Interview with Antonia Tirinth!

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing the talented Antonia Tirinth to my blog.


Sandra: Tell me a little about yourself. How long have you been writing?

Antonia: I’m a 30 year old lab tech for Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD who loves reading, writing and cats. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember but right after college I stopped writing. I got into a big slump but then I met Delilah K. Stephans and she got me back into it. She’s been a great help to me. We are writing buddies and she’s pushed the both of us to grow in our writing.

Sandra: How do you balance the job and writing?

Antonia: It can be a little difficult finding the balance but lab work offers me a few breaks here and there that I can get 5-10 minutes of writing in. Plus there’s lunch time.

Sandra: What genre do you like to write best in?

Antonia: I tend to lean towards the fantasy side when I write. I love dragons so they usually become my subject of choice.

Sandra: Did any one person influence your writing style?

Antonia: Hands down that honor is Del’s. She always gets first look at my works and she’s a great editor.

Sandra: How do you find ideas for your books?

Antonia: I pull my ideas from many different places. I take bits and chunks of things I see that I like and put them in a mixing bowl. Phrases of songs, a picture, someone’s personality, all of it can inspire me to write.

Sandra: How difficult is it for you to get into “writer’s mode”?

Antonia: It’s actually not terribly difficult for me. I need to have music on, that’s my only real requirement.


Sandra: Tell me a little about your new book.

Antonia: The Gathering, which released on last Monday from Lyrical Press, Inc., is the second in my Tales of the Rikashi Series. The Rikashi are a race of dragon shape-shifters that have been hiding among humans for centuries. This one focuses on the brother of the main character from my first book, The Quickening. He is attempting to solve the mystery of a prophecy, which sorting out his feelings for the daughter of an enemy.

Sandra: How did the inspiration for this work come to you?

Antonia: This one sprang from part of a song by DragonForce called Revolution Deathsquad. The line is :

Cry out for the fallen heroes lost in time ago
In our minds they still belong
when the sands of time are gone

Rise over shadowed mountains blazing with power
Crossing valleys endless tears in unity we stand
Far and wide across the land the victory is ours
On towards the gates of reason
Fight for the truth and the freedom

You’ll have to read the book to find out why.


Sandra: Do you have any writing rituals? Like special music, times of the day, foods, etc?

Antonia: I have two different songs lists for each series. The Rikashi List has DragonForce, Dream Evil, and Kamelot. For the other series, The Tarot Kings, I have Celine Dion, Heart, Cat Stevens, and Finger Eleven.


Sandra: Do you identify with the characters you write about?

Antonia: I definitely do. I think every character has a little bit of me in him/her or some part of people I know.


Sandra: You’ve recently signed with a new publisher. Can you tell me about that?

Antonia: I have just signed with Red Rose Publishing for a different series that is out of my usual area on several levels. The first is that it’s not fantasy or even really paranormal and the second is that it’s an erotic series. I thought it would be a good idea to spread out and have a few publishers.

Sandra: You have a few books to your credit. Is there a favorite among them?

Antonia: I think my favorite so far is the one coming up in November, the third in the Rikashi Series, called Black Velvet. I’m not going to say more or I’ll spoil The Gathering.


Sandra: What piece of advice can you tell aspiring writers that you wished someone told you when you started?

Antonia: Don’t give up. Don’t let anyone discourage you from your dream. If you want it, go after it. You may have to work hard to do it but you can do it.


Sandra: What is your next project?

Antonia: Right now, I’m working on setting down the plot for Book Four of the Rikashi Series and the second book in the series from Red Rose.



Sandra: Thanks for being here today! Think I may just have another few books to add to be TBR pile!


Blurb for The Gathering

Can Gem and Shirak find their way through madness and sorrow to forge a new peace?

Gem Tunuviel thought her father's insane quest was at an end. She was wrong. He is resolved on destruction. Driven to escape him, she seeks the faces in her visions: other Rikashi, dragon shape-shifters like herself.

Shirak Gwindor, haunted by nightmares of half-remembered tortures, is also following a vision. He struggles to keep his attraction for Gem buried under his rigid sense of duty.

As a force draws the Rikashi together, can Gem find acceptance with others of her own kind, or must she keep her true self hidden?

To find out more about where to purchase The Gathering, please visit the following links:

Buy Link : http://www.onceuponabookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_26&products_id=159

And other links :

Blog : www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com
Twitter : www.twitter.com/antoniatiranth
Facebook : www.facebook.com/tiranth
website : www.antoniatiranth.com