Q&A With Tanya Wilde 

I have the honor of doing this Q&A with international bestselling and award-winning author Tanya Wilde. Tanya Wilde is the author of historical romance. Many of her books are a part of a series, novellas and anthologies some of which are the following is Ladies Who Dare, Middelton, MacCallan Clan, Lords Of Scandal Novellas, & Misadventures of the Heart. 

Q: Tanya, what is your favorite part about writing historical romance, and did you feel the call to become an author?

A:I never felt the call to be a writer, much less a romance writer even though I was an incurable romantic growing up as a child. The only things I wrote back then were poems of all my heartache. 😊 

It wasn’t until years later when my job sat right across from the library, and I had nothing to do during my lunch breaks, I picked up my first historical romance. The rest, as they say, is history. I became obsessed! 

Q: What’s your advice for anyone wanting to write historical romance?

A:Read historical romance. Read a lot. Never stop reading. Also, Sarah Maclean has a great course on how to write romance novels for beginners AND she is a historical romance writer! But you don’t have to be a beginner to take the course. It’s always good to go back to the basics, especially if you go back to the basics with a pro. Highly recommend it.

Q: Who were/are your biggest supporters of your writing? 

A:My husband, sister, and my three author besties! And just so you know, my sister wasn’t an immediate supporter. 

Q: If it’s not too early to ask, are you working on any upcoming projects right now?

A:Besides being busy with the Ladies Who Dare series, I’m co-writing a four-book wedding seasons series with Sara Adrien! I do have another pitch for a series I’m working on, but more on that later. 😉 Ok, fine, it’s about seven half-brothers (same father) ruling a small town . . .

Q: Whether Hollywood has the rights to your novels or not, who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created? 

A: Well . . . Henry Cavill should be one of my heroes. Can he be every hero? Is that allowed? We can change his hair color and add color eye lenses . I’m easy. I don’t have any other requirements for a cast, lol!

Q: What is the research process like when researching, plotting, writing and editing your work?

A: I google as I write. That’s probably a terrible answer, but I didn’t do much research beforehand. I just started writing. Otherwise, you might never get out of research mode! 

I’m also not a plotter. I’m a pantser all the way! Although, I have found some form of outline for a novel, even just a bare skeleton of one, helps me write faster. Does that make me a plantser? Anyway, I outline in Scrivener but write in Word. I use the three-act story structure alongside Romancing the Beats by Gwen Hayes.

I also like to sprint and use the pomodoro technique. If I don’t sprint, I focus on writing a scene of one thousand words. I try to write 2000 words (2 scenes) a day. I don’t always do. As for editing, I edit my own work through the track change’s function on Word once I’m done with my manuscript. Then I go back to review the changes. 

Q: If you were to write in another genre that wasn’t historical romance, which genres would you explore and why?

A:Contemporary. I don’t mind writing about any romance genre, as long as the characters speak to me. I actually do have an idea for a three book contemporary series I’m exploring. 😉 When I get down to writing the series, however, is a different matter!

Q: Which historical romance authors do you enjoy reading from?

A:I’m not picky! Give me any! *Glances left and right*

Q: What is your advice to new and aspiring authors on how to deal with criticism whether its negative reviews, online trolls and family and friends who may or may not support their writing goals?

A: Gosh, yeah. I’ve had all of the above at some point in my career. But here’s the thing, you’ve just got to shut them out and write your stories. It’s part of the journey. Yes, it’s hard. There will be times you want to (or do) take their words personally. I can’t tell you what to do here, but I can tell you what I do.

For one, I don’t read negative reviews. Unless my eye catches one and can’t escape . . . If that happens, I send that reviewer a mental nod. Thank you. Move on. 

Move on to where? Reading four/five-star reviews! I also keep a Win folder on my phone. I’ll screenshot all the good things (bestseller tags, awesome reviews, sweet messages from readers). When I feel down or encounter something negative, I go back to this folder.

What better way to counteract the negative than with the positive?

The same with non-support from family and friends. Why not counter with a community of support? My path to my support system took years. Well, mainly because I wasn’t looking for support. But eventually, I found myself at ROSA (Romance Writers Organization of South Africa) and this changed everything for me!

I found a community of writers. My people!

I went to retreats. Workshops. I participated in events no matter how awkward. My husband’s best friend got married on the same weekend as the first retreat I considered going to. I was like, you know what, take your brother to the wedding, love. I’m off to a writer’s retreat! Bye!

When you start making author friends, you can do writing sprints together, meet up online (or offline), and mastermind together. Plot together. Support each other through deadlines. Write books together.

All those one-star reviews, trolls, and people that don’t support you fade into the distance when you have a support system. At least, it has for me.

You don’t have to go through this magical adventure alone.

I sincerely hope you don’t. 😊