Interview with Tamara Berry

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?

Tamara Berry 

My newest mystery release is Potions Are For Pushovers, the second in my Eleanor Wilde series. (The first is titled Séances Are For Suckers.) As a cozy mystery author, those are the only two books I’ve published so far. As a romance author under a different penname, I’ve published 19 additional novels. 

For a review of Potions are for Pushover, click here.

What was the most recent book you read?
I recently joined a romance book club in my area, so I’m deep in The Bromance Book Club right now for that. I also listen to audiobooks while I do household chores or run errands, and am listening to Elizabeth Peter’s Crocodile on the Sandbank for what is probably the tenth time. It makes such a good re-read!

How did you develop your character and choose your location?
Eleanor Wilde is the culmination of everything I love in a female character: she’s smart and sharp and has tendency to run afoul of the law, but in such an endearing way that you can’t fault her for it. The location, a quaint town in England, was chosen because I adore quaint towns in England. If I can’t live in one in real life, then living in one through my characters is the next best thing.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? 
I tend to do my research as I go rather than before I start writing. I know lots of authors find this distracting, but I like how it breaks up the writing process. I go into the story with a vague idea of what I want to do, and then let the story unfold by itself. The result is that sometimes I don’t see the twist coming until it happens!

What books did you read as a child?

I was a historical fiction/romance fanatic, although I didn’t know it at the time. The Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Catherine Called Birdie…if it had a female center, lots of historical ambiance, and a love story, I was all in. I also read a lot of Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, and Christopher Pike. 

What drew you to writing? 

Like most avid readers, I dabbled in short stories and always imagined myself writing a book someday, but the hardest part was sitting down and actually doing it. One November back in 2008, I was recovering from an emergency surgery that required quite a bit of bedrest, so I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo to pass the time. I wrote a book in like 20 days. The book is terrible, and it will never see the light of day, but it taught me that I could see a project through to the end.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Enjoy the process! Celebrate every small success! You are amazing!

I love my job, of course, and seeing my books in a bookstore never gets old, but it can be difficult to remember why I started doing all this in the first place. My daughter, who is 14, just finished her first NaNo project, and I’ve done my best to tell her all the things I wish I could tell my younger self. Her enthusiasm and joy has been really good for us both.

Who is your favorite author?

I adore Georgette Heyer – both her mysteries and her romances, which is why I also write in both genres. She is one of the best authors when it comes to creating lively, well-rounded, memorable characters.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?

I’m an introvert to the umpteenth degree, so the idea of having a dinner party with five people I admire fills me with dread. I’d invite someone like Oscar Wilde so he could do most of the talking, and then fill the rest of the table with quiet, kind souls who could be anxious in the background with me.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?

This is such a hard question! I can’t think of anything I’d like to do even half as much, so it would have to be a complete departure. Something like a park ranger or a forensic pathologist.