Camy Tang
It is an honor to have this interview with Camy Tang! She is such an interesting person, as you will see from her answers. Culturally, educationally, hobby-wise, and in her writing genres, she has so many unique facets. In addition, her characters and plots are original and fascinating! I hope you will read on to find out more about Camy Tang and then check out her books!
Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Camy Tang, and I write Christian Contemporary Romantic Suspense as Camy Tang, and Christian Regency Romantic Suspense as Camille Elliot.
Some weird facts about me:
I’m from Hawaii, but I don’t really like the beach. The sand in my swimsuit ruins the entire experience for me.
I like knitting, but lately I’ve been knitting antique patterns from books printed in the early 1800s. It’s challenging but also really fun because a lot of those patterns don’t have illustrations, so you never know what’s going to come out when you knit it.
Probably my favorite genre at the moment is Isekai stories, which is a genre of Japanese Light Novels where a character is reincarnated into another world, or they’re magically summoned into another world. It’s a fun genre that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and some of the stories are very fluffy and entertaining.
What led you to become an author?
I started enjoying writing when I was in maybe junior high or high school. What trigger it was reading Dragonsong and Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey. I was so excited by the stories that I was inspired to sit down and write my own fantasy world. My mom was very supportive of me, even though she warned me that most writers are not millionaires. LOL
However, even though I loved writing, I set my writing down for several years because I felt God was telling me that I was more interested in fame than in writing for His glory. So in college, instead of majoring in English like a lot of writers, I majored in Psychology, with a focus on Neurobiology.
Then after working in biotech research for several years, I felt God telling me to start writing again. My Psychology degree ended up being a really useful major because now when I write, I know how to make my characters seem very real and psychologically resonant with my readers. I’m not sure, but maybe that was God’s plan, for me to not be writing and so choose Psychology rather than English as my major, because He knew the Psychology degree would be more useful to me as a full-time author.
What draws you to the Regency period?
I have loved reading Regency Romances since I was 13 years old. I love the dresses and balls, the elegant culture and society, and the humor that often accompanies these love stories. My editor at my publisher at the time, Zondervan, knew about my love for Regencies and approached me about writing one under a pen name, so I jumped at the chance. My first Regency Romantic Suspense was Prelude for a Lord.
I wrote a couple Contemporary Romantic Suspense novellas after that, but I’ve essentially been writing Regency ever since. I’m in the middle of my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series, which is an epic serial novel where each part is 90,000 words. It’s actually structured very much like a Japanese Light Novel, where each part has a completed story arc, but the overarching series plot continues in each book and isn’t concluded until the last volume.
What advice do you have for someone who aspires to become an author?
Don’t give up! Writing is very hard, but it is also very rewarding for people who enjoy it. There are also lots of different ways to write, so don’t get stuck on only one way to write. Even now, I’m learning how to best manage my time and my strengths and weaknesses so that I can write the very best I can, and to be productive each day. I was especially impacted by the books Dear Writer,You Need to Quit by Becca Symes and Pen on Fire by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.
I love how Camy is so conscious of God’s direction in her life — how when she realized that writing brought a possible idol into her life, she was willing to give up her passion for the written word. Following God’s direction and timing gave her a background that makes her characterization deep and authentic and opened the door for a successful writing career!
I first learned of Camy’s writing when I won a free copy of Archer from the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series while I was participating in the Inspirational Regency Readers Facebook group. The book was beautifully written, and it made me want to learn more about the author! I am sure you will enjoy Camy’s novels as much as I do!
To find out more about Camy Tang and her novels, here are some links: https://camytang.com/ and https://camilleelliot.com/
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