Welcome to another edition of Sunday Speed Date! This week I have Tobi Doyle joining me.
Tobi Doyle was born in Massachusetts, grew up in California, lived in Texas, Indiana, and settled in West Virginia seven years ago. She is happily married mother of three and even happier that she’s almost an empty nester. After spending years teaching middle school science her husband encouraged her to retire her red pens and follow her passion of writing and she’s never regretted a minute of it.
Welcome, Tobi! First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
This year my husband and I celebrated 25 years of marriage by travelling to Scotland – without the kids. It was wonderful and I adored spending two and half weeks travelling with my best friend with benefits ;) We have three children; 2 daughters in college, and a son who is a senior in high school. I’m not worried about the “empty nest” syndrome, since I have so many characters to keep me company throughout the day. I was born in Massachusetts, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, lived a year in Houston and a year in Dallas before settling in Indiana for a decade. We now reside in Huntington, WV.
Can you tell us a little about your latest project?
I’m very happy to say I’m editing a book sold to Harlequin Desire that will hopefully come out next summer. It’s tentative title is Adrianna’s Avenging Angel. This is a contemporary romance set in San Francisco. I’m working on the second in the series, as well, featuring Alexei’s friend. This is my “Russian Angel” series. These guys are all sexy alpha males with a strong protective streak and a penchant for “fixing” things for others.
What’s your favorite TV show and why?
So many to choose from… SUPERNATURAL. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki saving the world and being snarky about it makes me swoon.
Haha! I love snark.
My other favorite is Homicide Hunter with Joe Kenda. Those blue eyes, my, my, my… My husband and I prefer to watch newer shows instead of reruns, and he loves the Investigation Discovery channel. We enjoy mysteries, and I do love my English shows like Grantham, Poldark, and of course, Downton Abbey. I also love Game of Thrones and Vikings.
Ah, Ross Poldark. Gotta love a broody hero. :)
What’s the farthest you’ve ever traveled from home?
East Berlin. I traveled there with my hubby when we were dating (scandalous, I know), and it was before the Berlin Wall came down. I have a picture of myself in front of it and at Checkpoint Charlie. We had an amazing lunch at an incredibly fancy restaurant in East Berlin, sitting with Russian Generals and extremely well dressed people. I think the whole lunch ended up costing $35 USD for four of us, and that included champagne. Very cool memories.
That is exciting! What an amazing experience.
What was your favorite hobby when you were in high school?
Sailing. I was pretty boring in high school.
That’s impressive. I was more than content to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.
Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from?
My mom reads ALL THE TIME! I was a “late” reader, not really catching on until I was in second grade. Mom still goes to the library a couple of times a week. Back then she introduced me to the children’s librarian and between the two of them I found so many amazing stories, The Borrowers, Madeleine L’Engle, and so many more. When we were on vacation and I ran out of books, I’d read my mom’s so I started reading Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming in middle school. I hate that by high school there was so much other reading that I didn’t really read for pleasure until I graduated college!
Isn’t that they worst part of schooling? So many interesting things to read other than school books.
How much research do you do?
It’s constant, even for the contemporary novels. I’m always looking up a law or something. I will admit that the Cozy has had more research than any others and I think that’s because I’ve never written one before and I want the setting, characters to be perfect so I can write many books with them.
The rabbit hole of research. I can get lost for hours!
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
I aim to finish a scene – regardless of the number. I take Saturday’s off.
Why did you pick scenes?
I tend to write “crap” if I pick a number, but if I pick a scene where I need X to find Y at the bakery and ask her out and there’s a bunch of flirty dialogue, well, I can manage that. I also like to finish an entire scene so that I’m ready for the next one. I like to read the previous day’s work, edit it, and then write the next scene.
I do much of the same and I’m more inclined to write every day if I do it scene by scene.
Where did the idea for your most recent book come from?
The Russian Angels series was from an article I read when visiting my folks in California. Where I grew up there were gangs, and the newest crime was coming from the Russian Mafia. So… I kind of liked the idea of a “good” bad guy, more like a vigilante who had connections but was trying to keep things safe for those around him.
Oh, I love it! There is nothing like real life to inspire writing, even in the most innocuous ways.
Is this book is part of a series? If so, tell us a little about it?
Adrianna’s Avenging Angel is the working title of the Harlequin Desire book due out in July. It features Alexei, who saves Adrianna from an attack. He’s drawn to her and persuades her to do him a small favor… marry him to help with his immigration status for his mama.
The second book features Daniel, a close friend, more like a little brother, to Alexei. In the second story, the one I’m currently plotting in the back of my head, he finds Mia, a fiercely independent woman. There will be sparks :)
Oh, those both sound so interesting!
Tell us about your protagonist(s)?
Mia is a young lawyer, just graduated from Duke University and moved back to San Francisco. She’s paid for college with scholarships and playing professional poker. She’s beautiful and is annoyed by male attention, so she wears a wedding ring and tells people she’s married to get them to back off.
Daniel has just come into his inheritance when he first sees Mia. Spoiler alert – he’s stuffing a body into a trunk. Concerned she’s seen him, he investigates her and quickly realizes that she didn’t see anything and that he likes her. He shows up at her work as her husband, knowing she won’t want to admit she’s lied to her bosses about her marital status.
These two have some great dialogue, super feisty and very fun.
Feisty characters are the best, aren’t they? And can I just say, I love the stuffing of the body in the trunk. lol!
Was there a real life inspiration behind him or her?
Not really… Although Daniel looks A LOT like Daniel Craig ;)
I see nothing wrong with that. :)
If you had to describe yourself using three words, they would be
Lover of life.
Oh, good job… you managed a complete sentence, too!
You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?
Nereus – The Old Man of the Sea in Greek mythology.
That is a great name.
What is your favorite candy?
Chocolate.
I have yet to find a writer who does not like chocolate!
What did you find the most destructive when you were learning to write?
My lack of grammar knowledge. I freaking hate commas and dialogue tags. Semicolons give me spasms.
I hear you on that! Commas are the bane of my existence.
What do you have planned for the long haul in terms of your writing?
I am excited to say I am represented by Laura Bradford and will be using her brain power to help my hone my skills. I’d love to win a RITA, and have a best seller.
A worthy goal. And not unattainable. I wish you the best!
Where can we find out more about you and what you write?
I love to hear from readers. I’m on facebook, twitter, and instagram as – you guessed it – @tobidoyle. Hit up my website for sneak previews of books, or just to ogle mancandy. Sign up for my newsletter for a free story and the learn more about me and the books I’ve written.
Wonderful! I can’t wait to see you around online. Thanks again for stopping by!