You know I love interviewing lovely authors on this blog, and today my guest is Tiki Paige. She’s had quite the life, and she continues to have great adventures both in and outside of her books.

Enjoy!

• Where are you from and where do you live?

I’m a true international soul that belongs everywhere and nowhere. I’ve traveled the world when I was younger and I still continue to explore this wonderful planet that I’m so proud to call my home. I was born in Africa, I grew up in Europe, lived and worked in Asia and found love in America. I currently live in Dubai and I’m immensely grateful to have had the chance to live on four continents.

• When did you start writing and when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing when I was eight years old, after I became very fond of pencils and notebooks. My grandma taught me how to write cursive and I was always impressed with her patience and perseverance. She was a talented storyteller and a wonderful teacher. I started writing through doodling and drawing comics and later on began turning short stories into mini novels as I used to call them. Wherever I go, I carry a notebook and a pencil case full of various pens and pencils, because I’m always jotting down my thoughts, enthralled by the world that I see around me.

• What do you write?

I write contemporary romance and non-fiction. My non-fiction books are writing guides and journals as well as travel and personal development books. In my romance novels, you’ll always find gorgeous heroes and strong, independent heroines.

• Let’s talk about your latest book. Can you tell us about Let’s Just Call It Love? What’s it about? What inspired it? 

Let’s Just Call It Love is a contemporary romance novella. Our heroine, Tessa, who is a quality control executive and a writer/blogger for the airline magazine is on her way to Iceland but soon learns that her flight plans change. Here’s the blurb:

Getting stuck on the same flight as her ex-fiancé is not part of Tessa Reynold’s plan. She was on her way to Snowland, and now she’s headed for Dubai. Her mind is a mess and she must not do anything stupid. Only, her hormones dictate otherwise.

Enter Jack Smitt, a successful entrepreneur who offers her a lifetime’s worth of adventure in just a few short days.

Stuck between her past and a tempting present, Tessa must decide: allow herself a weekend of extraordinary enjoyment in a world of romance and excitement she’s never seen before or simply hide under the covers of her tiny hotel bed, and weep over her failed relationship with the jerk who shattered her heart in pieces.

Since I’ve been a long-time resident of Dubai, I’ve had the chance to explore every corner of this part of the world. My favorite places are found in nature and there are many wadis (valleys or channels that are filled with clean water in the rainy season) that took my breath away the first time I visited them. The inspiration for the story is actually set in Oman, a famous wadi many people know about but only a few explore because of the cave that I described in the book. UAE and Oman are fantastic places to visit to quench your thirst for adventure.

• Can you tell us about your coaching?

I’m a certified holistic life coach and I spent over five years working with women, helping them find peace and harmony in their lives and accomplish goals that were once only written on paper. I was a very active blogger and a workshop facilitator. I enjoyed working as a life coach but somewhere along the way I realized that while I was doing a fulfilling work and helping others, I forgot to listen to myself in the process. I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer and that I would turn my writing into a full-time, thriving career. But with a busy coaching schedule, my writing was only reserved for blogging and magazine articles. And this wasn’t enough. I needed to express myself deeply, I needed to go back to the world of fiction and that’s when I decided to stop life coaching. I now coach writers who want to become authors.

• You also host a fantastic podcast, which I’m honored to have been a guest on. How did you decide to start? What’s your favorite thing about hosting/having your own podcast?

Wow! Thank you so much! Yes, my podcast, Simply Romance, just launched a few days ago, on my birthday! I’m so excited. And it was a great pleasure to have you as a guest. Thank you!

I’m a devoted podcast listener and I’ve always wanted to be a host. I spent half a decade traveling the world and interviewing people for their dream job. So, I said to myself, if not now, when? And I am so happy that I did it. I can’t wait to bring so many amazing writers like you on the show and help all the beautiful souls out there who may just be starting out on their writing journey.

• Do you have tips for authors who want to start their own podcasts?

Write down what you want. Research. Research. Research. Make a plan and stick with it. If you see it’s not going the way you wanted, tweak it. Ask for help. Don’t wait and don’t stop. You’ll learn along the way.

• Do you have tips for writers who struggle with finding ideas or getting unstuck during certain scenes, etc.

Absolutely. One of my favorite hacks that I learned during a writers’ retreat is to take any book you like and simply start copying the sentences. You take a pen in your hand and open a notebook and simply start writing. I know it sounds like a daunting task but it won’t take you more than ten minutes to realize that you no longer need to copy someone else’s sentences but start writing your own. It’s as simple as that and it works every time!

• And then there’s editing and marketing. Do you have a specific process and/or tips you’d like to share with authors?

I love editing . . . other people’s work. I love writing my stories but editing thousands of times before sending it to my editor is daunting and time-consuming. This is the part I do not enjoy but I never half-ass anything so I keep working until it’s done. Also, reading your story starting from the end always makes sense. It helps you find mistakes you otherwise never would have seen if you started from Chapter 1 as we all usually do.

• Who are your favorite authors? And why?

I grew up reading Japanese, European, and American literature. There are so many authors whose work I fell in love with, to name a few: Dante Alighieri, Jane Austen, Herman Hesse, Jules Verne, Leo Tolstoy, Sei Shonagon, Ernest Hemingway, Yasunari Kawabata, Daphne du Maurier, Oscar Wilde, Françoise Sagan.

In my teenage years, I became very fond of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s books after I got To Be the Best for my birthday. I also liked reading Sandra Brown, Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux, and Linda Howard.

I read about 30 personal growth books a year. On my website, I have a whole page dedicated to personal development books. The list keeps growing and I know there are many I haven’t yet mentioned.

• Where can we find your books and writing?

My books are available worldwide but the best place to find them is on Amazon. You can also visit my website tikipaige.com to find out more about my books and my writing journey.

• Can you share some non-writing related facts about yourself?  

I love tap dancing and will forever be infatuated with the sound these shoes make. My favorite time of day is early morning and I love cloudy, rainy days. This is when I’m most productive. I also love sunshine and the sea and Dubai is so generous with sun and sand activities. I love kayaking and simply spending a few hours out at the sea, just drifting, jotting down moments I experience during that time and breathing in the world around me. When I’m not listening to podcasts while driving, you’ll find me listening to music in many different languages from all over the world. I’m a big Mother Earth and animal advocate. I’ve lived through hardship and devastation and I know how precious life is. I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful family and amazing friends in my life.

• Where can we find you online?

Come say hi on Instagram @tikipaigewriter or visit tikipaige.com

• Any parting words?

Keep writing and keep working on your dreams. Hang around people who’ve done it and who know what they’re talking about. If someone tells you that becoming a successful and thriving author is impossible, thank them, turn around, and continue walking your own path. If you keep working and keep writing, you’ll learn that your success is inevitable. Someday, you’re going to be someone’s favorite author.