Fiction Friday | Getting to Know Camy Tang

Welcome Camy Tang to Fiction Friday.

Today we are getting to know Camy Tang. Camy and 11 other authors have a box set, Save the Date, releasing this week.

Can you tell us something others may not know about you?

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Japanese light novels (translated into English), and I’ve been secretly wanting to write a fantasy novel about a girl who’s reborn in another world. 

As a child did you have a favourite book or author?

My favorite author was Anne McCaffrey. Her Dragonsong and Dragonsinger books were what inspired me to write my own first novel.

Did any of your favourite authors growing up influenced you?

Aside from Anne McCaffrey, I also read Jane Austen in high school and absolutely LOVED it. (It probably was inevitable, since I’d just read Romeo and Juliet and BOY was that depressing!) Jane is still one of my favorite authors and influenced me to start writing Regency romances.

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I’ve always loved reading, and my parents really encouraged me in my reading because both of them read a lot–my mom likes contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and suspense, and my dad likes science fiction and urban fantasy. After reading Anne McCaffrey, I actually completed a truly awful, overwrought fantasy novel, but I loved writing it. I’ve enjoyed writing fiction ever since.

Outside reading and writing do you have any hobbies or passions?

I knit. A LOT. I like finding antique knitting patterns from the 1800s and adjusting them for modern clothes and accessories.

How did the idea for the box set of “Save the Date” come from?

I was actually asked to join the box set by Jan Thompson, who is a friend from a Facebook group I belong to. She mentioned that she and Lisa Prysock wanted to do a contemporary romance box set. I love Jan and wanted to be in a box set with her. The twelve authors decided the theme once we all got together.

Where did you get the inspiration for The Wedding Kimono?

Actually, my aunty on my dad’s side does absolutely beautiful, very complex and intricate Japanese-style embroidery, and it got me thinking about hidden messages within an embroidered piece. My heroine was insecure about her boyish body, and I immediately thought of a richly embroidered wedding kimono to contrast her lack of self-confidence.

What was it like working with 11 other authors on this box set?

They are all SO much more experienced than me when it comes to all this marketing stuff! I’ve been so relieved to be able to entrust our marketing and advertising to them. It’s also been wonderful to have them to rely upon when I got really sick a few months ago with my bad IBS and sinus headaches. They’ve been very supportive and we all managed to get the box set out without problems!

Is there anything else you would like to say about this box set?

On a sadder note, this year we tragically lost two of the authors in our box set, Marion Ueckermann and Shoshanna Gabriel. They died within 3 months of each other, and we were all shocked and grieved by their loss. We are very thankful to God that we were able to get the box set released despite these setbacks. We know God had his hand over our box set from the very beginning.

A fun question. If you could have a meal with any 3 living people in the world who would you choose and why?

Hmmm. Well, first off, I want to have a meal with famous Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, because, well, I want him to cook for me! LOLOL

I’d also love a meal with Maggie Q, one of my favorite actresses. I loved her in the TV show Nikita!

I’d also love to talk to Hiromu Arakawa, the manga artist who drew the series Fullmetal Alchemist and Silver Spoon, two of my favorite manga series!

Finally can you tell us about your latest release. Where can buy the book and where can we find you on the web?

Save the Date releases October 12th! You can preorder it for only 99 cents at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble. You can find the buy links here on my website: https://camytang.com/books/warubozu_spa_chronicles/the_wedding_kimono/

I post regularly on my blog: http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/

Here’s my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CamyTangAuthor

I’m also on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/291940.Camy_Tang

If you’d like a copy of my free short story, “White Soup,” sign up for my newsletter here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/lnyu27gzqf

Do you like to read books featuring weddings? Have you ever been sent a Save the date card? Lets chat.