Author Interview with Malia Ann Haberman!
In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...
Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too. Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.
Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.
The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them. It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic.
Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.
Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets:
After spending the summer at his grandfather's gigantic, incredibly magical house, thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker thought things couldn't get any more bizarre, or that the secrets and lies couldn't get any worse, but he was wrong.
As summer turns into Autumn, join Chase and his family for even more magical craziness. Craziness that will include: the sneezing of strange powers, the reappearance of the evil Marlowe family, another frightening kidnapping, the discovery of a mysterious, magical girl, a dangerous rescue mission, and a secret so mind-boggling, it will lead to a shocking climatic finish that will turn Chase's world completely upside down and leave him feeling like one of the worst people on the planet.
I am honored to introduce the Author of the Chase Tinker Series, Malia Ann Haberman! Thank you for being here Malia, let's jump right in...
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR CHASE TINKER SERIES.
Well I live in the Seattle area with my 4 wild and crazy ferrets. In between writing, reading, eating, sleeping, playing video games on my iPad and watching TV, I teach ballroom dancing.
I got the idea for my series from a dream. It was while I was working as a Real Estate Agent. One night, after showing my clients a bunch of homes, I dreamed I was living in a gigantic house where every room was filled with magic. The next day when I told my daughter about it, she thought it was a great idea for an MG/Tween book. And she was right, as usual. So that's how my Chase Tinker Series was born. :)
The whole series is about good vs. evil; white magic vs. dark magic; the awesome Tinker family vs. the evil Marlowe family.
There are four books in the series:
Chase Tinker and the House of Magic (available as ebook, audiobook, hardcover and trade paperback)
Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets (available as ebook; others formats will be available in the fall.)
Chase Tinker and the House of Destiny (will be released in 2014)
Chase Tinker and the House of Mist (still being written)
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I've always loved reading so from about the time I turned 14, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Though, at the time I'd just discovered that boys really weren't so bad, so I began writing sappy love stories and poems. Now that I look back, I'm pretty sure most of that stuff sucked a whole bunch. :)
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
Ha! Just getting my first book published.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Staying focused. I have a tendency to go off onto other tasks when I should be writing. I blame it all on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, MSN, chocolate and all those other distractions. :)
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I'm having fun working on the 4th and last book in my Chase Tinker series. It's taking loads of brain power to wrap up everyone's storylines, and have it all make sense.
WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE?
I like writing fantasy for MG/'Tween and YA, but I have some ideas rolling around in my head that are more contemporary. So we'll see what happens with those.
DO YOU EVER SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK? IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT?
I haven't really suffered with the what-the-heck-should-I-write-today-because-I-have-absolutely-no-ideas writer's block. I usually know what I want to say, it's just getting it out of my brain and onto the computer screen that I have problems with. Reading back on what I've written helps sometimes, but not all the time.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?
My favorite place to write is sitting on my floor in my living room with my coffee table as my desk, my computer in front of me, and my TV going as background noise. Sometimes I listen to music, but the problem with that is I can't stop myself from singing along and getting up to dance. So it's probably best to not have the music on too much during writing sessions. :)
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
I've had so many wonderful compliments and reviews from my awesome readers for "Chase Tinker and the House of Magic" that it's hard to pick just one. It makes me all warm and tingly when they love my book and say that it's fun, funny, witty, bone-chilling, adventurous with believable, loveable and relatable characters, truly magical, brilliant, thrilling, entertaining, phenomenal, well-written, descriptive, imaginative, awesome, creative, entertaining, and lots of other fantastic, heart-warming praise.
Thank you so much, everyone! <3
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
I've actually had only one reviewer say some things that weren't nice. One was that my characters were cartoonishly flat. It hurt, but I know you have to take the good with the bad. The way I look at it is you're not a real author until someone hates your work. Ha!
OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
Reading and dancing. Two of my favorite dances are Salsa and Swing.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Yes, because I know how important that is, but even with professional editing, books can still have errors and other issues. :(
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Definitely Chase. He's impatient like me, hates onions, sucks at math, but he'll stick up for himself when he has to. Also, no matter what plan of action he takes, things have a way of blowing up in his face. That seems to happen to me way too often, too. A happily ever after would really be nice at some point. :)
DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
So much!
DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Never!
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Just keep writing and writing and never give up. If you have the talent and drive, good things are sure to happen.
ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
One character I will never kill off is Maxwell the ferret. :)
Well I live in the Seattle area with my 4 wild and crazy ferrets. In between writing, reading, eating, sleeping, playing video games on my iPad and watching TV, I teach ballroom dancing.
I got the idea for my series from a dream. It was while I was working as a Real Estate Agent. One night, after showing my clients a bunch of homes, I dreamed I was living in a gigantic house where every room was filled with magic. The next day when I told my daughter about it, she thought it was a great idea for an MG/Tween book. And she was right, as usual. So that's how my Chase Tinker Series was born. :)
The whole series is about good vs. evil; white magic vs. dark magic; the awesome Tinker family vs. the evil Marlowe family.
There are four books in the series:
Chase Tinker and the House of Magic (available as ebook, audiobook, hardcover and trade paperback)
Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets (available as ebook; others formats will be available in the fall.)
Chase Tinker and the House of Destiny (will be released in 2014)
Chase Tinker and the House of Mist (still being written)
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I've always loved reading so from about the time I turned 14, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Though, at the time I'd just discovered that boys really weren't so bad, so I began writing sappy love stories and poems. Now that I look back, I'm pretty sure most of that stuff sucked a whole bunch. :)
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
Ha! Just getting my first book published.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Staying focused. I have a tendency to go off onto other tasks when I should be writing. I blame it all on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, MSN, chocolate and all those other distractions. :)
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I'm having fun working on the 4th and last book in my Chase Tinker series. It's taking loads of brain power to wrap up everyone's storylines, and have it all make sense.
WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE?
I like writing fantasy for MG/'Tween and YA, but I have some ideas rolling around in my head that are more contemporary. So we'll see what happens with those.
DO YOU EVER SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK? IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT?
I haven't really suffered with the what-the-heck-should-I-write-today-because-I-have-absolutely-no-ideas writer's block. I usually know what I want to say, it's just getting it out of my brain and onto the computer screen that I have problems with. Reading back on what I've written helps sometimes, but not all the time.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?
My favorite place to write is sitting on my floor in my living room with my coffee table as my desk, my computer in front of me, and my TV going as background noise. Sometimes I listen to music, but the problem with that is I can't stop myself from singing along and getting up to dance. So it's probably best to not have the music on too much during writing sessions. :)
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
I've had so many wonderful compliments and reviews from my awesome readers for "Chase Tinker and the House of Magic" that it's hard to pick just one. It makes me all warm and tingly when they love my book and say that it's fun, funny, witty, bone-chilling, adventurous with believable, loveable and relatable characters, truly magical, brilliant, thrilling, entertaining, phenomenal, well-written, descriptive, imaginative, awesome, creative, entertaining, and lots of other fantastic, heart-warming praise.
Thank you so much, everyone! <3
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
I've actually had only one reviewer say some things that weren't nice. One was that my characters were cartoonishly flat. It hurt, but I know you have to take the good with the bad. The way I look at it is you're not a real author until someone hates your work. Ha!
OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
Reading and dancing. Two of my favorite dances are Salsa and Swing.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Yes, because I know how important that is, but even with professional editing, books can still have errors and other issues. :(
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Definitely Chase. He's impatient like me, hates onions, sucks at math, but he'll stick up for himself when he has to. Also, no matter what plan of action he takes, things have a way of blowing up in his face. That seems to happen to me way too often, too. A happily ever after would really be nice at some point. :)
DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
So much!
DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Never!
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Just keep writing and writing and never give up. If you have the talent and drive, good things are sure to happen.
ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
One character I will never kill off is Maxwell the ferret. :)
Malia's “BLONDE” BASICS:
FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza and chocolate
FAVORITE MOVIE? Way too many to count, but I love action-adventure movies with some romance thrown in.
FAVORITE BOOK? Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Gregor the Overlander, Book of a Thousand Days
FAVORITE SUPERHERO? Superman!
FAVORITE AUTHOR? JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins
FAVORITE MOVIE? Way too many to count, but I love action-adventure movies with some romance thrown in.
FAVORITE BOOK? Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Gregor the Overlander, Book of a Thousand Days
FAVORITE SUPERHERO? Superman!
FAVORITE AUTHOR? JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins
Website: http://maliaannhaberman.weebly.com/
Oh, and Erika, I just wanted to let everyone know that "Chase Tinker and the House of Magic" is now .99 cents on Amazon. Since reading is so awesome, I want to promote summer reading for kids, teens and adults. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Chase-Tinker-House-Magic-ebook/dp/B008XOY6AU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345146724&sr=8-1&keywords=Chase+Tinker+and+the+House+of+Magic
Thank you, Erika! :)