Tina Whittle--Talking Tarot

DEBORAH CROMBIE: You all know I gravitate towards books set in the UK (they are both pleasure and research) but I do sometimes make exceptions, and Tina Whittle's Tai Randolf and Trey Seaver series is one I am happy to confess to! I was so tickled when I saw there was a new Tai and Trey book, and even more so when Tina agreed to come on the blog and tell us about it!

Here's Tina!

One of the best things about writing a series is that I know my characters so very well by now. The first Tai Randolph novel debuted in 2011—seven books and over a dozen stories and novellas later, I’ve changed the subtitle to the Tai Randolph & Trey Seaver series, for reasons that become apparent in Chapter Three of that very first book).

 

But they still surprise me, these protagonists of mine. Only fiction writers can say such a thing with a straight face, that a character they themselves created can somehow display such audacious free will. And yet it happens to me every time. So I’ve had to develop some strategies.

 

One of the finest tools in my writerly toolkit is a tarot deck. It’s useful for untangling sticky plots, brainstorming new scenes, and unblocking creative expression, but my favorite way to use the cards is for character development (neither Tai nor Trey believes in tarot, but they really should, because the cards have revealed so many of their deep dark secrets to me).

 

For instance, in Crooked Ways, Tai is trying to resolve complications in her past that keep encroaching on her present in impossible-to-ignore ways. She’s not the same person she was at the beginning of that first book, but who is she now? So I asked the tarot to show me her current narrative arc.

 

Here are the cards from that reading:

 

The Seven of Cups: Cups is the suit of emotion, of the heart and all its complexities, and in this card we see what can happen when our feelings overwhelm our ability to process them. This resonates with me because Tai is a woman of big feelings—sometimes so big they scare her—and the Seven of Cups presents an abundance of choices. Which one is an expression of her truest self? And which one is an illusion?

 

The Ace of Swords: Swords represent the mental realm in the tarot, and therefore represent our most rational thinking and also our most dangerous mind games. Luckily for Tai, the Ace represents lucidity and clarity and truth, so as long as she holds onto what she knows is real, she can cut through the illusions presented by the Seven of Cups.

The Five of Wands: Wands are the suit of passion and drive, and as such, show up when we’re asking questions about identity and purpose, our Big Reasons. This energy can be chaotic, but Tai isn’t afraid of drama—she pushes up her sleeves and wades right in. That’s a good thing to know about her, because this Five represents conflict of some kind. Any dithering is best dealt with cleanly and decisively at the start because avoiding it will only complicate matters (which—spoiler alert—is exactly how things play out).

 

As I begin the next book, you can bet I have my tarot deck right beside me. Because Tai isn’t the only one who needs guidance.

 

How about you? Do you find guidance in unexpected places, like in a deck of pretty illustrated cards?

DEBS: I have this deck, but have no idea how to interpret the cards! And I never though of using it as brainstorming aid, but I'm definitely going to try it.

And of course the first thing I thought about when I read Tina's post was our Lucy's wonderful Lorenzo in her Key West books. Lorenzo would know just what those cards meant!

BIO

 

Tina Whittle’s Tai Randolph & Trey Seaver series—featuring intrepid not-quite-professional sleuth Tai and her ex-SWAT partner Trey—has garnered starred reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal.

 

A two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year and a Derringer finalist, Tina enjoys birdwatching, eating sushi, and reading tarot cards. She is a proud member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and has served as both a chapter officer and national board member.

 

You can find her online at https://www.tinawhittle.com.

 

SYNOPSIS

 

Tai Randolph doesn’t like tailing adulterers. Or photographing cracked sidewalks. Or staking out insurance scammers. But being an apprentice PI means doing what she’s told, filling out paperwork, and following the rules, all the rules. It’s a bit chafing for someone whose amateur sleuthing playbook includes dodging, lying, and occasional light blackmail.

 

But then her past comes knocking. Literally.

 

After a decade in the wind, Tai’s Aunt Rowena reappears, and she’s convinced someone is trying to kill Beauregard Boone, the complicated ex-felon at the heart of Tai’s twisted family tree. It’s an intriguing case, even if it means returning to the coastal islands of Savannah, Georgia, a city that keeps breaking her heart over and over again.

 

Not that life in Atlanta is uncomplicated. Trey Seaver—her partner in both romance and crime solving—is keeping a secret. Her new job comes with a moral rectitude clause, so she has to be on her best behavior at all times. And unless she scrapes together some extra bucks, the electric bill is going to be paid late. Again.

 

But in Savannah, all she has to worry about is vehicular homicide, flying bullets, and an enemy who has been laying low for a long long time. Tai’s got a choice to make. Safety and security where the only danger is boredom? Or risk and reward where the consequences could be deadly?

 

GIVEAWAY

 

I’ll happily give away an ebook of any book in the series to a random commenter. The winner can choose from any of the seven. Here’s the link to my page which has synopses etc: https://www.tinawhittle.com/books