Q & A with Zari Reede

The Write Way Café welcomes writing team Zari Reede, two authors who bring different perspectives together to create one satisfying read. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Zoe – Ever since I could read, I’ve dreamed of being a published author and dabbled at writing my whole life.

Minette – I wrote a play in the second grade about the love of Seth and Beth. I thought I would become famous and guess that was the beginning, but I didn’t get serious about writing a novel until I was twenty-two, before that it was just poetry and scribbles.


What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

Zoe – I try to spend at least six days a week writing, but the hours I write and the times vary greatly.

Minette – Before losing our home in Hurricane Harvey last year, I would wake up Monday through Friday by seven am and attack the social media dragon that I have a love/hate relationship with. I would sip hot tea while I posted silly pics of my dogs. Since the hurricane, I’ve acquired three parrots and now take silly videos as well. I consider all this a writing warm-up, a prelude to my creative day job. Then I would settle down to my laptop by the pool and work until lunch, take a break and plod on. Now, I have days filled with contractors, laundry, doctor’s appointments, errands, etc. During crunch times, I may be in bed until three in the morning, trying to polish off a script. I’ve managed to hang on, but this last year has really thrown my personal life into chaos. I’ve tried to jump back on the wagon by joining my local chapter of Romance Writers of America and attending the national conference. Mystery Writers of America and Sister’s in Crime are some of the other organizations that fill the creative well.


How did you start writing together? 

Zoe – In hopes of both of us becoming more committed to setting aside time to write on a regular basis, Minette sent me a paragraph and asked me to add to it. This work eventually became our first book.

Minette – I was sitting next to my sister’s hospital bed for months, working on an old manuscript. I asked Zoe to join me in a quick writing exercise. The rules were no edits–just write and send. I sent a couple paragraphs to her in a matter of minutes. I had to bug Zoe for three days until she added on to the story. The rest is history.


Is it hard for two authors to write a book together?

Zoe – Maybe for some, but writing with Minette is much easier for me than writing alone.

Minette – I love having a co-writer. If we get a bad review, I can blame Zoe–just kidding. It’s like playing literary chess. I can’t have Zoe writing all the best scenes, so I have to be quick on the quill. I try to leave a surprise lying in wait every time she opens her laptop.


How did you choose Zari Reede?

Zoe – I play World of Warcraft and have one character named Zarielle, which was shortened to Zari, and one named Reede.

Minette – Zoe had a book, that I liked the character name, so I asked if she minded using it. Freed was a name my sister said she wanted to use when she became published. She passed away the day after we received our first acceptance letter for Daisy Dukes ‘n Cowboy Boots. I never got a chance to tell her our book was accepted. Reading is something we love, so read/Reede.


Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

Zoe – Inspiration is everywhere, but research can be challenging. For instance, I haven’t been to west Texas before and I worried about getting the facts right.

Minette - I get my ideas from life, sitting in the dentist office, talking to an old man outside of the carwash, sometimes during a painful life lesson, like trusting someone you shouldn’t–those are my wicked characters. Mostly, I just open my laptop and start writing. It’s how Zoe and I wrote our first book. Not one thought about what I was going to write before tapping away. I just narrate the images I see in my mind.


What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

Zoe – I read pretty much nonstop and enjoy spending time with my friends, family, and pets. Fitness is important to me, so, I work out on a regular basis. I love attending ballets, plays, and operas, and have a major girly streak that shows in my ever-growing collection of shoes.

Minette – I love to travel, so if you look at my social media, you will usually see castles or beaches somewhere in the world. I love to be a tourist and learn about other exotic culture’s past or present. I love living in Texas with my six dogs, three turtles, three parrots and possible kitten I rescued a few days ago. It’s hard for me to pass up an animal in need. I enjoy every moment spent with my amazing hubby, who cheers on my writing and accepts my ever-growing zoo. I like to escape riding my Harley through the hill country, and during the winter, my favorite sport in the world is skiing.


Pantser or plotter?

Zoe – I was a pantser for years, but kept writing myself into corners. Plotting has helped me become more productive. However, as Zari Reede, we tend to write by the seat of our pants until we get about half way through the book. Then we meet to discuss where we’re going with the story and how to proceed.

Minette – Definitely a pantser. It’s so much more fun to be surprised. I’m a "live in the present" person. Planning is hard for me.


Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Zoe – I try to be more original. I like to challenge the reader and have a playful approach to writing.

Minette – I like to give readers what they want. There are certain rules in genres for a reason, but we often write outside of the box. I like that our publisher doesn’t hold us to any one set of rules. I want publishers to publish our stories, and more important, for people to look forward to reading what we write next. I think we can balance and deliver both.


What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

Zoe – I found writing from a male perspective fun and had a blast writing Lenny.

Minette –Writing the male characters in our stories seemed easy but writing the psycho-killer in book three was a bit challenging. I don’t naturally think of ways to hurt people. I sometimes shock myself by what I write. “Hmmm…how do you feel about that?” my mom would say. She was a social worker for the state of Louisiana until she retired.


What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?

Zoe – Love and sex scenes are difficult because I’m always afraid it comes off as purple prose and laughable.

Minette - Zombies, I hate zombie scenes. I’m not good with vampire or zombie fantasy. I don’t read it, so it is very hard to write. How do I know this? Blinked had a few undead characters and book five is full of surprises.


What is the hardest thing about having a co-author?

Zoe – Once in a while, we’ll have a tricky, creative conflict to solve, then there’s editing…

Minette – Editing! Sometimes it’s difficult to resolve a plot issue or agree on cover design, but we usually find a happy point on most decisions, especially if there is champagne involved–yes, all our writer’s meetings include bubbly. Do you think we can write that off on our taxes?


How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Zoe – My goal is to write at least 3,000 words a day, six days a week on my personal projects. When we write together, we try to limit ourselves to around 1,000 words before sending it off to the other person, so we write about 2,000 words a day. Most books are around 90,000 words.

Minette – It took four months for our first two books to be written in rough draft completion. It takes a month or two to edit, if we aren’t working on multiple projects. Submitting, contracts and professional edits can take a year and a half to produce a completed book with glossy cover. Traditional publishing isn’t fast. I can’t remember how long the other novels have taken. We get so involved in the blog, social media, second edits, cover design…the list goes on. I can’t wait until we really hit it out of the park and then hire an assistant. Then we can focus on what we really love–writing!


What books have you written and what are you currently writing on?


Zoe ─ Daisy Dukes ‛n Cowboy Boots is our West Texas, humorous romance. As a writing team. Minette and I have also written, a funny, frothy fantasy, Blinked and a psychological thriller, Sins of the Sister. We have two more novels in different genres awaiting editing, and I have a book of my own coming out in November.

Minette ─ We have completed five novels as Zari Reede and are under several more contracts for our individual books as Minette Lauren and Zoe Tasia. Hurricane Harvey put a kink in my writing schedule, but two titles under Minette Lauren should debut this year.


COMING SOON!!!

Lana Madison is a twenty-three-year-old, unconventional private investigator, who is searching for the men who abducted her identical twin. Lana and Dania are complete opposites, but their bond from birth allows them to share emotions. These brief moments of connection prove to Lana that her twin is still very much alive. Lana suffers flashbacks of past events, which she believes are her sister’s memories and realizes there are gaps in her own timeline from the day of her sister’s disappearance. She has given up on believing that the police will ever find Dania and is determined to find her sister on her own. But as she gets closer to finding her twin, the barriers that haunt Lana’s façade steadily melt away, and now her own life—as well as her sanity—is on the line…

Soledad, an old soul, confronts the failures of her last life, having committed suicide when things became too difficult. As she moves forward into the soul-watcher’s phase of the afterworld, she picks from a list of struggling souls to guide and guard. Ally, a popular artist and her niece from her former life, is among Soledad’s choices. Trapped in a soul-watching state, Soledad follows Ally, throughout parts of her daily routine, trying to surmise her embodied ward’s purpose. Once she can master the meaning of Ally’s reality, Soledad hopes to be granted another life with her own soulmate. Journey with these very real characters to find what lessons are learned in the passing of time and the rewards their love brings. Race for the Sun is a lesson on life and loving for all.

Zari Reede is a writing team consisting of Zoe Tasia and Minette Lauren. Both have an addiction to collaborative writing that rivals Oreo Double Stuffed cookies with fine champagne. Writing solo for years, they decided to engage in a writing exercise to strengthen their skills and enlighten their creative minds. It turned out to be a great venture and is still going strong today.

http://zarireede.com/