Interview
Transcript
00:00 Victoria Bartolotto
Hello, everybody. My name is Victoria, and today we are talking with Teresa McAvoy, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us a little bit about your current career and where you’re currently located?
00:14 T.A. McEvoy
I’m in Anderson, South Carolina.
I have been writing epic fantasy books for about six, seven years now. I started out as a paralegal and worked, and the legal background helps a lot with your author career.
00:33 Victoria Bartolotto
Awesome.
So, before we get into the details, we have a brief section of our interview called “One Career Sixty Seconds,” where you describe your job in sixty seconds or less, similar to an elevator pitch. Are you prepared?
00:46 T.A. McEvoy
Yes, I’m ready.
00:48 Victoria Bartolotto
You can go ahead.
00:49 T.A. McEvoy
Okay. I am T.A. McEvoy, an epic fantasy author and world-builder , best known for the Dragons of Vicari series. My work combines character-driven storytelling, ancient dragon lore, and interconnected fantasy realms centered on themes of hope, unity, and resilience.
Beyond writing novels, I also create audiobook productions, cinematic fantasy content for YouTube, and expanded lore that allows the readers to engage with the world of Vicari.
My goal is to create an immersive world where dragons are not simply creatures, but living emotional beings woven into the soul of the story itself. I don’t like them being just beasts.
01:42 Victoria Bartolotto
That’s great. Thank you so much.
01:44 T.A. McEvoy
Thank you.
01:45 Victoria Bartolotto
So as an author, is there anything about South Carolina or Anderson in particular that brings something to your work? I know it’s a fantasy series, but do you ever take some inspiration from South Carolina and implement that?
02:00 T.A. McEvoy
Sometimes, I do the forest because I have four forests in my books. Of course, they’re not called [the Forest], but they got their own special things like purple fire. But yeah, the forests. I can take the forests or the outdoors. That would be pretty.
02:25 Victoria Bartolotto
When you decided to start publishing, was there anything that helped you make that decision or was there some sort of defining moment that had an impact on your creative journey?
02:38 T.A. McEvoy
I’ve always liked writing. When I was in high school, I wrote mysteries and my best friend would read them. She would read all those books, but my dad didn’t think I could make it, so I went into law.
But I’ve always loved to write. My mom accuses me of having a vivid imagination. I am a self-publisher because I am very picky on the person who does my covers. Everybody wants these covers like this and that, but I have – no. And if I can’t connect with the cover designer, forget it. But I was very lucky. I’ve had this cover designer I’ve been working with since I started, and she is awesome.
03:25 Victoria Bartolotto
Can you talk a little bit about the self-publishing industry and why I understand being very picky. I’m a writer myself, so I know how it is to be wanting specific things. Can you talk a little bit more about the decision of self-publishing and how that experience has been for you so far?
03:42 T.A. McEvoy
For self-publishing, it was easier for me to do it because I knew what I wanted and I knew what I didn’t want. The only thing you can get very aggravated with is KDP [Kindle Direct Publishing] and Amazon because they keep changing their mind.
My recommendation is unless you really want to, do not do the KDP Select because they restrict it for ninety days, which means you can’t publish your books anywhere else.
I didn’t do that. I went wide. Now, Kobo has it where it’s sort of like KDP, but you can publish it, and people can have a membership there. They can read your book or even listen to your audio book for free, and you still get paid, but they let you do it wherever you want. So, I think Kobo’s a better idea.
04:35 Victoria Bartolotto
I know you mentioned having a book cover designer. Can you talk a little bit about the process of editing your novel and going to somebody and freelancing people to help you work on your books?
04:50 T.A. McEvoy
Most of the editing I do myself, but I have like seven stages of editing, so it takes a while. They’re broken down into dialogue, world building, and grammar. That’s what was OK for me.
I don’t know about some people. I have a background in legal, so of course I’m very critical. Whenever you’re doing motions and stuff, they have to be critical. So, you’re going to need to be so critical.
But you can do it. Now sometimes some people do need an editor because they don’t catch the spelling or the grammar. It’s one thing, but you can do it pretty well on your own. I would, though, except not for a book cover. I would never do it. Never. I don’t know how. My book cover designer is awesome. She’s really sweet. I will give her an idea, and she’ll give me four or five ideas. Then I’ll say, “well, can you take this one and put it over here?” And she’ll say, “let me see,” because she’ll do it.
06:00 Victoria Bartolotto
That’s great. Because I know in comparison to self-publishing, traditional publishing, you don’t get as much of a say in your cover or your editor or, you know, the specific nitty gritty details of something that self-publishing would give you. I understand that you have a lot more freedom in it.
06:23 T.A. McEvoy
It can be, a little. You also have to learn how to do your marketing and stuff. But that’s where I say AI works good for marketing. Do not use it in your books, but you can use it for your marketing. I’m real picky about writing like that. No, that’s where your imagination has to come in, too.
06:47 Victoria Bartolotto
So, having a legal background, you said you did paralegal work. What was the, I guess, motivation behind wanting to switch from legal work to creative work? And if you had any fears about doing that and kind of transitioning, and if there was some sort of fear, what inspired you to continue beyond it?
07:10 T.A. McEvoy
Well, partly I stopped working, and we moved from Texas to South Carolina. My mom is bedridden, so I’m a caregiver. A lot of that has to do with making sure she’s comfortable. I can be there whenever she needed me. I’ve always loved writing and she always got mad at me for not writing. But I was afraid when I first started writing that nobody would like my books. My first series was just about the elves. The dragons came into it but, I went into the Dragons of Vicari, and I’ve always loved dragons. Not like how most people want to make the dragons into beasts or, shall we say, glorified mouths that carry on from point A to point B. My dragons have personalities.
08:02 Victoria Bartolotto
That’s great! Do you have any advice for students or young adults who want to pursue becoming an author? Is there any interest, do you think, that they should have or any kind of programs you think they should look into?
08:18 T.A. McEvoy
Well, I would definitely tell them to look into critical writing because critical writing will help. Also, you better love to write and find a genre you love to write in. I know some authors go from one genre to another, but I stay with everything. Find something that you really love to do.
And then be very careful after you publish your first book, because all these people are going to say, I can do this. I can do this for you. Ninety percent of them are just scammers. So be very careful.
08:53 Victoria Bartolotto
Thank you so much for talking with me. I really appreciated it.
08:56 T.A. McEvoy
It was nice meeting you.
08:58 Victoria Bartolotto
Yes, it was nice meeting you as well. Have a great day.
09:00 T.A. McEvoy
You too. Bye-bye.