Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Broken Branch Falls Interview with Tara Tyler

Interview of Tara Tyler about her new book Broken Branch Falls, by Kim Van Sickler

Here's a teaser from Amazon:
Doing homework for bully ogres and getting laughed at as the butt of pixie pranks, Gabe is tired of his goblin life. 

When he and his friends step out of their nerdy stereotype and pull a prank of their own on the dragons at the first football game, it literally backfires, bringing a High Council vote to dismantle not only Gingko High, but the whole town, too! 

The Book of Ages–hidden handbook of the High Council, filled with knowledge and power–may be Gabe’s only hope. 

With the help of friends old and new, can Gabe complete his quest to find the Book in time to save Broken Branch Falls? Or will he remain an outcast forever?

Tara: I'm thrilled to be here at Swagger! Thanks so much, Kim, for spotlighting Broken Branch Falls and interviewing me to boot!

Kim: Thanks for stopping by on your blog tour. Broken Branch Falls brings together a whimsical cast of goblins, ogres, trolls, werewolves, dragons, elves, pixies, and vampires. Which supporting character is your favorite?
Tara: Rove, the werewolf. He's cool and aloof, smart and brooding, and when he opens up, we see he has a sensitive side and a dry humorous side.

Kim: Which character was hardest to write?
Tara: Well, my characters are usually pretty easy for me – they speak to me and have distinct personalities that make them easy to write. What I had trouble with was the sizing of the characters. It was hard to portray how big giants, dragons, and even centaurs are, compared to the other regular-sized characters.

Kim: Which sect would you choose to belong to?
Tara: I'd love to be a dragon. They're strong and smart, they breathe fire, and they fly. They are pretty intimidating, but they have their weaknesses, too. When I was little, I had a great dragon collection.

Kim: You introduced us to a wide variety of characters encompassing numerous fairy tale species. What tips do you have for writing distinct characters who maintain their individuality throughout the story?
Tara: Characters must have back stories, motivation for their personalities, and a reason to be in the story. And when you have a lot of characters, they each need something special that sets them apart and makes them easy to identify. Like Jordy - he's the funny/ditzy goblin of the group. (And my second favorite character to write! He's a crack up!)

Thanks again, Kim! I really appreciate you spotlighting BBF today!
(And don't forget to enter the giveaway below!)

BROKEN BRANCH FALLS (MG Fantasy)
by Tara Tyler
Release Date: June 24, 2014 (NOW!)
Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Gabe is an average fifteen-year-old goblin. He’s in the marching band, breezes through calculus, and gets picked on daily by the other kids at school, especially the ogres. But Gabe wants to break out of his nerdy stereotype and try other things. He has his eye on the new ogress at school. Though it’s against all beastly rules, there’s just something about her.

Gabe starts a fad of mingling with other species, forcing the High Council to step in and ruin things by threatening to destroy the school and split up Broken Branch Falls. With help from other outcast friends, Gabe sets out on a quest to save his town. They'll show 'em what different friends can do together!

Available at
B&N ~~~ Amazon
Add it to your GOODREADS list!

Tara Tyler has had a hand at everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After living up and down the Eastern US, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. Currently, she has two series, The Cooper Chronicles (techno-thriller detective capers) and Beast World (MG fantasy) She's an adventure writer who believes every good story should have action, a moral, and a few laughs!


Also by Tara Tyler, techno-thriller detective series,
The Cooper Chronicles, Book One: POP TRAVEL
on sale this month for 99 cents!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 comments:

  1. I've added Broken Branch to my To Read list.

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  2. Who wouldn't want to be a dragon? Although I wouldn't want to be Smaug...

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  3. Ooh! Now I can't wait to meet the werewolf. I'm stoked and am going to read this one with my littles...as soon as we finish our current book.

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  4. BBF sounds like a winner! Can't wait to read how TT mingles all the creatures together.

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  5. Dragons are my favorite characters too. Great points about secondary characters.

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  6. Such a lovely varied cast. You made a winner Tara. Characters have to shine on their own to be believed.

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  7. Ann - great news! thank you!
    Alex - smaug is awesome, but evil is evil and has to die!
    Crystal - thanks, sweetie! Rove is mysterious goodness!
    Kathy - it was lots of fun! thanks so much!
    Susan - anne mcaffrey, right? they're just magnificent creatures - love that they're in game of thrones, too! and thanks!
    Sheena - thanks, lady! you're so kind!

    and much appreciation to you, Kim! it was a great interview! thanks!

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  8. I'm entering to win, Tara. Want to find out how Gabe fares!

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  9. Wonderful interview! Rove is one of my favorites from the book too. :)

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  10. I never thought before about how hard it would be to write size in a book like that! I can't wait to read this one, but I can't seem to get to it on my list!

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  11. Lee, i hope you do! and thetes always the august giveaway!
    Christine, thanks for your support! and your review is too good to be true!
    Stephanie, thank you! trouble on goodreads? email me if u like

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  12. and kim, thanks again for having me! i had a great time!

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