Saturday Author Spotlight: Tia Fielding

 Rainbow Lyrics and Mellow Mushrooms would like to Welcome Tia Fielding to the blog as our third Author Spotlight Edition. It's been amazing to see the turnout for the spotlight posts, with bookings being filled through spring. It's a wonderful way to learn more about the authors in our community and see what they are working on or about to release. We welcome you to join us every Saturday to meet our authors, and of course, check out the various content that appears throughout the week. 

Hi, I’m Tia Fielding, I’m a Finnish author of LGBTQ+ romance (mostly of the M/M kind).

I write mostly contemporary and/or shifters, but I’ve been known to dabble in other genres since I was first published in *mumbles*. There’s a link where you can find me and my books at the end of this interview.

And thank you Layla for having me!

Q. You're quite welcome! Let's kick things off with a question I'm sure all of the readers would love to know the answer to. Of all the characters you’ve written, which one do you like the least and why?

A. Definitely Mark’s parents, especially his mom, in Thirteen (#3 in the Love by Numbers series.) She’s a heinous, controlling a-hole of a woman. I almost hate how much I had to let her speak to give Mark an adequate redemption arc. He was the series “villain” for a reason and redeeming him wasn’t easy.

Q. If any of your books were to be made into a movie, which one would you like to see on the big screen and who would you like to see play your main characters?

A. The Wolfy!verse would make a great little movie, I think. This was an easy pick, mostly because in my head, Mateo is modeled after the actor Óscar Jaenada. How one would make my shifter!verse happen on film, I don’t know, but it would be interesting to see!

 Q. Describe your writing space?  Is there anything you have to have when you write? A favorite type of pen, certain music, a stuffed critter that always keeps you company?

A. I write in my living room corner where I have my desk. This is basically where I sit most of the day, because I also use the same computer to do my gaming, movie/show watching etc.  I need to have my comfy gaming chair (highly recommended to all authors!), water, some snacks maybe, and more often than not, a show, YouTube video, or a podcast running on my second screen just so I don’t get lost in random stuff whenever I get distracted. I have ADHD, so having something to actively watch instead of falling into social media pits for hours at a time is super handy.

 Q. Is there a particular genre that you have always wanted to dabble in but haven’t had the opportunity to explore yet?

A. I’ve had this sci-fi idea for a spaceship’s crew for… a very long time. I’ve even written a little bit of it, but I haven’t felt confident stepping out of my contemporary and/or paranormal box yet.

 Q. Is there a particular book that you’ve written that you wish more readers knew about? If so share a little about it here:

A. There are many, but I wish my latest release, Alpha Island (https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Island-Tia-Fielding-ebook/dp/B0CHWNVKW9), got more love. It’s basically my take on the whole M/M omega!verse trope, except I’ve flipped it a little. In this one, the omegas are the ruling designation and alphas have it the worst.

 Q. Then an omega happens to go on a vacation on an island where resident alphas are all “disgraced” on mainland for whatever reason and thus have had to move to Alpha Island. They’re basically then used for sex tourism by omegas who come on the island, although that’s not how I call it in the book. Despite how that all sounds, there’s very little sex in the book and it’s a slow burn. Oh, and the alpha is a total cinnamon roll who needs to be protected at all costs. I’m glad the omega is willing to do that!

 

Q. If you could have dinner with any author, living or dead, who would that be and what would you like to talk to them about?

A. Probably my favorite thriller author, Karin Slaughter. I’d want to chat about writing and such, but I’d also like to talk about the fact that I think she’s queer, but I don’t think she’s ever said so explicitly anywhere. If she is, I would love to know if not being open about it is more about being a private person or about how her side of the industry is for women.

(Ohh, that is a rather thought-provoking question. The horror and thriller genres have been male-dominated for so long, that it would have to be doubly hard to break through as a queer woman. It's a shame that the gatekeeping and prejudices against gender still exist in certain writing circles. I've met several female science fiction authors who have struggled to be seen as legitimate authors in the genre simply due to their gender.)

Q. A lot of writers cut their teeth on fan fiction. Has there ever been a book, movie, or tv show that you’ve been so passionate about that you wanted to change certain parts in order to make the storyline go in the direction you’d hoped it would and if so, what changes would you make to it?

A. I’ve written plenty of fan fic in a handful of fandoms over the last 15 years. Mostly it’s about queerifying my favorite characters, of course, being that I wrote slash back in the day and now write LGBTQ+ romance. Basically… make it queer? Because there still aren’t enough queer stories out there in the mainstream.

(Too true. Each time a new story emerges is a time to celebrate, in my opinion. We've made strides towards more inclusivity, but there is still such a long way to go when it comes to being a part of mainstream culture.)

 Q. What is a book you wished you had written and why?

A. The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s in my top 5 books of all time outside of the romance genre, and I envy the author for writing a long story like that with no extra words. It’s literally perfect in it’s writing to me, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it, even if it, objectively, isn’t as amazing as I remember it being from when I first read it in my younger days. I’m actually scared to re-read it now, because I feel like that might ruin it for me!

Q. What is the worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?

A. ANY piece of advice that’s all “this is how you SHOULD write.” It’s just… not true. Write the way the stories come to you, how the characters want their stories to be told. Don’t ever think that you’re doing something wrong, as long as you follow basic grammar and punctuation, of course. There is no right or wrong way to write. Besides, the more you write, the better you get at it!

(OMG, exactly this! I don't think there is a SHOULD when it comes to any creative medium. There are basic rules, like grammar and punctuation that need to be followed, but beyond that, I feel like telling a writer how they should tell a story is the same as giving a painter a beautiful pallet of colors, then telling them what they should paint. It's stifling and has probably scared off some folks and kept them from writing the stories they longed to tell.)

Q. If you could spend a week writing anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

A. I would definitely rent a place somewhere in the UK. Maybe somewhere remote and beautiful in Scotland or Ireland. That’s if it was a writing retreat only. Otherwise I’d go to the southern coast and make day trips to London to visit my sister!

(Writing in Scotland has long been a dream of mine. I would like nothing more than to explore that beautiful country and let it inspire dozens of stories.)

You can find all my links behind this one: https://campsite.to/tiafieldingauthor

I highly recommend signing up for my newsletter for future news, freebies, and other things (and you get a free novella when you sign up)!

Thank you so much, Tia for popping in to chat with us today. It's been a pleasure learning more about you and your chracters!

Happy Saturday and Happy Reading Everyone!