Indie Author Interview: Tiara Brown debut author of 'The Tales of Alexandria Stecklar: The Locket'

In this book podcast episode of Booktrovert Reader Podcast, we delve deeper into the world of fantasy literature with a special guest, the talented author Tiara. Together, they unlock the enchanting secrets behind Tiara's latest novel, 'The Tales of Alexandria Stecklar: The Locket,' exploring the inspiration behind this mystical tale, the epic conflict between physics and sorcery, Tiara's unique mood-driven writing style, and the intriguing characters that populate her fantastical realm.

Episode Highlights:

• The Birth of 'The Locket': Tiara shares the fascinating journey that led to the creation of "The Locket." Listeners gain insight into the spark of inspiration, along with the personal experiences that contributed to the book's inception.
• The Clash of Realms - Physics and Sorcery: Explore the book's central conflict – the war between physics and sorcery. Tiara provides an in-depth look at the unique inspiration that underlies this rivalry and the impact it has on the story's world.
• Crafting Worlds with Words - Tiara's Writing Style: Tiara's distinctive writing style, described as a "mood writer," takes center stage. The discussion explores how mood and atmosphere enhance storytelling and character development, making "The Locket" a truly immersive experience.
• Characters from the Imagination: Journey into the minds of the novel's characters as Tiara reveals the inspirations behind their creation. Learn what makes these characters unforgettable and relatable.
• Conquering the Challenges of Fantasy Writing: Tiara opens up about the challenges she faced while crafting the fantastical world of "The Locket." Discover how she overcame these obstacles and the valuable lessons she learned along the way.

Purchase on Amazon:
Ebook | Hardback/Paperback

Connect with Tiara
My website: www.tiarajbrown.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiarajoybrown/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiarajoybrown

Transcript

Indie Author Interview: Tiara Brown debut author of 'The Tales of Alexandria Stecklar: The Locket'

 U1 

 0:00 

 Hi, this is Charity, your host, a Booktrovert Reader Podcast. I am very excited to introduce a new indie author on my podcast today. And her book is called The Tales of Alexandria Steckler The Locket and her name is Tiara. Brown. I was very excited about her book. I cannot wait to share this with you all today. So tiara, definitely tell us about you and your book 

 U2 

 0:23 

 all. Hi. Well, first off, thanks for having me on. And yeah, so this is my my debut novel. And yeah, The Tales of Alexandria. Sackler is about a 15 year old girl named Alex with telekinetic powers, and she lives underground with her family. During an on again, off again war between psychics like herself and magical sorcerers. And one day she gets separated from her family above ground because her and her family live underground during this conflict, so she gets separated from them above ground and the land of the sorcerers, and she has to make it back home before she gets captured or something worse happen. So I'm super excited to talk about it. 

 U1 

 1:10 

 That's what I kind of was like. So interested about your book. When I was reading it, I was like, has dystopian vibes, has magical vibes, it has psychic power, sci fi vibes in it. And I was like, wow, this is kind of fun and interesting to see. Like, like psychics and sorcerers, to be at war with each other. I thought that was the most interesting part of the book for me. With this, how did you become an author and how did you decide fantasy genre was the genre you wanted to write for this book? So I've always loved storytelling ever since I was a kid. I think my teachers in school knew that I was going to become an author before I did just because, like one of my favorite things and actually Primates Primary school is to practice our grammar and sentence structure. We had to like, write stories, and my teacher didn't care what we wrote about. It was just to practice and putting periods in. My stories were wild there. 2s And but I've just always, always really like storytelling. And I think I picked to write in the fantasy genre because I just saw, even though I liked writing stories and I was really little, I really hated reading because I thought it was really boring. And then, oh yeah, yeah. And then the first book I ever read that got me into reading was a fantasy book. So it was called Jeremy Thatcher The Dragon Catcher, and it was set in modern day, but it was about this kid who he thought he found the colorful rock. And then it was a dragon. Oh, yeah. Okay. 1s Yeah. 

 U2 

 2:45 

 And then ever since then, I was like, oh, reading is awesome. I just have like, what I'm reading about, which was a huge epiphany for like an elementary school kid. And then ever since then, I just love fantasy. I have expanded my reading catalog since then. So I do like just reading anything with a good story, but I think I will always just have that love of fantasy because that's what got me into reading in the first place. 

 U1 

 3:15 

 Would you entertain other genres since you do read other genres as 

 U2 

 3:18 

 well? Oh yeah, anything with a good story because I did read a lot of Dystopian Future or yeah, future books back in the day. We're like the hottest things because I read all The Hunger Game books before the movie. I read Brave New World. The giver started 1984 when I was a teenager, but I never finished it because that book is really depressing 

 U1 

 3:42 

 and really is. And I'm just sorry. But think about it. It's how. How close is it right now? 

 U2 

 3:50 

 Yeah, it's like that was like, I never finished that one. But no, I read that there was this other book I read, I think I was around 13 called Journey to America about a Polish during World War two. And that was a really, really good book too. So I did expand after school, but anything with a with a good story because I love just storytelling in general. So I love movies, television shows, all the things. To write it, that it has just an interesting story that I can, that I can get into. I also read Oliver Twist by Charles. I really like that one too. And I also like A Tale of Two Cities. I read it to cities when I was in high school. I will admit I needed SparkNotes to get through it, just because the way it reads is kind of 

 U1 

 4:39 

 difficult. Oh my gosh, it's 

 U2 

 4:41 

 a great story. The 

 U1 

 4:42 

 locket, I'm going to call it the locket. How did you come up with the story? What it was inspired by? Um, so it was definitely inspired by a mixture of things. I would say the promise was inspired by three things. Three main things one, my love of fantasy. Second, I am a sucker for the trope of a fish out of water, which is which expands genres. But I always find that a lot of fun. And then third, I am also a bit of a history nerd too, and I in fantasy does this a lot where it pays ode to like that medieval aesthetic. I kind of wanted to do that too, with like, the sorcerers in some kind of way. So the promise of like a 15 year old girl, like experiencing a new world where she experiences that aesthetic, at least with like the clothes and the architecture of the sorcerers is like, that's how I developed the premise. Like somehow that like, mushed in my mind and I was like, oh, this would be a good idea. Yeah. And 

 U2 

 5:49 

 then the actual story itself, how it divulged over time, I would say just probably it's just think through life. I know it's a fantasy story, but just observing how people interact with each other, different family dynamics and trying to figure out like, what is a fun story to tell? I would say it's just a huge mixture of just. All of those things. But it was it was a lot of fun. Right. And it's the first book in a trilogy. It's only part one. 

 U1 

 6:23 

 Did I see the dynamic of the family? They seem close knit, but obviously the parents are harvesting a lot of secrets they're not willing to share with Alex. I love your storytelling in it. Thank you. You're welcome. I love the storytelling is very fluid, and the relationship between them is very. I don't know how to say it homely. I don't know if that's the best way to describe it, but it's interesting dynamic for them being holed up the way they are. So you got inspired just because you just wanted to write something like that. How did that come evolve? Like how long did it take you to write it and how did it evolved on you getting it published? 

 U2 

 7:01 

 Oh, okay. So that's so that's a bit of a story. So I actually 

 U1 

 7:07 

 love stories. God. 

 U2 

 7:10 

 So I originally thought of the idea for like the. So originally the whole trilogy was going to be going to be one book. And I originally thought of it when I was, I think around 13, 14 years old, and even actually tried to write it back then. It was written very badly. I was going through a shaky phase and had no idea what I was doing. But it's okay. Like practice makes perfect and the the story idea was there. So then I went to college, and then after college, one of my friends actually was like, hey, remember that like book thing that you try to write? We were like kids, like whatever, like happened to that. And then so I reread it because I kept it and was like, oh man. I guess I'll have to rewrite this as an adult, so I started. I started doing that, and then it took about six years, only because I was still under the impression that the trilogy was going to be one book, and I'm the type of writer that I like. I will outline everything, but I don't write necessarily. The scenes are chronological order. I'm kind of like all over the place, but because of that, I do outline everything that way. It makes doing that easier because I was doing that. I wrote parts of a two, I wrote parts of book three, and then I realized as the story started unfolding, that, oh, this is actually three stories because it's three separate climaxes, and I'm trying to make it one. And I was like, okay, no, let me break this up. And then when I did that, I was actually able to finish book one, because if I kept it as one book, it like it would have been also been very massive. It would have been like A Way of 

 U1 

 9:01 

 Kings by Brandon Sanderson moment. Right? Yeah. 

 U2 

 9:03 

 I'm like, oh, this is this is a lot like this 1s because of that at least. Like I'm working on book two right now. But when I finished book one officially, a lot of book two was already written. So it was a bit of a head start. So it did pay off that way. But it was about like six years, mainly, mainly because of that. But at least I kind of got like a head start on on the second book and the whole thing, the whole trilogy is outline, so I know how it's going to end in all the things. But but that was the reason it took that long. Oh boy. 

 U1 

 9:42 

 I could see the concept of what you were doing so that yeah, I get it. 

 U2 

 9:47 

 Yeah, yeah. It just it just became super massive because like, when I was, when I originally thought of the idea, when I was a kid, I would just magically make things happen without any character development. So rewriting was like, no, like, this has to be, like led up to and foreshadowed. So it kept stretching it out more and more. And then, you know, I realized it was it was 330. You're 

 U1 

 10:16 

 you've grown since you were a wee 

 U2 

 10:18 

 one. Yeah. Yeah. Naturally. Make things like, oh, that makes sense. Like, no, it really it really doesn't. But the idea was there, like the promise was there. 

 U1 

 10:29 

 So do you have a date when you're launching book 

 U2 

 10:32 

 two? I so not yet. I'm still trying to finish it. I'm hoping I can finish the. Finish it. Enough. Where? Guess finished my drafts. Enough. Where? I bring in editors by the end of this year. So I'm hoping December 31st. And that might end up being January 15th. I'm hoping to do that, and then I will have a date when that happens. But I do want to at least get to that step first. 

 U1 

 11:05 

 I mean, that's a good idea. Have it written, you know. Step 

 U2 

 11:07 

 one. Yeah, yeah. It was just like Libby was like, isn't at that point it's not so bad because when you bring in, you bring in editors and it's a back and forth like most of it's already written because you could end up changing a lot, but it's, it feels like the, like the having the heavy lifting can't say words. The heavy lifting at least is is not as bad like that part is over. 

 U1 

 11:31 

 Sometimes I ask this question do you have a day job? And if you do, what do you do? 

 U2 

 11:36 

 Yes. So I actually another thing I like to do. So I am really into dancing. So I recently got a job at a dance studio for kids. Oh, okay. Yeah. I work in the. I work in the admin office, so I'm not a teacher. Although it would be cool to be a dance teacher one day too. So I do that part time and then the other part time is like the whole writing thing, which is great because I have guaranteed income. And then and then it still gives me time to work on this. You 

 U1 

 12:10 

 got it. You work at a dance studio and you work part time with writing your book full time. That's amazing. Okay, so asking more about your book, I like the magic system that you were doing concerning the psychics and the sorcerers and the history behind them fighting with each other. You said you wanted to do it, but what inspired you to kind of write that conflict between the two and the powers on each 

 U2 

 12:36 

 side? When originally thought of the idea when I was a kid, I love because I have a history in my history classes, and I think making it a war. I think that was inspired mainly because at the time think I was just learning a lot about wars, and I find it fascinating. Don't don't like war, think war is not good. I do have to preface that. But even to this day, I do find it very interesting why certain countries like get into conflict with each other. I wanted some type of friction between the two people or the two countries. So for me, I was like, oh yeah, I will, 1s I'll make it a war. But but didn't. What I didn't realize when I was 14 is like, sometimes wars can be really complicated, which is fine. It's like, oh yes, okay. If I make it a war, like, why are they at war? Um, but since that's like a subject that I'm already into as a person, I think it was easy for me to to go that route. But. Yeah. So I think that's why I chose to make them at conflict. And I also think it's pretty relatable in the sense that, again, war is not good in the history of mankind. Being at war is, I guess, in a weird way, it's a little relatable because that it's only in recent years I feel like that we, we realize like, hey, like. Having peace with each other is the better option. I'm not saying war is good because I'm not, but it's the same thing I love. I love reading about it and think, because I used to get so mad at the way, like history teachers teach history because I'd be like, no guy's history is so fascinating, because when you learn about why certain wars happen and you look at the players that start things, the political parties, like you really have to take or put the humanity back in people, because that explains a lot of why certain things happen, especially in war. Whereas just this person reacted this way because of X, which happened because of something over there, and like their mentality and or how you raised. So that was that's part of reason why fine. Why certain wars start. But I also think it's great to learn how war start because you can learn how to prevent them. Talk 

 U1 

 14:55 

 to me about your writing style. You have an interesting way of doing it that I've never heard of, and I can't place you as the pantser, the discovery or the plotter. You're like almost all three. So 2s just go more into detail about your writing process in that. And what would you say you would fit into the most? Your best guess. 

 U2 

 15:18 

 So I'm so bad. It's pants are the one where you like skip around and stuff like that. Like 

 U1 

 15:24 

 you don't plan anything. You just write it. 

 U2 

 15:27 

 Write it. I guess I'm a little bit of a mold of all three. I have been a pantser in the past, and it it kind of takes forever to write anything because like, sometimes you don't end up using it because there's no plan. 1s You'll have scenes like, oh, well, this don't really need this, or I established this earlier here, although feel like my first instinct is to be a pantser. So I guess a little bit of all three, because with the outline, it allows you to at least know where you're going. But just I can't write in chronological order. I have to like, skip around. 

 U1 

 16:05 

 We just say it's kind of like a mood kind of writing. Like you're just like, oh, I'm really inspired about this scene and this particular part of the outline. 

 U2 

 16:13 

 Yeah, yeah, I would definitely say that. But because of that, I like Skip around a lot, but the outline is great because then it's good to know, like where you're where you're going even at like a rough. Idea of point A to point B that gives me direction, but feel like my first instinct is to be like a mood writer or and have like some pantser elements into it. So guess I'm a little bit of a mix that answers the question fully. Makes it easier to fit me somewhere. No, that's why I was like, I had to bring it up because I was like, you 

 U1 

 16:49 

 do kind of all three. So I was like, you don't really fit a category. So it's unique to me. So that's why I had to ask. 1s So not a bad thing. Yeah. Everyone, it works for you. And if it works, you keep going. 

 U2 

 17:06 

 Do for me. I like the mood writer. Actually, I never thought about that. Like that category for myself. Because for me, I will say, if I'm in a certain mood or certain feeling, think it is easier for me to write that scene and put it in a way that like emotionally put it in a way that I do and just like to connect with, like the setting or the character or characters in that way. So I do do that a lot, but guess I never phrase it like as a mood writer. So think I'm going to. Yeah, I might do that. 

 U1 

 17:38 

 So do you plot your characters? Because I know you were, you know, when you're rewriting this, you're like, oh, you had to develop the characters and everything. Did you had to like, put it in an Excel sheet, or did you find another way to keep them separated? 

 U2 

 17:52 

 And Excel sheet probably would have been the best. I have like multiple word docs of just information and then sometimes notebooks of like information of people. I most of the time I just write, I write the story, but I do have characterization in mind. And then when I go back in the editing process, a lot of times before I bring on another editor, um, I go back and reread the story for multiple different reasons for looking to edit one specific reason and what are thing. And one of the things is characterization and just making sure, like when I'm doing that there's this character makes sense. Do you make sense to act this way considering what happened before and your personality and your backstory? Because you had brought up a brought up like the parents and the family dynamic. And I do admit, because I wrote it, they can be sometimes they think they're a little extreme, but it's for for their backstory, which we'll get revealed in later books like their actions make sense, like they have their own personal commas and things that especially the mom that she is not working through. 2s That comes out in her parenting and she doesn't mean anything by it. She's at the end of the day. Her and her husband love their kids, and they're just trying to keep them safe and they're doing the best they can. And I was definitely inspired by life with that because like, think would be the one of the moments they think I became an adult is my real life. A lot of parents, they make mistakes, but they really are doing the best that they can with what you know how and with not just parents, but like anyone in multiple relationships. 

 U1 

 19:38 

 Because I was going to ask you as well, like if there's anything that happened in the book or the characters that kind of really inspired you to write, like, or a person specifically might be inspiring you to write the character or anything like that. So the parents wishes an observation of just different parents, I think, with like, you know, like my friends parents, my parents just like observation of like. Certain over protectiveness. Or maybe they haven't dealt with something and so they're doing like the best that they can. I would say that the main character. So when I was a kid, all of my friends accused me of just making myself the main character. So I so this main character is inspired by like just writing someone who's the opposite personality. Oh, 

 U2 

 20:32 

 okay. So I just because I was just like, all right, guys, but I will write someone who is nothing like. And I overthink everything. And the main character is just like, well, I'm just going to do it. And it was like, oh, oops, maybe that was a bad idea. 2s She was she was inspired by just me trying to find someone like the opposite personality of of me. I don't know if you have you met the main character's love interest yet? No, I'm. I'm waiting to get to that part. And I'm so excited right now. She's just she got to the locket, the locket, speaking to her, and her mother's hiding things. And I'm like. 

 U1 

 21:15 

 And this whole time I'm thinking, how is she going to interact with other people? If the only people she ever interacted with was her family members? Is she going to be socially awkward? Yeah. 

 U2 

 21:25 

 Yeah. I mean, that's where she does stuff where it's like, oh, baby, I shouldn't have said 1s like, based on other people's reactions. Like, oh, like, I don't know, like, what are my friends? She, she has read it and she told me that she was like, you know, she's like, tell your main characters like, we shoot attractive people. She's like, she's like slightly annoyed, but at the same time, like, remembered. Oh yeah. She can't interact with people. So she's doing good for what you can 1s so she knows. Yeah. So when she starts interacting with people, she mean she's trying and she, she doesn't take the route of not saying anything. She just takes the root of like, why did you say that? Or maybe you shouldn't have said that or you know, maybe you shouldn't have reacted that way. Like. But she immediately regrets it and it's like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have done that. But it's really like she doesn't know any better. Like, those social skills weren't developed, but she gets better. So it's okay. 

 U1 

 22:21 

 Okay. Yeah. Because I'd like to how she interact with her family. She just had no problems. Speak in her mind, so I can foresee that being like a kind of not an issue, but just kind of something she'll have to work through when she actually interacts with people. That's not her family. Yeah. So I'm very excited to get to that part to see how she does. 

 U2 

 22:41 

 Yeah, yeah. So I guess I will say, I mean, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler, but especially with the description of the book when when she dies, when you get to the part where she does get separated from her family. Yeah, a lot of a lot of action and stuff happens. And and that's when she meets like, the love interest and she meets like other people and stuff like that. And it turns like way more, way more action packed, like, right now. Like she's like at home. 

 U1 

 23:10 

 Kind of curious to see if it's going to this world is going to be exactly how their parents pictured it for her. So I'm I'm excited to read it. I was trying to read as fast as I could, but it's only limited to so much. 

 U2 

 23:24 

 That's okay. 

 U1 

 23:25 

 What would you say is the hardest thing about writing fantasy and how did you overcome it? 

 U2 

 23:31 

 I would say like the hardest part about fantasy is probably the world building is okay. When you write something set in our world, you kind of already have like the framework. Yeah, we all, we all have like the layout laid out in our heads. And you don't have to explain as much. 1s And fantasy with magic systems like you have to find that balance between like, okay, this is this is how it works. We felt it felt overdoing it. And that's something that I, I did struggle with that. Like my editor was just like, hey, we we didn't need this is actual information we don't need. Yeah. Like you can explain it this way. Like now your info dumping. And I think in fantasy, just because if you're creating a whole new world or you're creating a whole new magic system and you're like, no, but have to explain it so people are sad, it's literally finding that balance of like, not info doping. Or if you are mean, a little bit of info doping has to happen, but if you are doing it in a clever way, like someone told me this writing tip, and then I put it in my book where they brought up Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling sometimes and filled ups with magic while they're at Hogwarts. But it works for the context of the book, because at school and then you expect it. And then I was just like, oh, well, you know, if they live at home, they could be homeschooled and was like, have your dad be a teacher. And he's in front of my back story, but it's a history lesson and you expect that, right? Okay. So just finding think little cheat seats where you can still do that. But it it makes sense and it's not forced. So I would say that's probably the hardest part. Also just thinking of a system that makes sense to I would say that is the hardest part. And however karma is I guess a lot of advice from the internet and editors and trust error. 

 U1 

 25:41 

 Yeah, I, I did realize that when I first started this, it was, you know, talking about her being in underground and all this stuff, and I'm like, 

 U2 

 25:49 

 why? I 

 U1 

 25:51 

 have to keep going to figure out why. And I was like, all right, let me give her a chance. Let me give her a chance. Hopefully she'll tell me. And you did. You did tell it in the homeschool setting. And he was kind of given ideas about the war and the history of the royalty of the of the psychics. So I haven't got I want to know more about the sorcerer side. So I'm like, okay, I got to read more, probably to find more about them. Great job. I don't want to be like, oh, good job, you know, but I just I think I'm very intrigued by your writing style. And I can see that the way you're describing it, I'm like, yeah, I can see that. Oh yeah, I can see that. I really have like, this is good. No, 

 U2 

 26:30 

 wait. I'm happy that you that you like it. I'm happy you like the the writing style too. I did try to tell it. I mean, especially with, like the way the prologue is because the whole story essentially in flashback, like did try to also tell it kind of like. If I'm telling someone a story, like if I were to just like, oh, hey, person like, or a friend or me like, oh, hey, so this is a thing that happened to me a long time ago. 1s I'm happy that it's flowing. Well, like that's good. That's good because I always want to I love feedback because I do want each book to get the better and better, because it just means that as a writer and you're getting better and better. Do you 

 U1 

 27:11 

 have any other plans to write another fantasy series out of this, or you're just focusing on this current trilogy right now? I'm currently focusing on this this trilogy, and if I do do this, it would be it'd be way after. It'd be afterwards. I've been thinking about two things. One, writing a prequel after this trilogy is over. I can't say what the prequels about because it would, like, spoil the entire. Yeah, 1s but like a setup for certain things. Like how things happen, especially with like the main character and like the living underground situation thing. So it would be like a prequel of that. I was thinking about writing maybe middle grade young adult of these kids at a at a boarding school to okay, how to be spies and 

 U2 

 28:04 

 okay, many like a lot of books in this series, not necessarily a trilogy. It could be a lot more like when you have TV shows. And they were like books on, like the episode and stuff like that. They used to like because they did that of Lizzie McGuire a long time ago, but I'm not sure if that ever caught on. 

 U1 

 28:21 

 Can they be read as Standalones or. Yeah. 

 U2 

 28:24 

 So standalone in the same like universe, put it like that way, that way, it's a trilogy where you have to read it in a specific order. You could read one and then it's fine, or you could read two and it's fine, like so. I've been bouncing around that idea. I don't know if I'm going to do it, but I do think it would be fun to, like, write about kids learning to be spies at a spy boarding school. I just think that would be fun. And that would be that. That wouldn't be fantasy. That would just be adventure. 2s And set like set in our world. So maybe 

 U1 

 29:02 

 maybe a fantasy artifact, I don't know, 

 U2 

 29:05 

 but I mean, could that would. Yeah. Indiana Jones it. 

 U1 

 29:09 

 Yeah I'll read 

 U2 

 29:11 

 that. 1s But something, something along those lines I think that would be fun. I want to do I do want to finish a trilogy first before commit to like the other thing, 

 U1 

 29:22 

 being a mood writer, you could just totally abandon your trilogy for that new project. So yeah, you better be careful. Yeah, 

 U2 

 29:30 

 yeah. So we kind of want to do that. So I was just like, that's like mentally on the backburner of like, okay, what do I do next? Like but after I after finish this after I finish this because yeah, writing book two is has been. In a lot. I really like books. You. I can't say like, a lot of things that happened because it would spoil book one, but a lot. In true trilogy fashion, a lot of things always happen in the second book. So a lot of things happen. 

 U1 

 30:00 

 Is this a ending up to be a bigger book than the first one? 

 U2 

 30:03 

 Yes. Think. Yeah. The first one is a little over 50,000 words. And then book two, I think, I think that's probably going to be around 60 something, maybe 70,000. I don't think it'll be over 70,000 though. 

 U1 

 30:20 

 Yeah. This also I've been getting like really heavy laden with a lot of books that are like over 3 to 400 pages. So when your pages was kind of like under 300, I was like, oh, sigh. Relief. Oh 

 U2 

 30:33 

 yeah. I'm also with that kind of writer where and think it was just because, like, I get annoyed at this as a child, I do think you should give yourself room to obviously like flesh out the story, but read a lot of books as a kid where I was just like, well, this seems pointless, and then maybe it'll come back later and it never does. It was just pointless information. It was just like, well, I'm not going to do that unless I have a 

 U1 

 30:58 

 reason. Yeah, yeah. Gave I give mystery novels a little bit of a pass on that, because the point is to give you useless information and try to figure out what is useful. Like, that's fine. That's the point. But like other books, I was just like, this is annoying. I was like, maybe, well, okay. Was like, okay, maybe this will come back now. Never came back. I was like, oh, well, 

 U2 

 31:22 

 didn't have to read those five pages. I 

 U1 

 31:24 

 think there was this one book where they spent three pages on describing one room, and it's like a contemporary fantasy novel, and you're just like, why? Yeah. So that was torture. So yeah, just having a manageable piece book is kind of nice and refreshing. And then obviously your writing style makes it very fast, 

 U2 

 31:44 

 a little bit of a teaser because there's a big question that because have to give people a reason to read the second book, a big question pops up at the very end of this book, and there are and I and I knew that when I would, when I was in like beta reading stage where you give people like your manuscript and they read it and they saw your thoughts, and I was like, okay, I wonder if the answer to this question would just get which does get answered later in the series. But I start laying the clues now. I wonder if it's like if it's too obvious. And luckily it was not. But if anyone is listening to this right now, if you want, 1s if you're when you get to the end of the book, I will say there are, there are because I think it's fun. I love predicting things I have no problems with someone like predicts mine along lungs. That makes sense. And it's still fun and it doesn't like. But because I do that all the time. But yeah, like there's a big question it gets that's asked at the end. The book and but there are clues to what the answers are like in this book. So I love doing stuff like that. So I think flat out mystery would be a lot of fun because I already love that. But no, I'm the worst. Like every time I see a movie, I try to figure out what the twist is like in my head as I'm watching it. 1s Sometimes I can be very quick to pick up clues, but sometimes I don't. And then I'm like, do I need to reread this? We'll see what happens. I'll probably pester you about it once I'm done. I'm 

 U1 

 33:16 

 like, how dare you? 

 U2 

 33:19 

 And 

 U1 

 33:19 

 in order to pester you about giving me the second, it's the worst part about reading the first book. You got to wait for the second. 

 U2 

 33:25 

 Yeah, but I will say, at least I'm writing the second now, so hopefully I will try to put the second book out as fast as it is possible with it being edited and the 

 U1 

 33:37 

 quality, you know. Yeah, yeah. Don't don't rush that book for my sake, you know. All right. So just a wrap up. One more question. I've been interviewing a lot of debut authors on my podcast, and I always ask this question, what what advice would you give for first time authors or people who are wanting to to write their book and get it out there, but they're kind of afraid to do so? I would say that, guess what? If they just do it even though, like, that sounds too simple, it's it's one of those things. It's not as scary as it seems like once you get into it, it demystifies the whole process. And I think the hardest part is sticking with it. So if you really want to write a book, you really should just do it. But if you really want to do it, you have to plan it out. Like in the sense of plan time in your day, every day or every other day, or maybe even twice a week. Because like depending on someone's life schedule, writing every day isn't always possible. And plus, you also don't want to burn yourself out. If you do want to write a book, I would say the best thing you probably can do is just have the mindset of just doing it, but then also be smart about it and plan it out and be like, okay, I will set this many hours during the week or during the day, or every other day, or every couple of days to sit down and do it. Writing also takes time. So the other thing is just being able to stick with it, because, I mean, most there are some writers that can write books super fast and they love them and that is awesome. A lot of people aren't that way. So if you aren't that way, not that way, it is okay. And you 

 U2 

 35:14 

 know that sometimes it takes longer to write a book than expected. That, and with the internet, if you have any questions about books so many people like post their writing experience like online and tips and stuff, which is what I did to like, just to like if I had questions about even just like indie publishing, I would look it up online and that information is so readily available today, I would just say, just do it. Once you're in it, it demystify. So it's not. It's not scary anymore. It's just you just have to stick with it. And I think that's actually just the hardest part is just sticking with it. Yeah, 

 U1 

 35:55 

 I think that can be for anything in life is the consistency of just continuing on with it and regardless of results, just pushing through. So yeah, I love, love that advice. I love hearing it because I'm like, oh, I can take that for myself. 

 U2 

 36:11 

 It's not as bad as it's hard. It's it's just sticking with it. And and I know this is advice for like that. People say with everything too, you also can't compare yourself to other people. It's like the book you're writing is is different. And yeah, and everyone's different. Everyone's writing style, speed, how much time they have to devote to it is different. And even if you don't have that much time to devote to it, if you're just if you're consistent with the time that you do have, like you'll still be able to do it 

 U1 

 36:40 

 just so we can let all of our listeners know, just talk about where we can find your book, where we can find you on on the social media and all that fun stuff. 

 U2 

 36:50 

 Yes. So my book is available everywhere. Books are sold online in e-book, paperback and hardback. So that includes Amazon, Barnes Noble, believe target, like the target website, only has the paperback. But outside of ebooks on Apple Books. Google. Yeah. Google play walmart.com. Yeah. Walmart.com. You can also if you don't want to buy it, you can also request your local library to order it, the e-book or the paperback or hardback, because my book is also in the library systems all across like the US too. So you can definitely, if that's a route that you'd rather take, that is something you can also do. Oh, and thrift about their books. Forget about their products. Oh yeah. Yeah. 

 U1 

 37:40 

 Okay. So yeah, I'll make sure to list all these. Maybe not all of them, but at least some some key points into the show notes. Definitely her social media links I 

 U2 

 37:52 

 am Instagram as I'm going into it's tier. Tiara Brown on on Instagram. 

 U1 

 37:59 

 And I'll just make sure I put that in the show notes so everyone can go find her. Definitely check out the library to to to check out her book as well. So yeah that's all with questions. Tierra, thank you so much for sharing everything about your book and your writing. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I appreciate you hopping on. Yeah. 

 U2 

 38:20 

 Oh, thanks for having me. It was a good time.