Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I am a certified etiquette professional, publisher and author. I provide etiquette taining for individuals and small groups, write and publish etiquette curriculum for schools, churches and other non-profits, I am the CEO and founder ofBlurbPerfect, a professional editing service for authors and i am the author of “Beyond Good Manners: How to Raise a Sophisticated Child” and “20 Minute Manners”

Which writers inspire you?

Although I am currently a non-fiction author I am still inspired by writers such as Stephen King, Laura Kinsale and Sylvia Plath. Their ability to get to the heart of the matter and not waste words is very important, I believe, in telling the tightest, most engaging stry.

Have you written any other novels in collaboration with other writers?

I co-wrote “Beyond Good Manners: How to Raise a Sophisticated Child” with my husband, Dr. J. Blake Turner and that wa a pretty cool experience.

When did you decide to become a writer?

Writing baically chose me. I have had a love affair with words since the age of three. That was when my uncle taught me to spell my name. He was home from the army for the weekend and happened to be studying for a test. I wanted to know what all of the confusing characters were in his textbooks and he explained tme that they were words and not only that, but that there was a word for everything, including my name. He proceeded to write my name in the fly leaf of his textbook and I stared at the letters, fascinated that I could be boiled down to four letters After that I was hooked and constantly asked everyone i knew what words meant what and what letters signified those words. By the time I was four i was writing simple sentences and reading everything I could get my hands on. My mom tells everyone how  would painfully tackle newspaper articles, stubbornly sounding out words I had no idea of the meaning of. I remember arguing with my mom about the correct way to spell the word going. I think she may have been correct about there not being a ‘w’ in the word!

Do you write full-time or part-time?

I write part time but am fortunate enough to integrate m writing with my career, which is pretty closely linked.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

I absolutely use an outline, not only for my non-fiction work, which is essential, but also for the fiction I plan to publish next year. Although plotting and outlining works best for me personally, I do admre people who are able to just let go and see where things end up. I think for all writers, however, the characters take on a life of their own and really ‘speak’ to them whether the author is in front of the computer or not.

Do you have a strategy for finding reviewers?

Not particularly Fortunately, goodreads is fll of wonderful beta readers, reviewers and bloggers who are eager for new material to read and review. it  a win-win for authors and readers.

What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?

Every newly published author tends to over-think reviews. While they are certainly important at some point you realize that obsessing over them is exhausting and takes you away from promoting the book and writing new material. Once the book is in the hands of readers it is what it is. Of course, both good and bad reviews can be a teaching moment for writers but when the eviews become redundant you know you have hit a saturation point and have learned what you need to know. Time to move on. I check my review page about every other week, at this point.

How can readers discover more about you and you work?

I have author pages on both Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Woods-Turner/e/B01CSCQB7I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1460403850&sr=8-1and Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15080453.Tara_Woods_Turnerwhere readers can learn more about me, drop in to say hi, leave feedback or just ask me questions. I am als on twitter @ohtaratara and facebook: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15080453.Tara_Woods_Turner

Any Comments for the Blog readers?

Please check out my book “Beyond Good Manners: How to raise a Sophisticated Child” available in igital and paperback on Amazon. It makes a perfect gift for the parents in your life and is full of fun, relevant and family oriented advice and suggestions to hel you raise a child who is engaging, confident and sophisticated – a child who gets noticed for all the right reasons!

Any feedback for me or the blog?

Thank you for all you do to highlight indie authors and expose our books to readers. The literary community is a wondefully connected one and blogs like yours make it happen.