ideas I don’t get to encounter in my own life, and to take my readers on that same journey, whatever it may be.
How long have you been writing? And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract?
All my life, though I didn’t write my first novel until I was in college. That was 1989. I got my first book contract much later, in 2006.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Anywhere from years and years to as little as six weeks.
What’s your writing work schedule like?
If I’m not actively working on a project, I may not write at all. But when I’m working, it’s what I do all day with the exception of family or social obligations.
Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
I have to ritualistically clean out my desk, home, and computer files between each project. I think it makes me feel like I’ve put in order everything that got messy in the process of obsessively working on my latest project.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
My readers. I love the writing, too, but it’s the readers and the lives I have the privilege of touching and interacting that make it so rewarding.
What has been your darkest moment(s)?
Writing through tough life circumstances. A divorce, depression, anxiety. Those are very hard. Writing through publishing industry changes and upheaval at one’s publishing house is also very hard and disruptive to release schedules. That can be demoralizing.
Which of your books is your favorite?
Much as with my kids, I don’t have a favorite. J
Who is your favorite author to read?
I have a ton of author friends. Are you trying to get me killed?
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listened too?
Work on your next project while you’re trying to sell your first. It can be very hard to write your second book while doing all the release stuff for the first, especially as those first reviews come in. It can really do a number on your mind.
How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
Haha, so many times I can’t even count. Even from one of my favorite authors, Marion Zimmer Bradley, when she had a fantasy magazine back in the late 80s.
Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?
I’ve got a few favorites in every scene, though one of my favorites of all time is the freshly created Eve in the garden of Eden, running full-speed and reveling in her strength, freedom, and life… before it goes very wrong.
Where do you get your ideas?
Some while driving, sometimes from the news, and also sometimes from readers or editors.
What are common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?
Not reading enough. You have to read and study what works so well in other books. And you have to show, show, show and keep scenes very simple and clear. I also find that a lot of early novelists lose sight of tension in their chapters. You must have tension.
Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?
This is a hard question to answer so broadly, but I always say write what you love. Don’t try to predict the market or go where you think there’s money or a break. Just write what you love and can be great at.
What others are saying about Tosca Lee
“Superior storytelling.”
–Publishers Weekly
“One of the most gifted novelists writing today.”
–Steven James, bestselling author
Amazon http://amzn.to/2stQGLe
FIRSTBORN, the highly-anticipated sequel to THE PROGENY, is out now!
Tosca Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of THE PROGENY, ISCARIOT, THE LEGEND OF SHEBA, DEMON: A MEMOIR, HAVAH: THE STORY OF EVE, and the Books of Mortals series with New York Times bestseller Ted Dekker (FORBIDDEN, MORTAL, SOVEREIGN). A notorious night-owl, she loves watching TV, eating bacon, playing video games and football with her kids, and sending cheesy texts to her husband.
You can find Tosca at ToscaLee.com, on social media, or hanging around the snack table.
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Tosca, Thank you for all the great tips. I will put tension in my characters.
Thank you! It is refreshing to see someone who has been at writing for a while. I have only been writing for a little over three years. But I’ve had ideas for so long. I kept dragging my feet thinking I couldn’t do it, but one day I just started writing. And I have been ever since. Of course I have had my slow and dry times too. Thank you, Tosca, for all the things you said!