She writes science fiction, historical fiction and she’s a talented photographer, even though she modestly claims to be an amateur! For today’s author feature, I’d like to introduce you to Greta van der Rol! I’d like to begin by having you share a little information about yourself with our readers, Greta. What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

GVDR:  Obviously photography. For me, that means going outside, often to the beach where I just enjoy communing with nature and delighting in the marvelous creatures with which we share our world. I take particular pleasure in capturing movement – be it water, a flying bird, a hovering insect; a frozen moment of time. I also like cooking, and I do that pretty well.

Has writing stories always been a part of your life and becoming a published author a lifelong dream?

GVDR:  Yes, I think so. Of course, I've done lots of other things in my time, and my career in IT was all-absorbing. I started (and did not finish) more than one writing course, and even submitted some short stories to magazines. Then, after a long hiatus, the wish to write swelled again and this time, I grabbed it with both hands and carried on.

So far, you have published seven novels, but for today’s interview, I’d like to discuss your novel entitled Black Tiger. What was the inspiration behind this story and can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist, Dr. Sally Carter?

GVDR:  I received a tweet – an RT from a friend – about the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. I knew tigers were under pressure but I had no idea that there were less than  2,000 tigers left in the wild in India. I did a bit of research and found out about tiger poaching, why the big cats are killed, and how. I was inspired to write a story which would entertain and also tell people a little about the problem of poaching.

Although tigers live in places other than India, it's the obvious location. And there are ties (like cricket) between India and my own country, Australia. Enter Sally Carter. I wanted a character who could see the contrast between India and a western society. So Sally is an Australian doctor who has been ditched by the love of her life. Nursing her broken heart, she takes on a short term contract as a doctor in India. She has always had a burning ambition to see wild tigers and the job she takes is near a (fictional) tiger park. The aim is to do some good with the skills she has, and return home to start again. But almost immediately upon arrival in India she hears about the legend of the Black Tiger, the guardian of the jungle. Then the dreams start. Sally is on a steep learning curve, coming to terms with her own feelings – and her own family history, and a legend come to life. She's smart, tough, but much more sensitive than she lets on.

Without giving away too much, can you reveal what’s in store for the readers when they crack open Black Tiger?

GVDR:  I won't repeat the blurb. Like all my books, Black Tiger is fast-paced and action-packed. You'll go on a tiger 'hunt' where Sally takes pictures of tigers and sees a hunting tiger make a kill. You'll enter the slums of Mumbai in search of a tiger poacher and marvel at the contrasting extravagance of a raja's palace. You'll go with the were-tiger when he stalks the alleyways of Hong Kong. Join Sally when she delves into the secrets of the tiger temple, and sees the rituals of a Hindu funeral. Then you'll fly across to Melbourne and share a little of Sally's family history. Back in India, she'll finally have a heart-stopping encounter with the black tiger. And woven through all that is an unlikely love story. I'm told my hero, Ash, is a scrummy, yummy, gorgeous guy.

From our past correspondence, I knew you were a nature lover with a deep concern for indigenous wildlife by all the bird and bat houses you’ve been putting up on your property. I also discovered all the profits from Black Tiger sales are being donated to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. What made you decide to make this generous offer?

GVDR:  I guess we all make choices. I could have just sent the DSWF a check for x amount of dollars, but I felt, as a writer, I had more to offer. So very often people have no idea how much pressure humans are putting on wildlife and what that impact causes. It's only nature lovers like you and me who keep an ear tuned to things like the wildlife trade.

So this book plays two roles. I'm hoping I'll be able to send DSWF a fat royalty check every few months for a while. But also, I hope I'll open a few people's eyes to what's going on out there. I deliberately chose to write a contemporary paranormal romance because there are so many more readers than my usual niche market.

Sure, my novel is a fantasy but poaching is real, the reasons are real and the impact is real. Also, I've done my very best to make the tigers real. They're not nice pussycats, they're savage, solitary hunters and they don't belong in zoos. Apparently there are something like 6,000 tigers in the US, in people's private zoos and backyards, as well as proper, accredited zoos. I was sickened last year to read about the fellow in Ohio who had a private zoo. He let all his animals loose, then shot himself. The police were forced to kill hundreds of animals – including 18 Bengal tigers. That's so wrong on so many levels. Hopefully, my book will raise awareness.

The road to publication is difficult at the best of times. What made you decide to go the indie route and self-publish your works?

GVDR:  I'd tried (without success) to go the traditional route and decided I was getting too old to mess about. Most of my books were published by a small indie, which recently folded. However, I did offer Black Tiger to a couple of other small, well-respected indies. I was offered contracts but decided to go it alone. I have some presence in the market because of my other books, and as a self-pubber I would have more return to give to DSWF. To be very honest, I don't think there's much difference any more between the better (ie edited) self-published books and those by the major houses.

What was the best and worst part of being an indie author?

GVDR:  The best is the element of control. I can write what I want, when I want. No deadlines. Then again, maybe that's also a drawback.

The worst? What can I say? I have to do all my own promotion – but I don't think the big houses do much of that these days, either. I have to do my own quality control and ensure books are properly edited and proofed but I've always tried to produce quality in whatever I do. Beta readers and critique partners are an essential part of the mix, and I'm fortunate to be able share my work with a number of excellent writers.

Mind you, I don't have to make a living from writing. Which is undoubtedly just as well.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on the road to publication?

GVDR:  Write a great story, something that will take readers somewhere else for a few hours. There's plenty of proof out there that 'good' writing (whatever that means) doesn't matter – it's all about capturing the imagination. Having said that, spelling, grammar, formatting are all part of the package. After all, they're the easy bits.

Still on the subject of writing styles, are you a plotter or pantser? The readers would like to know if you tend to plot out your story line in great detail or if your writing is more organic with the characters and events unfolding as you write.

GVDR:  Oh, it's organic. I have a start, a finish, a few incidents I know I want to have, then I goferit. Whole chapters of Black Tiger were thrown away, others were massaged into something barely recognizable from the original. Points of view changed, great ideas were reluctantly left out. I discovered all sorts of things about my characters as I wrote, chucked in a bit of Australian history on the way.

Some authors meditate, others need to fuel up on coffee or listen to music. Do you have any rituals, ones that can be shared with the readers, that you must do before you hunker down for a writing session?

GVDR:  No rituals. But for the writing to really flow, I must have rehearsed the scene, talked it out while sipping wine and watching the micro-bats flitting around after sunset. That way, I know the dialogue flows and I've thought it through. Fortunately, my husband's used to my quirky little habits. I'm sure strangers would think I was just a bit nutty.

I understand completely! (Plus, I love bats, micro and mega.) At one time or another, most writers hit the wall and their work stalls because of the dreaded writer’s block. What do you do to get around or over this mental wall to resume writing?

GVDR:  I don't believe in writer's block. If I can't imagine the scene, as I described before, then either I write another scene, or I just sit down in the chair and write on from where I left off. It's hard work, but it forces me to think and I'll always come up with something. It might be garbage – but that's why there's editing.

Who is your favourite author and how has he/she inspired you to write or influenced your writing style or choice of genre?

GVDR:  Is? Such a hard question. I adore Terry Pratchett but I don't write like him at all. I think I have a similar writing style to some of Jack McDevitt's work – but not all of it. In the same vein, I enjoy Elizabeth Moon and Anne McCaffrey and while I've learned from them and admire aspects of their style, I don't emulate them. I write mainly SF with a scoop of romance because I've always loved science fiction. I'm a great Star Wars fan and I've read a heap of Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Bradbury and the like. I've just added that dollop of sex I always wished was in some of those books.

What do you foresee in your future over the next five years? Can your fans expect a sequel to Black Tiger in the near future?

GVDR:  There's certainly room for a sequel to Black Tiger, but to some extent it will depend on how successful Black Tiger becomes. When is another issue. The sequel to Morgan's Choice is tugging at my sleeve. I was 30k words in when various business and family issues tore me away, but that's one I've promised to my readers. From there, we'll see.

Thank you so much for discussing this special novel and for sharing in your writing experiences, Greta! I’ll catch you on Twitter.

For more information about Greta van der Rol and her novels, check out:

Website: http://gretavanderrol.net/

Follow Greta on Twitter: @gretavdr

Where to buy the book: Amazon US  Amazon UK Smashwords Omnilit