What is your family background? Heritage? And have you been there? If so, how has it shaped your perceptions?
I’m half Korean and half Caucasian (mostly Scottish). It very much affected me as a young person growing up in the 70s. Before I was even born, my parents were denied a marriage license in 1968 in Georgia because my mother is Caucasian and my father is not. Growing up in Nebraska in the 70s, there weren’t a lot of kids who looked like me or even ate the same kind of food that I ate at home. I’ve been to Korea many times, though not in the last several years. I miss it—that’s the thing about being bi-racial, I think—never quite fitting in in one place or a culture completely and always longing at the same time for the other.
How did you get the writing bug?
By reading great books that took me away so effectively that when I closed the book after reading it, I immediately wanted to go back and read again, if only to return to that place.
Favorite place and time of day to sit and write?
The dead of night is traditionally my best time. That’s changing slightly now that I’ve got kids (I married a single father in 2016 and became an insta-mom) and after I entered my 50s.
Favorite writing instrument?
My iPhone. Not because it’s what I normally write with, but because it saves me every time I’m trying to fall asleep and get an idea (which always happens and which I can never remember in the morning). I don’t always have a pen and paper by my bed but the phone is always there.
Favorite, food?
Movie popcorn with extra butter. Bacon. And my favorite cocoa apple cake with cream cheese frosting.
Favorite movie?
“Out of Africa.”
When did you first believe that you were a legitimate author?
I wrote on the staff of a computer magazine right out of college, so I had been in the habit of getting a paycheck for writing, and I did author a couple computer books. So the concept of getting published wasn’t a new one for me. But there’s something about selling and getting paid for your first novel, and then doing interviews, and winning an award. I don’t think there’s a single moment, but a series of events that finally makes it sink in.
And then the next time you write you sit down and feel like a fraud all over again. LOL
What were your biggest doubts and fears and do you still harbor them?
Oh sure. All the time. I’m afraid what I’m writing sucks, that I’ve lost my mojo, that I only had 1 (and then 2, and then 3, etc. etc.) good books in me. That I’m inadvertently writing something I’m going to get raked over the coals and canceled for. That I’m just not that good. I could go on all day.
Has success changed your perspective about yourself, your interactions with others, and how do you deal with that?
It helped me finally see that I might have some good things or advice to share. When I started out, I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t, most of the time. But I do have thoughts to share and teach often now.
If you learned that you could not write anymore, what else would you do?
I’d say that I’d try to make a career of organizing drawers and cleaning out closets but Marie Kondo already did that so…
On your website you have an enticing tab for ‘CODE’ that asks: “THERE’S A CODE EMBEDDED IN ‘THE LINE BETWEEN’ THAT OPENS A GATE.” How has the response been?
I think it’s been really good. The messed up thing about that is that I don’t get to see the number of people who attempt to break the code (that I hid in The Line Between that readers can find and guess) or how many get it right. I need to talk to my site developer!
Here’s the explanation for readers intrigued now: https://toscalee.com/i-hid-something-in-the-line-between-did-you-find-it/
Where have you travelled in and out of the US and any place that delights you?
So, so many. I’ve traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Asia, Europe, to Australia, Fiji, Israel, the UAE. My mom and I always seem to find some kind of crazy adventure—trekking across the Balkans, or fishing for piraña on the Amazon. This December we’re headed to the Galapagos. Bora Bora is a special favorite
for my husband and I.
You traveled to Israel, detailed on your blog ‘Israel blog’, which was a very interesting read with parts that showed a lot of your own personality and cares. How personal was it and why?
As someone who grew up in the church and then later on went on to write a book about Judas Iscariot, this trip wasn’t just research; it was very personal. I had wanted for a long time to walk those ancient streets. It was unforgettable.
Your last novel ‘A SINGLE LIGHT’ is the sequel to ‘THE LINE BETWEEN’. How did you decide to focus on that and how difficult is it to create the suspense in a believable way?
I have only one goal when I write thrillers: to keep readers up past bedtime. To say, as they try to put the book down, “Oh no you don’t!” That holds especially true for sequels in which my single goal is to ratchet up the tension even beyond the first book. That is how it ought to be, in my opinion. The characters and setting are established. We don’t have to go over a lot of stuff again. So we can just let the story rip.
You’re back to in-person events with quite a solid schedule coming up including Thrillerfest XVII, May 31-June 4 in New York. Do you find that these appearances help your fan base, or just expose others to your work? And do you enjoy these events?
They really achieve a couple things: they help me connect with my fan base—the majority of readers who come to events like book signings are already familiar with your fans of your work. Connecting with readers is the frosting on the cake of this job—my favorite thing. The second thing is that it lets me get out and help other authors when I teach. So for Thrillerfest, for example, I’m teaching, and it’s a chance to encourage and help those authors earlier in their journey. That is very gratifying to me.
What’s next for Tosca Lee?
I co-wrote a novel with NYT bestselling author Marcus Brotherton about three young friends from Mobile, Alabama who are stationed in the Philippines during WWII and become part of the infamous Bataan Death March. It’s out in May 2022 so watch for it. novel comes
[Editor note: our thanks to Tosca for her wonderful answers. Links to her social media are listed below. Be sure to check out her favorite recipe on page 7]
Learn more about Tosca Lee on:
Website: https://toscalee.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorToscaLee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToscaLee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toscalee/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/toscalee/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/427839.Tosca_Lee
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tosca-lee
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