Interview with Tara Sue Me, Author of Madame President

What can you tell us about your new release, Madame President?

MADAME PRESIDENT  is the story of  Anna Fitzpatrick, Independent and first female POTUS, and Navin Hazar, one of the country’s leading news journalist, who finds himself on her Press Pool. Unknown to anyone,  Anna and Navin share a past, and when their paths cross after her election, they realize twelve years apart wasn’t long enough to either erase the pain, or forget the pleasure of the brief time they were together.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to be an author. When I was nine, I would write down scenes and plot ideas. A few years later, I made note of all the publishing companies from the copyright pages of some of the books we had around the house. My biggest concern then was how I would get my pages typed (This was back in the day when we used typewriters) because I didn’t know how.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon – I’m an old timer. I read this when it first came out in 1991!

REDEEMING LOVE by Francine Rivers – It’s a beautiful romance that speaks of love and forgiveness.

Those have been my top two for years. The remaining three vary. Today, the remaining three would be (in no particular order):

THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks – I hesitated putting this one down because I stopped reading Sparks after he kept killing off all the main characters. But I still remember how THE NOTEBOOK moved me when I first read it, and that’s what kept it in my top five.

SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay – Another book that put me on an emotional roller coaster.

JONATHAN GRAVE SERIES by John Gilstrap – He’s my go thriller author and one of my few autobuys.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I was going to say Thomas Pynchon, just to be different, but my son insisted he wouldn’t show up, and he’s probably right. I’ll say Katja Millay so I could find out if she intended to write a sequel or anything for that matter.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Definitely how the characters take over once you start writing. How they trash your outline and turn your plot on its head. It used to bother me, but now I just let them. Might as well, they haven’t been wrong yet!

What is a typical day like for you?

I’m very fortunate as I’m able to write full time. A year ago, it was me in the house alone all day. Now with Covid, my two kids (older teens) are taking their classes online and my husband works from home most days. It’s no longer quiet, but like the house filed with my family.

During the day I’m usually writing, editing, researching, or doing a combination of all three. I type horribly
slow, though, so when I’m actually writing, my goal is 2,000 words a day. I don’t eat gluten, dairy, or refined sugar, which means I have to set aside time to prepare lunch.

What scene from Madame President was your favorite to write?

I loved writing the scenes where the two main characters argue. Odd, because I avoid arguments at all cost in real life. Of course, that might be why I enjoyed writing it so much.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

There are two Mark Twain quotes that sum up how I try to live and what I want my children to learn. “Action speaks louder than words, but not nearly as often,” and, “The world owes you nothing, it was here first.”

Tara Sue Me is the author of the new book Madame President.

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