Interview with Ta'Mara Hanscom, author of The Caselli Family Series



jimandtamaraABOUT TA’MARA HANSCOM

Having experienced the healing work of the Lord in their own marriage, Ta`Mara and her husband, Jim, are strong promoters of a healthy marriage through obedience to Christ. Ta`Mara shares a testimony of deliverance and healing for hurting marriages, as well as messages on other topics. References can be provided.
It is Ta`Mara’s prayer that, as the readers explore the truths in these volumes, they will come away with a new perspective on love, obedience, and God’s plan for marriage.
Ta`Mara Hanscom has worked on The Caselli Family Series since 1996. Within three weeks she had created a 900 page rough draft of what would become a five- novel series of the epic love story of Tillie Caselli and Noah Hansen.
Loving all things Italian, Ta`Mara created the Caselli family true to their ethnic name. Born and raised in South Dakota, she brings this traditional family alive on the Great Plains where she has spent the entirety of her life.

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life, Ta`Mara Hanscom.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?


A: We have pizza restaurants, and our children and their spouses help us to manage them. A few years ago I learned that I have celiac disease (intolerance to gluten) and had to stop working in the stores, as we open fresh flour every day.  Since then I’ve been able to work full time on writing, teaching and speaking. I’ve been writing for 17 years.

Q: Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

A: Guiseppi Caselli is the world's greatest Papa, and family leader. But he makes this one really bad decision and it affects the lives of two of his children—though neither of them know it! Guiseppi sees that his daughter's life is not what it would have been. What he doesn’t see is that the same decision that's changed his daughter's life has also affected the life of his son, Marquette. Marquette Caselli is a world renowned private investigator who has spent the bulk of his career chasing a Mafia family throughout the globe. Gusieppi's decision derails Marquette's life-long work and it takes twenty-three years to straighten out the mess.

The Caselli Family Series is filled with romance, Christian values, ethnic passion and global adventure.

I wrote the series during a really hard time in my life, and it distracted me from my troubles. I found peace in working hard on the series: rewriting portions, editing and revising. When I’d finally gotten to a point where I felt the series was ready for publication—about 7 years after I started the project—I realized that my troubles had resolved themselves.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced writing it?

A: Equipment. I didn’t have a decent computer, just an old word processor with a daisy-wheel printer. I had to print everything I wrote—immediately—because sometimes the old word processor wouldn’t save! And at that time, I was really broke, and the special paper that feeds into the daisy wheel was beyond my budget.

Q: Do you have a press kit and what do you include in it?  Does this press kit appear online and, if so, can you provide a link to where we can see it?

A: Press kits will be available in late February, 2013, and there will be a link to get them.

Q: Have you either spoken to groups of people about your book or appeared on radio or TV?  What are your upcoming plans for doing so?

A: Yes! I accept speaking engagements as long as they fit into my calendar. My next event is at a MOPS club in Sioux City, Iowa.

Q: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is?  If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

A: I do not have an agent at present. I used to have an agent, but it didn’t work out. I don’t know if you need an agent or not. While I was represented by an agent, I didn’t sell a thing. But that could be a reflection on my particular agent.

Q: Did you, your agent or publisher prepare a media blitz before the book came out and would you like to tell us about it?

A: We went to Christian praise concerts, i.e., Hills Alive, NightVision, LifeLight, etc. We paid upwards of $500 for a booth, and in some cases had to pay 15-20% of our gross revenues. We rented the booths and set up shop in the outskirts of these praise concerts. The best venue was LifeLight in southeastern South Dakota. They draw about 300,000 people to their event, and they like Christian fiction. We sold over 70 books both times we attended—and all we had to do was stand there! I’ve picked up lasting, faithful readers from all of these events. They order online now, and they must be telling their friends because I get a lot of orders from all the regions we’ve been.


Q: Do you plan subsequent books?

A: Yes. I have 14 more in the works. I’m about ¾ finished with Book 6, Books 7 and 8 are finished, and then I’ll be into unwritten material. I’ve done quite a bit of the research already, so it should go fairly easy.
  
Q: Thank you for your interview, Ta`Mara Hanscom.  Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

A: www.PretenderBook.com You can order from there!



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