Blast from the past: Téa Cooper

• Are all your books traditionally published? If yes, have you ever considered going indie?

My Australian historical fiction is published by Harlequin and I have self published my contemporary fiction and my novellas. In fact, I do my own covers for my self published books.

• Tell us something about Jim of “The Horse Thief”? Why do you think your fans will adore him? Will they?

Jim is caught between a rock and a hard place but he is loyal to a fault. It’s a quality I value and I hope my readers do too.

• I like that Jim’s love interest is called India – how did you come to pick that particular name?

I think India is a wonderful name and I have a soft spot for all things Indian. I lived and worked as a teacher in India for twelve months, and I nearly stayed forever – don’t ask me how long ago!

• I wish we’d met! Coming back to your characters, do you look for images to inspire you when you are creating characters? Care to share some of those images here?

As I said earlier I use a Pinterest board for each of my books, especially for the historicals where there is so much research involved. Perhaps it’s easiest to just show you – take a look here!

• What is your favorite genre to read? How has it influenced what you yourself write?

I read anything and everything, fiction and non fiction. I say I don’t like fantasy but I list Lord of the Rings as my favourite book. I usually have two or three books on the go at once.

• Has any contemporary real-life event, personal or public, ever begged to be written into one of your stories? Could you share it with us, please?

I believe every writer leaves a bit of real-life in everything they write. There’s no one event that I have based a book on. The starting point for The Horse Thief was a throw away comment someone made…you’ll have to read the historical note at the end of the book to get the full story!

• Very interesting! So tell us, of all the attributes of a well written story, which is the one that pleases you the most?

A plot or an ending I’m not expecting. The last book that completely flummoxed me was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I just didn’t see it coming!

• What one or two things absolutely irritate you in a book, and would most certainly make you put the book down immediately?

There’s not a lot. I’ll forgive the odd editing mistake, though I want to curl up and die if I find them in my own books. I prefer fiction books to have more of a plot than just boy meets girl.

• When do you write? What is your writing space like? What do you use, pencil/pen and paper, or a gadget?

My job is writing so I write most days. I find it easier to be creative in the mornings and I tend to write new words earlier in the day. I have a study, with a sofa and coffee table as well as a desk and an outside courtyard – a bit spoilt really! I use a MacBook, Ipad and an iPhone depending on my mood and I resort to pen and paper when the going gets tough. I have a huge blackboard circle painted on my study wall which I use for plotting.

• Your advice to starting authors – one thing they MUST do and one that they should NEVER.

Cultivate the art of patience … that covers both the must and the never. It’s something I still grapple with. The wheels of publishing grind slowly!

Great advice, Téa. Thank you so much!

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