Introducing Debut Author: Karen Tyrrell!

Hey all, I've had a really rough week and weekend.  So, to kick-start this week, I thought to upload an author interview for you all to get into.  Karen Tyrrell is a good friend of mine - a writer - who I've known for some years now.  And in the last year, she's published her first book 'Me & Her'.  Seeing she's a debut author, I thought you'd all love to know more about her; and want to read her book.

How did you get into writing?

Madness! An irrefutable obsession to write ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness, my unique teacher’s story of parent harassment, and the birth my two sides ME and HER.

ME: Teacher, wife, mother and Writer
HER: Manic, psychic, healer to the living, telepathic to the dead, and she’s very psychotic!

How long did it take to write your first book?  What kind of research did you do to get it all written?

Took six years and over 100 drafts to write ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness. I researched first hand, interviewing patients, doctors and nurses at the psychiatric hospital, determined to find the cause of my Madness. And how to recover and become ME again. I read every book on bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

What kind of works do you write?  Non-fiction? Fiction? Poetry? A bit of everything?

I write everything: memoir, self-help, articles for magazines, children’s picture books, mid-grade chapter books, science fiction, crime, young adult, short stories.

Do you have a day job to support your writing career or have you been a full-time writer for most of your life?
Up to 2008, I taught primary school. Now I write full-time and present motivational talks, Resilience Training workshops in the workplace and Life Writing sessions in hospital and wellness centres.

Now... for some fun questions so your public knows your FUN side.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Sydney, growing up in a poor family in the western suburbs. From the age of seven, I was determined to become a school teacher.
What is your favourite colour?
I wear colours to induce a mood.

Purple: for intuition. Green: for serenity. Orange: for energy. Red: for POWER

Do you love Christmas?  And if you do, what's your favourite part of this time of year?

I LOVE celebrating Christmas get-togethers with family and friends.

What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? 

Books that captivate and intrigue me from the very first page. Books that affect me profoundly and stay with me forever. I LOVE reading cinematic scenes that leap and dance off the page.

How big is your book collection - if you have one - and how many books a year do you read?

I devour over a hundred books for adults and children per year. I’ve triple-stacked my book shelf with thousands of books. I desperately need a new book shelf.

Do you come from a family of readers and writers?  Or are you the only one who has picked up the craft?

I’m the only one who Writes. My hubby and daughter are voracious readers.

To buy ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness go to Amazon http://lnkd.in/BmuVR7

To find out more about Karen, or download her Free eBook *30 Top Tools for Wellness* please check her website http://www.karentyrrell