An interview with Camy Tang and a Giveaway!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance. This week, I am so thrilled to introduce you to Camy Tang. I have been interacting with Camy online for some time now and have absolutely fallen in love with her. I was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed on my blog. I am so interested in her story behind how she set the scene and wrote some scenes for her new release. Read below to see how she was inspired. I hope you enjoy her interview as much as I did — and make sure you enter her giveaway!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.  I write Christian romantic suspense and contemporary romance as Camy Tang, and I write Regency romance as Camille Elliot. I grew up in Hawaii but now live in northern California with my engineer husband and rambunctious dog. I’m a staff worker for my church youth group and lead one of my church’s Sunday worship teams. I also love to knit, spin wool into yarn, and I’m training to (very slowly) run a marathon.

Tell us about your current release.  Prelude for a Lord is my debut Regency romance! I’m terribly excited about it since I’ve been reading Regencies since I was 13 years old, but this is the first time I’ve written one. Basically, I wrote it on a dare–my editor at Zondervan at the time, Sue Brower, loves Regencies as much as I do and we always talk about the latest Regencies we’ve read. And when it came time for the 3rd book in my contract, she dared me to write a Regency. So I did.

camywebcopyBook One in the Gentlemen Quartet series
An awkward young woman. A haunted young man. A forbidden instrument. Can the love of music bring them together . . . or will it tear them apart?
Bath, England—1810

At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.

In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.

But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.

Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.

Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . .

If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it?
Definitely. A couple years ago, I had a wonderful, awesome and awe-full experience with the Holy Spirit where God really spoke to me about a new direction in my writing. He gave me a very clear image of the person He wanted me to write for–someone who needs to know that Jesus loves them deeply and that they are not alone. So from that moment, I started writing my books with this specific reader in mind. I know God will put my books in the hands of people He wants to touch.

PreludeForALord lowresWith all those characters in your head screaming to get out how do you write fast enough to get it all down?  Copious amounts of snacks from my Snack Closet. (Yes, I have a snack closet!). I’m also trying, with each book, to be more efficient in my writing so that I can write more books a year. I’m aiming to try to write 4-6 books a year. A really good book on writing efficiency is 2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron.

How did you determine whether to self-publish or seek a traditional publisher?  I do both, so I’m what’s called a “hybrid” author. I love my traditional publishers, but since I have so many more books in me, I’ve been doing some indie publishing in addition. I self-published two romantic suspense novellas, and I’m working on a new Regency romance series that I’m going to self-publish. I’ll also finish my Gentlemen Quartet series (Prelude for a Lord was book 1). Hopefully Zondervan will contract the other 3 books in the series, but if they opt not to, I’ll self-publish them.

Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write?  I’m a very anal plotter, so I have everything plotted out before I write. Seriously, I’m so detailed in my plotting that it makes most of my writer friends have hives.  I use Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method and Snowflake Pro software to plot my books, and I use 45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt as a jumping off point for my character development.

Do you have pre-determined length in mind when you first begin a book?  Usually, yes, because then I can control how complex the plot is going to be. If it’s going to be a long book, then I can have a really complex plot with lots of subthreads.

Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you started this story?  Actually, this story idea was one I’d been kicking around for years. I had a very vivid scene in my mind where the hero and heroine, both musicians, played together for the first time. They were each amazed at each other’s abilities and it gave them a different perspective on the other. I knew the story had a recluse lord and a (slightly) older than normal Regency heroine (many Regency heroines of the genre tend to be 17-21, and mine is 28).

I went to England for my 40th birthday celebration in lieu of a birthday party, and I was standing in the middle of the gardens at Newstead Abbey, the home of Lord Byron, when the rest of the story for Prelude for a Lord hit me. I walked through the gardens and saw different scenes played out in different places, and I suddenly knew that this would be what my hero’s home would be modeled after. I went home and wrote the book.

You Can find Camy at her Blog  and on Facebook

 

Camy is giving a print copy of Prelude for a Lord!  Enter the giveaway here:

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Camy’s Blog

Find Camy’s new book at Amazon:

Camy is giving away a copy of Prelude for a Lord! Enter here:
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6 comments

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    • Amy Smith on October 16, 2014 at 12:13
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    I look forward to reading Prelude for a Lord! I love period romances and this one definitely seems to have a fresh plot idea that I haven’t seen before. Thank you, Hallee, for introducing Camy and her new novel to your readers!

  1. Heard great things about this book! Entering and sharing!

  2. Camy, what a wonderful post! This is so true, for any of us who write – “I know God will put my books in the hands of people He wants to touch.” Thank you!

    The story sounds exactly the type of Regency I’d enjoy.
    Autumn Macarthur recently posted…The Labyrinth or the Maze- a guest blog today on Paula Vince’s blogMy Profile

  3. Thanks so much guys! I hope you enjoy the book!

    Hallee, thanks for a fun interview!

    • Janka H. on October 20, 2014 at 05:40
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    Lovely post! I Love Camy´s books and I am ready to love Camille´s work 🙂

  4. This gave me chills.
    Quote: “He gave me a very clear image of the person He wanted me to write for–someone who needs to know that Jesus loves them deeply and that they are not alone.”
    Beautiful. May God continue to bless you as you follow His call.
    Heather M recently posted…Gourmet Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches with Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Cream SauceMy Profile

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