Book Launch Interview with Terry Tyler, Author of Served Cold: BOOK #1 of the REVENGE Series

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Revenge is a dish best served cold: Two novellas in which vengeance is planned long after emotions have cooled ... these are calculated, deliberate acts of retribution. Justice designed for catastrophic effect.

I'm pleased to welcome best-selling author Terry Tyler to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book

Served Cold comprises two novellas inspired by the phrase ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’. I’ve written eight stories on the subject of revenge in general, and plan to release them all in twos. The next book (working title Providence or possibly So Shall You Reap) explores the concept of what is often known as ‘karma’. 

The stories in Book #3, Two Graves, are based around the adage ‘When you seek revenge, be sure to dig two graves’, while Book #4, Divine Retribution, speaks for itself! In the first story within Served Cold, we meet Jodie in The Steal. She lives a fairly idyllic life in a village with her husband who she adores, and sees her and Kirk’s life following a sunny, peaceful path down the years to come, surrounded by friends and the children she hopes to have. 

Alas, the arrival of a stranger in the village turns all her expectations and plans upside down. The story was inspired by an article I read, years ago, a true experience, but I can’t say any more > spoilers!
The second story, Lucky Star, follows the fortunes of Stevie, who wakes up in a strange room with no idea how she got there. 

She soon discovers that she is one of ten contestants chosen to play the game of Lucky Star, though none of them know what the game involves or why they were chosen―is selection random? Were they nominated by someone else? Is it a reality show, like Big Brother?

 
Both the stories are pretty dark; I’d describe them as psychological dramas/thrillers. I’ve tried to write ‘lighter’, but I just can’t do it. Years ago, I tried to write a chick lit novel. By the fourth page, my heroine was developing uncomfortable self-awareness and getting drunk, and I don’t mean a couple of cheeky Proseccos.

 
As well as the eight stories I’ve written (five still in first draft) I do have ideas and notes for more on the theme, so my plan for four books of two stories each is not cast in stone. I used to write and release books in a more structured fashion, planning everything out and sticking to it, which is why in years gone by I have been able to produce two novels a year, but I’m getting a bit more random in my old age. 

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

My attitude now is that they’ll get published when they get published, and they’ll sell if they sell. I do less ‘proper’ promotion and general launch stuff than I used to, which is one reason why I am most grateful to bloggers like Tony for offering me such opportunities! 

I find that a monthly promotion on Freebooksy still works well – I will make the first book in a series free, then put one or more down to 0.99, and submit to their ‘series promotion’ service. I highly recommend, if you have a series of three books or more.

I’m so glad I started doing this self-publishing thing fifteen years ago―it must be so difficult for authors trying to make headway now. I saw a tweet the other day from a chap who was trying to sell his fantasy novel by tweeting about it; he asked which were the best social media sites for selling books, because X didn’t seem to be working for him. 

Sadly, the days of using social media solely to promote a book are long over, if indeed they ever existed. In order to get much traction on any of the sites, I believe you need to enjoy using them for their own sake, rather than as a vehicle to sell your wares, whatever they are. I only use X and Instagram (the latter to a much lesser extent) because they are the only two I enjoy.

What advice do you have for new writers?

As far as new authors are concerned, my main advice would be to write only because you feel the need. f you’re doing so because you want to make money or ‘be a successful author’, you’re likely to be disappointed. Trying to make a success out of anything creative has always been a long, hard uphill struggle, but never more so than now, when all markets are so saturated.

What are you planning to write next?

What’s next? I don’t know. I’ll forever be drawn to writing end of the world/dystopian future scenarios, but I have wanted, for years, to write some form of historical fiction. Not sure what, yet. I have an idea for a novel about a family spanning centuries (like there haven’t been enough of them written already, but I’m a sucker for them!), so that might be a project for the years to come.

 
Thank you once more, Tony, for this opportunity, and thank you for reading!

Terry Tyler

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About the Author

Terry Tyler lives in the North East of England with her husband, where she goes for long walks with camera in hand, feeds birds and tries to grow stuff, as well as ploughing through her TBR list and writing books.  She loves history, particularly Saxon, Plantagenet and Tudor, and is still waiting for the zombie apocalypse. You cna find Terry on Twitter @TerryTyler4, Instagram @terry__tyler  and Bluesky @terrytyler.bsky.social