Check out this author spotlight for Tirza Schaefer!
You can find all her links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out her books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
Tirza Schaefer is mother of three awesome children, a boy and two girls – and a very talkative cat. She always loved telling stories and as soon as she was able to, did so in writing, mostly for herself alone until she published her first book in 2015.
Besides writing sizzling hot romance novels that nevertheless don’t lack depth and ethical as well as spiritual themes, she also writes articles about archetypes like Goddesses, Gods, Power Animals and Tarot. She is an intuitive reader and spiritual healer (Usui Reiki Master & Founder of Goddess Reiki).
When she doesn’t read, write or research, she can be found giggling with her children (best way to learn) or meditating in nature. As a creative powerhouse, she is multi-passionate, so you’ll never know what she will come up with next…
You can also watch this short introductory video:
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 (or more!) of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn? Summer. I’m always cold at other times of the year, unless I’m having a hot flush brought on by menopause but that won’t last forever, right?
Cat or dog? Cat. I love dogs, too, but they are too much work. We have an absolutely adorable and very talkative cat called Taani who came to us from a shelter in Dubai.
Tea or coffee? Coffee for taste, herbal tea for health.
Morning or evening? I am definitely a nightowl. As a child, I used to sneak out of the house when it got dark and roman through the wood beside my parents’ house. I’ve always loved the atmosphere of the night, the peace and mystery. When I lived in London, I would go on long walks through small alleys and backstreets even in the worst parts of town. I never cared. I loved the night. I felt safer at night than by day. When I had children, I couldn’t leave the house at night anymore but when I get the chance, I still roam around at night. And hugging trees in the woods at night is special!
Library or museums? Museums. I like to own the books I read. So outside of university for my studies and research, I’ve never gone to libraries. But back in London, I lived in bookstores. That was before there were ebooks, back in the 90s. Museums I love for the history they show. My favourite is the British museum. As a student I had free entry there and as I was around the corner at SOAS, I used to spend many of my lunchbreaks there between classes. It was beautiful. I used to go into the room with the Hindu statues. It was so peaceful there and not that many people were around, either. It was my safe haven at the time. I’ve always taken my children to museums when we went on holiday and also here at home in Cologne, Bonn and Berlin. I find culture and history so important and I have instilled a sense of that in my children, I think.
Hunter or gatherer? Gatherer. I’m a vegetarian with vegan ideals that I fall short of. Still working on overcoming my dairy addiction.
Witches or wizards? Witches. Girl power! I know there are male witches but usually, witches are female and powerful. I’ve always loved that.
Ninjas or pirates? Oh, that’s tough. Pirate captains are sexy (see Johnny Depp) but I’ve always dreamed of having ninja skills since I was a child because I wanted to punish the wicked that got away with it. And ninjas have always fascinated me. I read Shogun by James Clavel when I was fourteen on summer holidays in Sweden. I loved it and devoured it. I was so fascinated by the Samurai culture and their belief system, their code of honour. From there I learned a little about ninjas. I’ve always wanted to be a warrior but my mum wouldn’t allow me to learn martial arts. However, my fascination with these silent killers has remained. I am fascinated by elite warriors of any kind, really. Currently, I am watching a Turkish historical series on Netflix with subtitles and I love their way of sword fighting.
Mountains or beaches? Beaches. In the shade. I’m too white, I burn otherwise. And because I have some chronic injuries that make walking on uneven terrain difficult and painful for me, mountains are wonderful but not that easy to get around in for me. Plus, I am a Scorpio, so my love for water is in my DNA. Ocean it is!
Plotter or pantser? Pantser but I’m working on plotting a little more, too, but my characters always hijack the story and something completely unforeseen happens. Like in my book Ria where they end up in a mental hospital. I definitely didn’t plan that!
Pen and paper or computer/phone? Pen and paper are great for thoughts, ideas, affirmations and poetry. But by now I write my books and longer articles on my computer because it takes too long to type it all up again.
Standalone or series? Both. I’m more of a standalone writer but I do love series and I have a couple of projects that are series which I love. They also challenge me greatly in a personal as well as in a professional way so I love how the work on them makes me grow.
Book or ebook? Depends. Special books I like to have in print but mainly, I get ebooks. They are cheaper, easier to take on travels, don’t collect dust and take away self-space.
Hero or antihero? Not too clean-cut hero but neither too much of an antihero. A happy medium. Human but not completely broken and complexed.
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
A story needs to have feeling, action and purpose of some kind for me. Disregarding genre, that should be the deciding factors. I need to be able to feel with the characters, understand why they feel and act the way they do and be able to set it into context of their own personal history or at least clearly outlined character, and the environment they find themselves in.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
My books are mostly love stories. But they go beyond ordinary romance. There is a message, an ethical element and at times even spiritual elements. I have lately turned to writing mainly reverse harem with a slight reverse age gap. I found when reading romance novels that most were about younger women and I felt I couldn’t identify with that anymore. My college days are over and so is my own family planning.
When I searched for romance with mature women as main characters, I came across so-called milf or cougar themed books that are usually badly written and don’t have much of a storyline. It’s either seducing the son’s best friend from college or some pool boy or similar labourer seducing the bored and neglected middle-aged housewife whose husband is cheating on her, which is the usually given excuse and moral justification for the woman to do the same. I don’t find this appealing and my personal opinion is that two wrongs don’t make a right. I love steamy romance and I write it myself but you won’t find cheating and short term affairs in my books. There is always a happily ever after.
My female MCs lovers are somewhat younger and more vigorous than men her own age but they stand for themselves and meet the woman on eye level. They are neither almost-children, nor simple-minded men who have nothing to show for themselves but a good body. They have courage, heart and spirit and they are willing to take responsibility for their own lives and show the woman they love that she is adored, protected and taken care of.
Of course, there are certain issues and obstacles to overcome but they do so together and my stories will show that clear communication and consideration of the other person, as well as compassion, can lead to a happy relationship.
I have two series that I write on at the moment. One is Seals in Spain, a trilogy with the same MCs throughout, one woman and three men, and The Milf Diaries, which has different MCs in each book, however, they need to be read in order because there is an ongoing storyline for these women and their men as well. Moreover, these two series are interlaced. They Seals in Spain’s characters appear in Book 3 of the Milf Diaries, which has not yet been released.
There is one more standalone full-length novel I am working on which is called Her Badass Bikers and is another reverse harem, reverse age gap story with one woman and four men. It is a slowburn romance with quite a few twists and turns along the way but in the end, there is the happily ever after that we all love. Guaranteed.
Trailer for Seals in Spain
Trailer for The Milf Diaries series:
Trailer for Izzy, Book 1 of the Milf Diaries
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
My two latest publications are standalone novellas, one was a shifter Christmas story, A Beary Little Christmas, and the other a recently published summer romance, A Little Slice of Heaven. Both have a constellation of one woman and two men. Of course, lots of other things are happening as well. The first has a witch and karmic twins that need to lift an evil curse and the latter deals with a contract killer from the Russian mafia.
You can get A Little Slice of Heaven here:
https://books2read.com/alittlesliceofheaven
Trailer for A Little Slice of Heaven:
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
I can see a picture online by chance when searching stock photos or it can be something on social media and I think of an entire story to go with it. When I travel, I usually write my first poem while drinking a coffee and waiting for my train or plane. I can get an idea from a line or character in a book or a movie or a real life person can inspire me to incorporate some character traits of theirs into a character in my stories. Real life experiences also influence and colour my writings at times. It all depends.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
I open a document, give it a working title and start typing. That’s usually how it goes. Along the way, I will write down more details about my characters and the story outline as it unfolds. I found that planning everything from the beginning doesn’t work for me so well because my character always come to life and exercising their free will, as any ordinary person would do, they usually stir the story in a completely different direction than I had initially planned.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Believe in yourself, research more and find resources to help you become a better writer. Find like-minded people and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Learn as much as you can and don’t stop. Don’t hide your light. You have a gift and the people it is meant for will find you and be touched and moved by your words.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Website, Newsletter Signup & Blog
Books2Read Author Page with UBLs to all major online stores
https://books2read.com/ap/8Z21ZP/Tirza-Schaefer
https://www.instagram.com/tirzaschaefer/
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/TirzaSchaeferPublishing
Facebook Group Tirza’s Bookstore for Authors & Readers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TirzasBookstore
All other Social Media, Latest Releases & Current Book Promotions
Awesomeness overload 😍😍😍
Yes!! I can only agree 😀