Camy Tang: Interview and Book Giveaway

Today chick-lit novelist, Camy Tang, returns to talk about her new book, Only Uni. Hang around to hear what she has to say, and find out how you can win a copy. Also, you can read the first chapter here.

With which character in this book do you most identify and why?
I think I like Venus the best because she says what she means and she doesn’t take crap from anybody. I’m not quite as fearless as she is, but I’d like to be as frank. Maybe it’s my “Asian” side, but I was taught to just get along with people, keep my mouth shut, be polite, and hide my emotions--all that stuff. In the past few years, I’ve been discovering my identity in Christ and the person I am—not perfect, saying exactly what I mean, being emotional if I want to. In some ways I relate to Marianne in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, although not quite to her extreme. But she wasn’t afraid of public censure for showing her love for Willoughby or devastation when he married someone else.

Who (besides the obvious) is your favorite Bible character, and why?
I like Deborah. She took her job as biblical judge seriously and didn’t let any man dictate to her what her role should be as a woman in those times. She wasn’t afraid to tell Barak that because he wouldn’t go without her, a woman would kill his enemy. That had to hurt his pride. She struck me as a very no-nonsense woman with a lot of faith, and I’d like to be like that, too.

Name a book besides the Bible that has inspired you and tell how.
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey is the novel that inspired me to write my own stories. Up until that point, I just enjoyed reading. Dragonsong was so amazing as a story that it sparked ideas for my own stories, and I started writing them down.

You are a marketing whiz. What advice do you have for first-time authors about how to get the word out?
First of all, only do what you want to do. If you don’t like blogging, then don’t do it. If you don’t like book signings, then don’t do it (unless your editor tells you to, naturally). My philosophy for marketing is to do what you enjoy doing. If you have to move outside your comfort zone a few times, it’s a lot easier if you’re mostly doing what you enjoy.

An author website is a non-negotiable. You have to have one. It’s basically your business card on the web for readers to find out about you and your books. It should be updated once a month with news about what you’re doing, and if you don’t have the techno-savvy to do it yourself, hire a web designer or even a high school student to do it for you. Another option is to get a MySpace or Facebook page and point your domain name to your page. Those pages are really easy to update and add content yourself.

I also suggest you get a newsletter group. You can use YahooGroups or a paid newsletter service, but start a newsletter so people can start signing up for your monthly or quarterly newsletter. No one minds an email in their Inbox once a month or once every three months, and it will get the word out about your new releases. Do this before your first book comes out to get anticipatory buzz going about your book. Also, in every interview you do and on your website, put the link for people to sign up for your newsletter.

For my book releases, I hold a newsletter-subscriber-only contest to both promote my book and gain new newsletter subscribers. For example, right now I’m giving away five huge boxes of books and 25 copies of Only Uni. It’s open only to my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, so join today!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Camys_Loft/join

Since you live with somebody who makes killer coffee drinks, what is your beverage drink of choice to sip while writing?
While I do love coffee, I usually drink tea. It’s better for my health and easier to make than coffee. I like it English-style with milk and honey, but I only have that for breakfast—for the rest of the day, I drink it plain. My current favorite is genmaicha tea, which is green tea with toasted rice in it. I grew up with this and the scent brings me back to my childhood.

Thanks for having me here, Sandi!

Thanks for hanging out with us.

Okay folks, if you want to win a copy of Only Uni for yourself or someone you love, leave a comment. I'll enter twice anyone who mentions his or her favorite scene in Sense and Sensibility. Winner TBA Friday morning.