Meet and Greet Monday: Camy Tang

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Originally from Hawaii, she worked as a biologist for 9 years, but now she writes full time, is a staff worker for her church youth group, leads a worship team for Sunday service, and runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service, which specializes in book doctoring. 

BRC: Welcome, Camy. How would you describe your book?

CT: Here's the back cover blurb for Scene of the Crime:
The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz
bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The
salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she
discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is
found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s
ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to
light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust?

BRC: What message do you hope your book conveys?

CT: The theme verse of the book is Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save."

For every book, I have a "theme song" that I play to get me in the mood for the characters. I confess that I initially hit on the worship song "Mighty to Save" as Naomi's "theme song" for the book, and then found the Zephaniah verse to go with it.

But as I was writing Deadly Intent, the verse became more and more prominent as a major element in Naomi's spiritual thread. It ended up being an integral part of her surrender to God—her trust that He is,
indeed, mighty to save.

I hope that my readers will also come to that point of surrender in their own lives, and be able to trust that God is with them, that "He is mighty to save."

BRC: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

CT: Even though the main story is about a murder and finding the killer, I had a lot of fun creating the Grant family: Augustus Grant, owner of the Joy Luck Life spa; the three sisters, Naomi, Rachel, and Monica;
and their mother's sister, Aunt Becca. The more time I spent with  them, the more interesting family dynamics came out.

BRC: What did you dislike most about writing this book?

CT: It wasn't dislike, but more frustration that I couldn't actually GO to my fictional spa for a week or so to relax. :)

BRC: What inspired you to become a writer?

CT: I think it was reading Dragonsong and Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey that first gave me the idea to start writing. I loved those books so much that I wanted to write my own fantasy world and story. I wrote my
first manuscript in high school, or maybe it was junior high school ... I can't remember except that the manuscript was like 1000 pages long and horrifically bad. LOL

BRC: Tell us about your writing process.

CT: I am what is called a "plotter," so I plot my entire story before I actually write it. I brainstorm with Post-It notes stuck on my office closet doors (check out the photo: http://is.gd/5gmfo). I do characterization and plan the storyline in as much detail as I can. The plotting process takes several months, but once it's done, I can typically write the manuscript within about a month.

BRC: What are you working on now?

CT: I'm working on a sequel to Deadly Intent, called Formula for Danger. The heroine is Naomi's sister, Rachel, who is the dermatologist researcher at the spa responsible for creating all the innovative products that make the spa famous. But now someone is after her latest research, a scar cream reduction formula that could propel Joy Luck Life spa to the top of its competition. She turns to Edward Villa, a man she secretly loves, but can he protect her from the attacks on her lab and her life?

BRC: What books do you enjoy reading?

CT: I read a variety of genres! I mostly enjoy Regency romances, but I also read the Love Inspired Suspense novels every month and I like a good fantasy once in a while, too.

BRC: Where can readers buy your book?

CT: http://www.camytang.com/romanticsuspense.html
(I list several purchasing options on this page so people can pick)

BRC: Where can readers find you online?

CT: They can visit my website and sign up for my newsletter Yahoo Group for giveaways!
I also blog regularly. My blog is where I give away Christian novels and ponder frivolous things.
 
Readers can find me online at these places:

http://www.camytang.com/

http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/camytang
http://www.twitter.com/camytang
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=CAMYTANG

BRC: Thanks for letting us get to know you, Camy.

CT Thanks for the interview, Janalyn!