Today we’d like to introduce you to Tisha Andrews.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey started initially with my love for reading. Growing up, books were seen as a gift that continuously gave back to me as reading ushered me into a world of creativity.
Once I was in middle school, I delved into writing short stories after reading books like Sweet Valley High. While they were amazing to read, I wanted to tap into stories wherein the characters looked like me, lived in the same spaces I lived in. I then shared some of what I’d written with a few of my peers who immediately wanted more, wanted to see where else the characters in the storyline could go. At that time, publishing wasn’t a concept I had a full understanding of but years later, the opportunity presented into during a book discussion I participated in on Facebook.
The author whose book we were discussing inquired as to what readers would like to see next from her and I tossed out a storyline. Subsequently, that author reached out to me personally and challenged me to write a few chapters based on my idea. That spark, that excitement I had during middle school resurged and my first novel, Real Love Is Not for Sale, was born.
At that time, I was working as a policy analyst for human trafficking legislation and felt that was a way to combine what I did for a living with my passion for reading and writing. Since then, I’ve published multiple bodies of work and look forward to publishing more.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
While that would be something I’m sure all authors would share is their journey, mine came with growing pains. I’d take it one step further and indicate that they were necessary growing pains as I grew and evolved as an author based on each hurdle I had to overcome.
Since becoming a published author, I’ve been signed to three publishing companies. Prior to my journey, I often wondered what led authors to signing to multiple publishing companies when I was only an avid reader. I, however, gained insight rather quickly after I signed my first publishing contract.
While I’d successfully completed that contract, the publishing company experienced challenges after the departure of multiple authors, one in particular, that had an impressive following. As social media has proven to be a wonderful platform that allows your catalog to have visibility, it also lends itself to authors sharing their misfortune with the publishers. That then impacted that publisher’s obligations to remain communicative with me to include receipt of royalties.
I then signed to my second publishing company which had another set of challenges that led to the removal of all published bodies of work on Amazon. I ultimately receiving my publishing rights from this publisher and plan to re-release all of those bodies of work independently. While some have been republished, I’m taking my time now that I understand the business better and want to revisit some of those bodies of work before republishing them.
I am now signed to my third publishing company and am thriving on many levels, but I do desire to know more, grow more. My current publisher does an amazing job as a coaching publisher, one that teaches her authors to include the mechanics of writing, identification and usage of various tropes to sharing the differences from traditional publishing to ebook publishing. I plan to take advantage of this space as much as I can and hone my skills while under her tutelage.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Full-time, I work in the child welfare arena and have for more than twenty years to include being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. My specialty has varied over the years from licensing foster and group homes to being a policy analyst on a statewide level. When I’m not advocating for children and families involved with the child welfare governing entity, I’m actively building my catalog as a published author. My catalog consists of multiple genres from paranormal, urban and contemporary romance that range from short stories to full-length novels. I think readers can expect storylines that highlight heroes and heroines that live in an urban setting but are not depicted in occupations or storylines that are found in more street literature bodies of work. I, however, have penned one street literature collaboration, A Real Ride or Die Love, with the author, Sa’id Salaam. He stretched my creative capacity which gave me great insight as to his creative process. It was an amazing experience to embark upon with him.
What were you like growing up?
To put it short, I’m a PK which is also known as a Preacher’s Kid. My father was a devout Baptist pastor that exposed his children to Christianity early on. Therefore, my time spent outside of school was centered around activities like bible study, mid-week worship services, and of course, Sunday morning services.
It wasn’t until my father’s departure from the home in middle school do I feel I was able to branch out, engage my peers more and become involved in activities outside of my family and the church. I then learned that I was competitive, but in a healthy way, could sing and dance quite well and developed closer relationships with my peers to include, of course, dating. I even started working at age thirteen in a local warehouse to generate income to cover activities my mother otherwise couldn’t. That alone shaped my work ethic and capacity to be fiscally responsible.
While I somewhat consider myself an introvert because my social circle is intimate and small and I can become easily overwhelmed in large settings or high-energy conversations, I still enjoy building and connecting in social circles that balance out my work life which can be taxing at times.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.authortishaandrews.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_tisha_andrews/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Tisha-Lil-Drew-Andrews-102310304516618/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tisha_p12
