Author Interview + Giveaway - Tera Lynn Childs

It's a pleasure to introduce you to Tera Lynn Childs at Books for Company.

I just want to thank both Tera and Leo for letting me read Forgive My Fins and be part of this tour.

My review will be going up within the next 4 days of Forgive My Fins

Hi Tera! Thanks for joining us at Books for Company today, after reading your book Forgive My Fins l am really excited to do this interview. Please introduce yourself and your book, Forgive My Fins.

Hi, I’m Tera Lynn Childs and I write teen books about mythology and mermaids. Forgive My Fins is about a half-mermaid princess named Lily Sanderson who goes to high school on the mainland. She has a crush on the school swim star, but when she tries to confess her feelings the whole thing goes awry. She accidentally bestows her magical first kiss on the wrong boy.
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What made you choose to write about mermaids? Have you always been interested in them?
I have always loved mermaids. When I was very young I had these bath toys called Sea Wees, which were little mermaid dolls with floating sponge pads. Then I saw the movie Splash when I was in elementary school and fell forever in love with the idea of being or becoming or discovering I was secretly a mermaid.

How much did you have planned before you started this book? Did you know how it was going to end?

I’m really more of a seat of the pants writer. I start with the premise, figure out the main characters, and then just start writing. I’m notorious for having an ending in mind and then completely changing it when I get there. This time, though, I’m pretty sure the book ending stayed the same. Little details changed, but I always knew Lily was going to make those decisions.

I found Forgive My Fins a very funny and quirky book, is that something you aimed for or just happens when you write?

I like to think my books are funny and quirky because I’m funny and quirky. While that may or may not be true, I don’t specifically try to write a certain way. Sometimes, in the revision process, I try to tighten up the writing, give the character a stronger voice, layer in things like sea slang. But mostly, I write how I talk and I try not filter the words as they spill from my brain to the page.

The ending to Forgive My Fins makes for a very promising second book, do you know how many there are going to be in this series?

Um… at least two. I always hope for more and I definitely have other stories in mind for Lily, Quince, and the rest of the gang, but we’ll have to see how things go. Keep your fingers crossed.


Do you find the beginning, middle or end of the book the trickiest to write?

Definitely the middle. That’s always the hardest, most painful part. At the beginning, I’m still excited to be starting the story, figuring out the characters and how they’re going to react to the situation I’m putting them in. At the end, I’m excited to be finishing up, to be pulling all the threads of the story together to give my characters a (usually) happy ending. The middle is the hard labor and it takes a looming deadline and lots of caffeine to get me through.
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Forgive My Fins is a great title and really ‘jumped’ out at me. How did you choose the title?
I honestly don’t remember. When I got the very first kernel of the idea, on that beach way back in 2006, I came up with the title too. When I sent my agent the two sentence idea, I already had the title. It always felt perfect, and then as I wrote the story I became more and more fitting. I couldn’t be happier.

Random –

Ebooks or Paperback? Paperback

Library or Book Shop? Book Shop

Music or TV? TV

You have free plane transport for the day, where would you go? Buenos Aires

Night Owl or Early Bird? Night Owl
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-Giveaway-

Win a paperback copy of Forgive My Fins with thanks to Templar!!

Rules

UK Only 

(Sorry International people)

No requirements

Ends 8th July

How to enter

Leave a comment for Tera about the interview or her book with your email address.
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Come back tomorrow for another UK giveaway!!