What It Takes is a family drama that centres around Karen, the plain younger sister of two beauties, who has all sorts of insecurity and resentment issues going on.  It’s not just about her, though; the other main characters are her eldest sister Ava, her friend Sam and her lover Danny, and what all of them will do to win the heart of the one they love.  Serious obsessive stuff!

So Karen’s plain? You don’t see many novels in which the heroine is anything less than perfectly gorgeous. Does that make this a risk?
Oh, yes.  I thought quite a few women would be able to identify with her insecurities, though.  Having said that, she is a bit of a pain in the arse at times.  The main risk was having a main character who isn’t altogether likeable.

Some reviewers have mentioned that – but then went on to say they got over pretty quickly. And that’s probably because you write each chapter from a different major character’s point of view.
Which was your favourite to write? Which of the characters do you personally identify with the most?
I found Ava’s the easiest to write, because hers is in the first person; I find that so, so much easier than writing in the third.  It’s just like writing a letter, or a diary, or having a conversation.  I probably enjoyed writing Danny’s the most, though – I loved describing the ghastliness of his ex, Lois, and her family! 

There is one chapter, though, from the point of view of a secondary character, Dee.  Dee was probably my favourite character in the whole story. 

As for identifying with any of them – I suppose there is a little bit of me in everyone I make up. 

Including the very male, Danny? Tell us about him.
Danny’s a South London boy with old fashioned family values, because of his half-Meditteranean, half-Irish upbringing.  He’s a real sweetie, with a boyish innocence.  When crossed, though, all that South London street-wise cunning comes out!

What genre is this book? What demographic will it appeal most to?
I suppose it’s romantic suspense, contemporary romance, family drama, with a bit of mystery.  Is that okay?  I imagine the people it would appeal to most are females between the ages of 25 and 55.  Oh dear, I’m not very good at this bit!

We shouldn’t have asked you to limit your readership in the first place.
Tell us about your other books.

You Wish, Nobody’s Fault and The Other Side fall into the same genre(s) as What it Takes.  Dream On and its sequel Full Circle are ‘rock romances’ – and much lighter.  All my books have plot twists and surprises in them, though, and each tend to have a theme running through them.  For instance, in You Wish it’s whether our lives are controlled by personal choice, fate, or something more other-worldly….  also, the title usually refers to more than one aspect of the book; with Nobody’s Fault, it’s partly about the blame cast when a marriage breaks down, but also about who is at fault when a tragic event takes place (no spoilers!)

For any readers out there who have not yet had the pleasure of reading a Terry Tyler novel, is there any other writer out there producing similar work?
That’s a hard one.  I can’t say, because I’m too close to what I do.  Some people have said I don’t write like anyone else.  Others have compared my writing style to Emily Barr, Sheila O’Flanagan, Kate Atkinson, Marian Keyes – and Catherine Cookson!  Take your pick!  I am, of course, extremely flattered to be compared to anyone like that at all. 

Tell us about yourself.
I live in the north east of England with my husband.  No children, thank goodness.  I’m not one of those ‘I’ve always wanted to be a writer’ people; I just thought I’d see if I could write a novel, one day about 20 years ago, and discovered I could.  Reading and watching wise, I like crime thrillers and historical stuff.  I enjoy writing things to make other people laugh, too, which is often what I use my blog for.

Do you use social media too? How can we follow you?
@TerryTyler4
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terry-Tyler-author/127960897322262.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5821157.Terry_Tyler

What’s next for you?
I have a collection of nine short stories which I will publish later this year.  They will be free on publication, for the first five days.  I am currently working on a longer novel which has a historical twist – I might have a stab at traditional publishing with this one, I’m not sure; I don’t know if I could bear not to put it on Kindle straight away, though, as I love it so much when my wonderful regular readers have a new one to read!  I’ve got a few more ideas stashed away for future ones, too – there is much, much more to come!