Hi everyone and welcome to my interview series Saturday Night Author Fever, where I interview authors with a bit of a 70s music and diversity theme. I personally love 70s music, especially disco music, and sometimes on Friday nights when no one is looking you can find me dancing to classic 70s songs such as September, Bennie and the Jets and We Are Family. However, books are my true passion and because of this, I thought it would be a great idea to mix my two loves and start this interview series. The questions will be similar every week, but with a new author every time, and I hope you’ll enjoy the answers as much as I have. Now let’s get this party started!

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This Saturday Night we welcome Tif Marcelo. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today in my galaxy of books.

Tif, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books? What do you think about 70s music?

Thank you for having me, Olivia! I’m the forthcoming debut romance author of the Journey to the Heart series (Pocket Star), with three books to be published this year. I’m a military spouse, a mom of four, a U.S. Army veteran and registered nurse. Which basically sums up why I’m shackled to my coffee pot and Passion Planner.

And, without giving my age (though I’m so blessed to have reached this point in my life), I am a lover of 70’s music, due to my mother’s extensive vinyl collection, which I continued to play through to my teen years in the 90’s.

When did you feel like this is it, I’m an author whose words are going to be read by, and have an impact on, others?

I actually just had a conversation with a friend about this! (While typing my answers to this question) I’m still in the galley stage for NORTH TO YOU, and only select early readers have my book “in hand.” While I know there will be other OMG moments, I definitely felt the responsibility to write the best book I can when I showed my kids my first pass pages. I write contemporary romance, and it will be a while before my children will read my books, but their encouragement serves as a reminder that my authenticity on the page is everything. What I write matters.

What do you want your readers to take with them after having read your books?

I’ve written or drafted all three books in the series and each has its own flair and voice. I definitely want my readers to come to their own messages, but if I were to put an intention to my work, it would be these two things: Life and love is always in flux. There is always an after.

What does the future look like for you, Tif? Future projects, releases etc.?

The latter half of 2017 will be exciting with the breakneck pace of publishing three books in six months (NORTH TO YOU in June, EAST IN PARADISE in September, and WEST COAST LOVE in December). My focus is to bring my readers the best books I can write! With that said, my cup runneth over with more love stories and I hope you’ll get to read them someday, too.

If one (or several) of your characters got invited to a disco, what would be the most unforgettable part of their night and why?

Ah! ❤ Camille and Drew, the heroine and hero of NORTH TO YOU have this thing about tourist traps! Without giving away any spoilers, the best part of the night would be after they leave the disco and really take advantage of what San Francisco has to offer.

You can easily look back at the 70s and see how the times have changed. If you look at the book community and publishing world today, what changes would you like to see for the future?

Straight to the heart of it—I’d like to see more Filipino diaspora in American commercial fiction. I want to see us as main characters, secondary or tertiary characters. In serious stories, in light, in romance. In sister stories, in parent-child portrayals, in epic family dramas. As part of the cast and crew of friendship stories. So much that we’re there not to make a statement, but simply as part of world building. Because yeah…we are part of the world after all.

Tif, can you recommend two already published diverse books you’ve read and loved and one you can’t wait to read?

I just finished a second reading of EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon. The author does a magnificent job at characterizing differences between people without using it as a plot point. Just before that, I read FORBIDDEN by Beverly Jenkins, a stunning historical romance that has so many nuggets of truth within the text that I’m praising the author’s genius.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER, LARA JEAN by Jenny Han is next on the docket!

Lastly, to end this interview, do you have a favorite 70s song to recommend your readers?

Oh, who to choose? I used to spend summer mornings languishing to so many glorious songs.

There are too many artists to mention, but I’ll still turn the radio up loud for these tunes: Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Waters, Gladys Knight and the Pips’ Midnight Train to Georgia, Billy Withers’ Lovely Day. Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain. Right this second, as I’m piecing together WEST COAST LOVE, I’ll have to say it’s a moment for Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.

Thank you so much, Tif, for answering my questions. I hope you readers enjoyed this interview, I know I did! Eager to find out more about Tif Marcelo? All information about her and her books can be found on her website. You can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads and buy her books on Amazon.

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About The Author

Tif believes in and writes about heart-eyes romance, the strength of families, and the endurance of friendship. A veteran Army Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Public Administration, she is a craft enthusiast, food-lover and the occasional half-marathon runner. As a military spouse, she has moved nine times, and this adventure shows in some of her free-spirited characters. Tif currently lives in the DC area with her own real life military hero and four children.

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Since I promised a very 70s music-themed interview series, I have one last surprise, a favorite 70s song of mine (and there will be a new one every week yay). Now let’s get those dance moves on, here’s Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede.

Do you want to listen to all of the songs from my Saturday Night Author Fever interview series?

To make things easier I have created a Spotify playlist that features all of the songs mentioned in my Saturday Night Author Fever posts. You can check out the playlist below or go here. Every time a new interview is published new songs will be added to it.

Thank you so much for tuning in this Saturday, what did you think of the interview and the music? Let me know in the comments below or on my Twitter!

*Thank you to the lovely Claribel Ortega for the gifs used in this blog series. You have to follow her on Twitter and check out her website here.