Welcome to the first issue of Behind the Books, a quarterly author spotlight series on Tales from Burkeland. This month I’m featuring a mentor of mine, T.F. Burke.
T.F. (Tammy) Burke is the award-winning author of the Heart of the Worlds YA epic-fantasy series where faeries, fate, and forbidden magic collide. A former journalist with over 400 published articles, she supports writers through David Farland’s Apex-Writers and her Mythic Observatory platform. Her stories explore belonging, identity, courage, and the power of choosing who we become. When she isn’t writing or helping others, Tammy competes in historical fencing tournaments with rapier and dagger and participates in melees. She loves researching folklore and watches for doorways into other worlds.
Let’s get to the questions.
What’s your favorite part and least favorite part of being a writer?
My favorite part of being a writer is exploring new worlds, discovering new characters, and playing the “what if?” game. I find that writing means I will always get to play “make-believe” with one foot forever in the realm of wonder. And somehow, I also get to call it work! But seriously, watching scattered ideas connect and become a living world filled with three-dimensional characters who continually surprise me is absolutely priceless.
I can’t say there’s anything I truly hate about writing, but I will say that drafting is definitely the heaviest lifting. You have to take the flutterby ideas in your head and attempt to translate it into words… and those first words can be rather warty. I know I like thinking of it as making the sand you need for your gorgeous sandcastles.
What piece of career or creative advice do you wish you’d gotten sooner?
The advice that has served me best is do NOT put icing on the batter. What I mean by this is if you have a creative project like a manuscript, write the whole thing without trying to edit it. Sure, jot down notes along the way, but editing the same first three chapters until it sings is counterproductive. Instead, write the entire first draft, warts and all. Tell your editor brain “thank you for showing up but it isn’t your turn yet,” if you feel compelled to do serious editing. A first draft’s job is simply to exist. Not to be perfect. Exist. Revision is where you make it shine. It so much easier making developmental changes and edits when you have the entire story written. And maybe surprisingly, it’s easier to make the pretty sentences too.
What themes tend to show up in your work?
Themes of belonging, self-discovery, and personal growth appear often throughout my stories. I’m drawn to characters who are trying to understand who they are, where they belong, and how to embrace the qualities that make them different, along with the trials and tribulations of being forced down other paths. I also like to explore the idea that when you believe in yourself, you can rise—even when others doubt you or try to define what you’re capable of.
I feel passionate about telling stories that resonate with finding your own strength, choosing who you want to become, and realizing that you have always been enough. And of course, adding unpredictable and mischievous faeries is plain fun, too.
If you could visit a setting from one of your works, which would you choose, and why?
I would absolutely choose Tatia, the cloud-castle capital of Tamore and home of Mathias, one of my point-of-view characters in the Heart of the Worlds series.
The idea of strolling along the Silver Walk, which rings around the castle and threads through beautiful gardens, while looking out across the cloudbanks, and, on a clear day, seeing all the way down to the lands below sounds magical. I’d love to watch pegasi and their flyers practicing aerial drills while sylphs (human-sized air faeries) glide through the sky and sometimes peek into a window.
Then there’s the castle itself, with hallways filled with statues and art, libraries, ballrooms, lavish furnishings, and political intrigue waiting around most corners. Plus, I’d have to explore the undercloud. This is a dimension between the worlds (human and faery) that’s sometimes there and sometimes not.
What do you do when you aren’t writing?
When I’m not writing, I really enjoy fencing with rapier and dagger. There’s an incredible connection between the sword and the pen. Both require learning how to sink into a flow state, and as I improve at one, it strengthens the other.
I also love learning about ancient history, visiting museums, and discovering the stories that these people had from long ago. I find sometimes too after spending so much time inside imaginary worlds, I just need to poke my head out, look around, and see what’s happening in this one.
Thanks for the interview Tammy!
Her upcoming release is Faeries Don’t Love, book four of the Heart of the Worlds series. I know I can’t wait to read it.
You can find her online here:
Thanks for reading Behind the Books! The next issue will be in October.
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What you missed in this month’s newsletter:
From the Drafts: WIP Quote.
Quote of the Month.
Myths and Magic: Flower Folklore Part 1: Dandelions, Peonies, and Roses.
From My Shelf: The Powers of Time and Nature by Shawn Butler.