Featured Official Interview: Linnea Tanner
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- kandscreeley
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Featured Official Interview: Linnea Tanner
To view the first official review, click here.
For the second official review, click here.
To view the book of the month discussion, click here.
To view the book on the bookshelves (and for the Amazon link), click here.
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1. Can you tell us a bit about who you are outside of writing?
Until recently, I was a consultant who provided regulatory advice and services to pharmaceutical companies on the appropriate steps for gaining approval of prescription drugs in the United States and Europe. However, I retired from consulting in 2018 to devote to writing full time. In my leisure, I like to read, garden, travel, and attend my grandchildren's activities.
2. When did you first realize that writing was your passion?
As a young girl, I was an avid reader of mythology and legends that portrayed females as goddesses, warriors, and sorceresses. I’ve always been drawn to bigger than life epic heroes and heroines who steered the fate of humankind. Although I wanted to be a writer since childhood, I pursued a full-time career in pharmaceutical companies. In 2010, I became a part-time consultant and finally fulfilled my dream to write fiction based on characters I’ve had in my head since I was a little girl. You could say I am a later bloomer.
3. When you are in the middle of a book, what does your schedule look like?
When I’m deep into writing, I completely immerse myself into the story and can sometimes work several hours at a time to complete a scene. I’m most productive at night when I have no distractions and sometimes write into early morning hours. At times, my husband reminds me to leave the world in my head and take a break.
4. Let's talk more specifically about your book, Apollo's Raven. How did you come up with such an "insanely awesome" plot?
Apollo’s Raven is based on the epic love story of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, but with a Celtic twist. It is the third book in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series which I wrote, because I realized the series needed to start earlier in Britannia. This book introduces the main characters, Catrin and Marcellus, and sets up the complex political intrigue among the British tribal kingdoms and Rome that ultimately drives the plot. Over time, Apollo’s Raven evolved into an epic historical fantasy as I began weaving elements of Celtic mythology and magic into the historical backdrop. The characterization of the primary protagonist, Catrin, is based on the complex archetypes of ancient Celtic goddesses whose functions embrace the entire religious spectrum from healing to warfare, from creation to destruction, and from nourishment to the Otherworld of the dead. She is also inspired by the historical warrior queen, Boudica, who united the British tribal kingdoms in 61 AD and revolted against the Romans. Marcellus is inspired by the legacy of Mark Antony whose memory was erased from official accounts in the act of damnatio memoriae, for a time, because of his treasonous liaison with Cleopatra.
5. Why did you chose this particular era for your book?
Since childhood, I’ve already loved reading and learning about ancient Roman history and mythology. Later, during one of my business trips to London, I was awestruck by the statue of Boudica and her daughters riding in a chariot near the Thames River. After learning more about the warrior queen, I became fascinated with the enigmatic Celts who were renowned warriors, Druids, and craftsmen. In preparation for writing the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series, I extensively researched and traveled to sites in the United Kingdom and France which are described in Apollo’s Raven and other books in the series.
6. You have over 80 - 4 star reviews. To what would you attribute the success of the book?
Success comes from hard work, from creating a story based on my passion, and from learning the craft of writing and publishing. Several people supported me on my quest to publish the book. I relied on feedback from critique partners and editors to make the tale stronger and clearer. After the book was originally published, I revised the book based on constructive reviews and had it copy edited again. The revised edition was relaunched in September 2018 with a different book cover, and the series was renamed as Curse of Clansmen and Kings.
7. What would your biggest piece of advice be to other aspiring authors?
Follow your dream. Learn the craft and keep writing until you finish the story that you want to share with the world. Don’t let others discourage you, but believe in yourself.
8. What other projects are in the works for you? Any books that aren't in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series?
Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2 in Curse of Clansmen and Kings) was released on September 26, 2018. The third book, Amulet’s Rapture, in the series is anticipated to be released later in 2019.
How about a few fun questions.
9. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an author, an actress, and a movie producer.
10. Do you have a favorite movie?
The epic classic movie, Lawrence of Arabia, with Peter O’Toole.
11. What would be your perfect vacation?
Visit archaeological sites and museums throughout Europe with an opportunity to meet the locals and to learn more about their country and history.
12. If you could meet any person, living or dead, who would you like to question and why?
I’d like to meet the Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, and learn more about his belief in "transmigration of souls", which holds that every soul is immortal and, upon death, enters into a new body. I’m curious to know if any Celts influenced him, as they had a similar belief in reincarnation as he did.
—Neil Gaiman
- gali
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"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
- Linnea Tanner
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I'm sure she can be an actress and movie producer as well. Go, Linnea!
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Nice interview.