I got to thinking about how weird the phrase “death by misadventure” is, and what would happen if you changed it to “miss adventure” instead? Things pretty much spiraled from there until eventually, I had a book on my hands.
S.G. Tasz – 11 November 2023
The Back Flap
With the power to assume an incorporeal form and track people down through their mementos and heirlooms, Adina is the hired gun no one ever sees coming. There are no contracts. No conversations. Just gruesome accidents, untraceable and custom-made.
When Adina is accused of killing a valued member of the clandestine magical Order, her history of operating undetected becomes a massive liability. Now, she must find the real culprit to get the Order off her back. Literally–until the case is closed, she will be Lashed to Chief Inquisitor Breitling, a sullen investigator with a knack for mental destruction and a searing hatred for traitors.
But what begins as a simple clearing of her name leads the pair deep into an unseen side of Sin City–one that’s rife with Operators of magic. Club moguls who manufacture memories. Cutthroat businessmen who can stop time. And beneath it all lies a powerful force that no one, not even Adina, can control. Suddenly, proving her innocence isn’t as easy as she thought it would be. And the longer it takes to find the real killer, the tighter the Lash between her and Inquisitor Breitling seems to grow…
About the book
What is the book about?
Death by Miss Adventure is about a woman, Adina Venture, who can turn into a ghost, which she uses in her profession as a killer-for-hire. Things go wrong when she’s accused of a murder she didn’t commit by the magical secret society called the Order. She’s given the opportunity to prove her innocence by finding the real killer, but there’s a catch: until she’s cleared of suspicion, she will be magically bound to an investigator who’s convinced she’s guilty. Of course, once they start investigating, things get more complicated, especially as the two of them get closer.
When did you start writing the book?
I started developing the idea around September 2022, but didn’t start putting words down in any coherent way until January 2023.
How long did it take you to write it?
It depends on your definition of “write.” Without counting the development period, I spent three months in first draft, followed by alpha review and a round of revision. After that it went to betas, another round of revision, then polishing and finally publication. Even after I sent it to my first round of ARC readers, I was fixing little things here and there. So…about nine months, all told. I’m getting faster, but I don’t think I’ll ever be a “book a month” writer. And that’s fine—I enjoy the process too much to rush it.
Where did you get the idea from?
Believe it or not, the initial idea began in 2011 as a simple question: If you were a ghost in Las Vegas, what would you do? I loved the possibilities of that, but I struggled for a long time to come up with an appropriate story in which to incorporate the idea.
Then, one random summer day, I got to thinking about how weird the phrase “death by misadventure” is, and what would happen if you changed it to “miss adventure” instead? Things pretty much spiraled from there until eventually, I had a book on my hands.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
This was my first attempt at anything approaching the romance genre, and I was very nervous about getting it right. There are so many subgenres, and the readers of each one have very specific expectations, and here I am coming off of a comedy-horror series (and a YA one, for that matter), so what do I know? Not enough to call it a proper paranormal romance, which is something I learned from early reviews. But for paranormal mystery/suspense with a strong romantic subplot, it seems to be hitting its mark so far.
What came easily?
The interpersonal dynamics between characters, particularly Adina and investigator Breitling, which of course is what you want for professional partners/love interests. I also loved building the secondary characters up to be more than just archetypes, especially the villains, of which there are plenty to choose from. I like having bad guys that you can almost understand why they’re acting the way they do. At the very least I want their motives to be interesting and not just “because I’m evil/crazy/whatever.”
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
This feels like a dangerous question to answer… 😊
As far as people I know personally, no. Not consciously, anyway. I do draw inspiration from fictional characters and sometimes the actors who play them, but I’m not going to get any more specific than that. Who the reader casts as they read is bound to be different than anyone I may have in mind, and I don’t want to mess with that.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
The Dresden Files is the gold standard for urban fantasy/paranormal mystery as far as I’m concerned, so that has been a big influence, even though it’s been a few years since I read…whichever one it was that I read last. I don’t read as much Stephen King anymore, but I read a lot of him when I was in junior high and high school, so his work has influenced mine in ways I can’t trace. As far as more recent inspiration, I recently finished the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, I’m up to the most recent book in the Cleopatra Fox mysteries and just started on the Glass and Steele series, both by C.J. Archer. Those are all teaching me a ton about how to craft good mystery as well as what makes for compelling romance.
Do you have a target reader?
This story is going to appeal primarily to women who like contemporary fantasy with a gothic twist and don’t mind a little murder with their romance (and vice versa). The handful of men I’ve handed this off to have enjoyed as well, but they aren’t the target demo (sorry guys).
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Type now and fix it later. Once the words exist, I can do something with them that might be worth reading. I have also employed the “write drunk, edit sober” approach on occasion, but only if I’m really stuck.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Not really. I’ll start with an idea, a couple of characters, and a problem. I sometimes know where it’s going to end up, but usually I have to figure it out as I go.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I wait until the end, but I make heavy use of the Comments feature in Word to remind me exactly where and how I messed everything up.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Ugh, no. I wanted to, but I couldn’t afford it! That’s the tightrope you walk as an independent—you only have so many dollars and you need to spend them where you think they’re going to work for you best. I put it through a round of non-professional editing and I did spend a little bit of my budget to get ProWritingAid, which while not a one-to-one substitute for an editor, does catch most glaring issues and will make gentle suggestions on some of the finer points of line editing. If I have the budget, I’ll likely hire someone for Book 2.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
It varies by book but given my chosen genres it’s usually something kind of dark and broody. Lately it’s been a lot of Tom Waits and Aurelio Voltaire, though that didn’t start until I began drafting the second book in the Miss Adventure series.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I have in the past, but it wasn’t anything I went on to publish myself. Both Miss Adventure and my first series, Dead Mall, were always bound for the indie world.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
It basically comes down to one thing: I’m impatient. Getting an agent takes forever (if you can get one at all), and then getting a publishing deal takes forever (again, if you get one at all), and even if you get both of those, it could still be years before your book is published, and then what? You maybe have an advance that you have to earn out of, and you still have to do a lot of the marketing yourself. But what really gets me about that whole thing is that I’ve heard agents and publishers admit out loud that they pass on great books all the time, not because they are bad, but because they don’t know “where to put them on the shelf at the bookstore.” Which—fine. This is a business and we all want to make money at it. But I can’t make money if my work isn’t for sale. I would rather take my shot than wait until someone maybe gives me permission.
So I guess I’m 1) impatient and 2) kind of arrogant as well. But honestly, you need to be, whether you’re indie-published or otherwise. Creative enterprise invites criticism, and you need to be ready to stand behind your work (or really, in front of it) and take the hits as they come. There’s usually more good than bad, but the bad will take you out at the knees if you let it.
That said, if you’re going to be arrogant, make sure you’ve done your homework. Know what good writing is. Know what bad writing is. Read—a lot, and in the genre you’re writing in. And listen to those who have been doing this longer than you. They know answers to questions you don’t even know you should be asking.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Professional. For my previous series, I had a friend do the cover art, which I thought was okay because he was a graphic designer. While I personally love the look of those covers, I suspect they don’t bring in as many sales as a cover designed by a true professional would.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
For once, I do have something of a plan. Referring back to my previous series again: I went into publishing the first book fully aware that I was doing it all wrong. I just wanted to have something out there to play with—which now that I think about it, is very similar to my approach to writing itself. If you have a thing that exists, you can fix whatever is wrong instead of just thinking yourself into inaction. So, by my own admission, Dead Mall was an experiment. With Miss Adventure, I gave myself time at the end to do social media lead up, proper ARC distribution, and even a few promotional interviews. It’s been a grind, but overall the results have been worth it.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
A lot, probably! But I’ll do my best to keep it short:
Being an indie author is stressful, overwhelming, and scary. You are going to encounter disappointments. You are going to have setbacks. You are going to put something out there that doesn’t perform the way you think or hoped it would. And the reason I know that is because every single indie author has had that same experience at one point or another. SOME have seen amazing success too, but EVERYONE has seen failure. There’s camaraderie in that shared pain that I don’t think you get many other places. If you lean into that, then it’s all worth it. Maybe you’ll be one of the meteoric success stories. Maybe not. Either way, you’ll never be alone.
Also, don’t be afraid to try things, even if you’re not sure it will work. It’s not like anyone’s going to fire you, so what have you got to lose?
About You
Where did you grow up?
The Midwest—Minneapolis area until I was 18, then college in northeastern Wisconsin.
Where do you live now?
Las Vegas, local and proud!
What would you like readers to know about you?
I help run a critique group in Las Vegas called Sin City Writers. We meet every Tuesday and Saturday, so for any writers living in or visiting Las Vegas, come on by! You can find us on Meetup and Facebook for meeting times and locations.
What are you working on now?
Well, Miss Adventure is a series, so…that, for at least three books and hopefully more. I’ve got stories to tell with these characters, and if people keep reading them, I’ll keep writing them.
End of Interview:
For more from S.G. Tasz visit her website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok.
Get your copy of Death by Miss Adventure from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
