It’s not very often someone leaves me speechless or shocked. Ask my wife. I can pretty much talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere. It’s a gift and a curse. Because I also don’t have much of a filter.

Over the last few years, a few moments have arrived though where I was left a bit speechless. Receiving a blurb from Andrew Pyper. Adam Nevill thanking me in his afterword. J.H. Moncrieff doing the same. My first writing award nomination. And when I received an email from Tiffany McDaniel a few years back. In my mind I have imaginary tiers of writing success/level of ‘visibility’ lets call it. Its a lame thing in my mind, but it’s essentially the line where, for me, a writer goes from being a writer to being a celebrity. Tiffany is absolutely that for me. She’s an internationally lauded author, someone who’s books break hearts, crush souls and move readers like no other. And when she emailed me, I was stunned!

I say all of this, because, she recently reached out again to see if I’d be up for reading her next release and after a few emails back and forth, I worked up the courage to ask her if she’d do a 3Q’s and GUESS WHAT! Well, it’s obvious – she agreed!

So, please do give her a hearty round of applause!

Welcome Tiffany!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Tiffany: I’ve always written with pen and paper, only coming to the computer when I type the writing in to a file. I love the connection to handwriting a story. Because of this, I have notebooks throughout the house. I do write daily, but not at a certain time each day. I don’t have a word count I go for either. I think sometimes setting goals means you’re writing more for the goal than for the story.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Tiffany: Oh, this is an interesting one. There’d be so many questions of why it was unpublished. Was it lost? Stolen? Forgotten? I wouldn’t want to keep it, because I’m superstitious, and I’d feel a bit haunted by having it. And because I wouldn’t know the author’s wishes, I wouldn’t want to publish it without their permission. I think the best thing would be handing it over to the author’s family or estate, leaving the decision to publish with those who knew the author best.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Tiffany: My newest is ON THE SAVAGE SIDE. It’s inspired by a series of women murdered in Chillicothe, Ohio. When the crime first took place, there were some in the community who felt the loss of the women wasn’t a big deal because of their association with drug use and prostitution. I really wanted to capture the spirit of such women and discover who they might have been beyond the headlines and show that their lives mattered. Like with my previously published book, Betty, there were some real-life places to visit. In writing On the Savage Side, I visited where the women’s bodies were found or where they were last seen. Visiting the water especially allowed me to step into the atmosphere of the crime and understand that the ripples of a river carry many voices with them.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

Tiffany: Such a fun question. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a writer and a witch. I’d say if I could get a superpower, it’d probably be hocus pocus. And what I mean by that, is the old school superpower of a witch. Being able to speak to spiders and cats, read cobwebs, stir up a good spell in a cauldron, and have some lightning magic in my fingertips. And of course, fly on broomsticks.

That is a fantastic superpower! And very timely for October as well!

Thank you so much, Tiffany! I’m excited to dive into ON THE SAVAGE SIDE even though it sounds like it’s going to destroy me like BETTY did!

To find more of her work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tiffany-McDaniel/e/B01DAN905O/

Website: https://www.tiffanymcdaniel.com/