About Tara Hyland

Q. What is your birthdate?

A. 7/14

Q. Previous occupations

A. Journalist / accountant / banker

Q. Favorite job

A. Being a writer

Q. High school and/or college

A. Tiffin Girls' School, Surrey; Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Q. Name of your favorite composer or music artist?

A. Britney Spears. Britney 4ever!

Q. Favorite movie

A. Save the Last Dance. Oh, yeah - I lurve the romance.

Q. Favorite television show

A. House. And this surprises you - why?

Revealing Questions

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?

A. Very cool. But then again...

Q. What is your motto or maxim?

A. "Everybody lies" (Greg House, M.D.)

Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?

A. A really rare, bloody steak, accompanied by a bottle of Torbeck The Steading (2000).  And the news that scientists have discovered that red meat no longer clogs your arteries, and that drinking really doesn't affect your health.

Q. What’s your greatest fear?

A. Being alone

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?

A. In Brad Pitt's bed.

Q. With whom in history do you most identify?

A. The Mary Celeste

Q. Which living person do you most admire?

A. Greg House (M.D.)

Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?

A. "Make mine a double."

Q. What do you regret most?

A. That I'm not Beyonce (or maybe that's my husband's greatest regret...)

Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?

A. Singing

Q. What is your greatest achievement?

A. Getting published

Q. What’s your greatest flaw?

A. Too many to name

Q. What’s your best quality?

A. I'm not sure I have any

Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?

A. Beyonce

Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?

A. My sixth toe (otherwise known as a bunion)

Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?

A. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yeah - no one knows who that is! Kind of more an anti-hero.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?

A. Spike from BtVS. Anti-hero, so works as both hero and villain. Oh - did fiction mean books? Who still reads, when we have TV? Just joking, lovely publishers...

Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?

A. Henry VIII.  It would be nice to see what all the fuss was about.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?

A. Friends telling me that childbirth is painless. I know how to spell gulable...

Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?

A. Watching movies. Oh, OK - watching X Factor. And, really, any "Reality" TV. No matter how lame.

Q. What’s your fantasy profession?

A. Being Beyonce. My husband's fantasy for me, too. But you're getting the point right about now, aren't you?

Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?

A. Being hot, hot, hot. Shallow, moi?

Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?

A. Really rare steak. I like to see blood.

Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?

A. '...Baby One More Time', Britney Spears; 'Better Man', Pearl Jam; 'Damn I Wish I was Your Lover', Sophie B. Hawkins; 'Downtown', Petula Clarke; 'The Logical Song', Supertramp; 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2', Rachmaninoff (hell, I had to do something to compensate for Britney...)

On Books and Writing

Q. Who are your favorite authors?

A. Jeffrey Archer, Louise Bagshawe, Martina Cole, Jackie Collins, Ken Follett, Lisa Gardner; John Grisham, Stephen King, Lesley Lokko, Lesley Pearse, Sidney Sheldon, Penny Vincenzi

Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?

A. This is so hard! Career Girls, Louise Bagshawe; Kane & Abel, Jeffrey Archer; Master of the Game, Sidney Sheldon; The Stand, Stephen King; The Firm, John Grisham

Q. Is there a book you love to reread?

A. Penny Vincenzi's 'Wicked Pleasures'

Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?

A. Get a thicker skin

Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?

A. "I love your book / your book is brilliant" - but so far only my agent and publisher have read it. And I suspect they might be a little bit biased.