FAQ

How do I keep up-to-date on book releases, preorders, sales and other news?

• Sign up for my mailing list here. It is a great way to stay current on all my book news. I promise not to inundate your inbox.
• Follow me on Bookbub here. Bookbub will notify you when I have a new release.  
• If you're on Goodreads go ahead and give me a follow here. Goodreads sends monthly updates that highlights the authors you follow. 
• Follow me on Amazon here. Amazon will notify you on new releases.

Will there be a sequel to Home is Where You Are?

Coming Home to you is now available! 

After getting evicted, Seth finally decides to grant his sister's wish and return home. Filled with bad memories, and holding the burden of a secret that's not even his, he goes back to the place he swore he never would.

His first night home a loud thump awakens him. When he goes to investigate he finds Katie, the one girl who was always off-limits, falling through his living room window.

Katie spends her days cutting class and her nights getting wasted so she can forget reality. On the outside, everyone thinks she’s happy being the life of the party, but on the inside she’s lonely and broken. She’s about to flunk out of school and become a nobody when her best friend's brother, and boy she has loved for years, comes back home.

Two broken souls burned by those who were supposed to love them most find solace in each other. Will they be able to help one another heal before the past destroys them both?

Grab your copy here:  Amazon 

 

Why do you write some books under Tessa Marie and others under Theresa Paolo?  

The reason has changed from my initial intention. Originally all my self-published books went under Tessa Marie and my traditionally published books went under Theresa Paolo. However, as I write more adult books with mature content, I wanted a way to separate those from my YA books. So from now on all of my adult books and new adult books will be published under Theresa Paolo and all of my YA books will be published under Tessa Marie. The only exception is Broken Records which will stay under Tessa Marie but is a new adult book with mature content. 

Will there be any more books in the Beds Series? 

As of right now the series is complete. If you haven't read the prequel (Nate and Kaylee's story) you can grab it for free here: Amazon

Will there be a third book in the Again series? 

Unfortunately there will not be another book in the Again series. As much as I wanted to bring you all Justin's story, it is out of my hands. I'm keeping hope that one day there will be. Justin's story is probably one of, if not, my favorite book I have ever written.

Will you and Cassie Mae write another book together?  

Absolutely! When? That I'm not sure. But as soon as we have something in the works we will let you all know!

I want to be a writer. Can you give me some advice?

I believe it was a post by Alyson Noel that said BIC - butt in chair. I have carried that with me ever since. If you want to be a writer you need to put the time and energy into not only writing but into honing your craft and discovering your distinct voice. You need to make yourself get in that chair and write. The more you write the more you step into who you really are as a writer.

Once you have a manuscript find critique partners. It's hard putting your work out there and it's even harder to be criticized but you will never learn if you don't take this step. As a writer, you need to be open to other people's opinions and try to see it from their point of view. Your words are your baby and it's hard to see any fault in what you have created, but trust me when I tell you, a good critique partner will open your eyes to what you are blind to. You don't have to agree with everything they say but you need to be able to put your pride aside and try to understand why they feel the way they do. Most times they are right. At least my CP's are. I'm lucky because my CP's each have their own strengths and can bring something different to the table which is important to help round out your manuscript. And if you get your manuscript back and it's covered in red and full of comments be grateful because now you can only make your story better. And if it seems overwhelming just know that I once got an 80k manuscript back from a critique partner that had almost 1100 comments, no I'm not joking. I took a day to recover then dove in and tackled each comment one by one until there wasn't a single one left. 

Read. Read everything. Step outside your comfort zone and read something you normally wouldn't. Read what is popular and trending right now. Read NYT Best sellers and debut authors. Read wide. The more you read, and discover all the different ways of telling a story, the easier it'll be to find your own voice.

Learn the rules and then break them. This was a concept for the longest time that I did not understand but I do now and I'm going to share it with you. Once you know the rules of writing, you will know when to break them. Breaking them will become an intricate part of your story, but if you over break them they will have the opposite purpose and you will distract from the story. By knowing the rules, you know when it is warranted to not follow them. You can't make that decision until you know them. So learn them, store them in your mind, follow them and then break them when necessary.

I have read quite a few books on writing but my favorite is:
Stephen King's On Writing 

If you have any questions, you can post them in the comment section, and I'll do my best to answer them.