Meet Marilu Moser, a passionate writer and the founder of Tome Dragon Publishing, where she brings her imaginative worlds to life. With a love for storytelling cultivated since childhood, Marilu embarked on a journey to create her own imprint, driven by a desire for creative control and a commitment to diverse representation. Through her books like “A New Era The Reaper Tomes Book 1” and “The Gargoyles Gift” series, she weaves tales that celebrate individuality, reinvention, and love, while embracing her Puerto Rican heritage and advocating for sexual empowerment. Despite facing challenges like impostor syndrome and balancing writing with motherhood, Marilu remains dedicated to her craft, continuously learning and evolving. Now, she offers insights into her writing process, the importance of diversity in literature, and teases her upcoming book, “Who Invited The Demon To Tea.” Join us as we delve into Marilu’s inspiring journey as an author and entrepreneur, and her vision for the future of Tome Dragon Publishing.
Can you share with us your personal journey as a writer and how you started Tome Dragon Publishing?
My journey as a writer all started with my love for reading. I was an avid “Reading Rainbow” viewer and would ask my parents to take me to the library all the time. I was always leaving with a stack of books. The entire process of publishing a book fascinated me and when I decided to finally start writing my own works I wanted to go all in. So, I created Tome Dragon Publishing.
What inspired you to create your own imprint and publish your works independently?
There are so many ways to publish your books from traditional, episodic, to self publishing, all of which are valid. I did a lot of research on what I felt would be the best for me and my goals. For me and my stories, I wanted to grab the process by the horns and have full control. Independently publishing gives me that opportunity. Creating “Tome Dragon Publishing” as my imprint gives me a layer of professionalism and authenticity in the publishing world, it shows my commitment to writing and hopefully conveys that there are more stories to come.
Could you tell us about the specific themes or messages you aim to convey through your books, such as “A New Era The Reaper Tomes Book 1” and “The Gargoyles Gift” series?
Each book has a different message that would resonate with a different audience. For “A New Era” and the entire Reaper Tomes series, it’s about highlighting different forms of diversity and adversity. The main character is a female who doesn’t look like the other reapers and it’s clear she’s in a world where she struggles to fit in when she was made to stand out. It’s also a message to women: It’s okay to be different and take up space. It’s okay to be authoritative and be in control.
For “The Gargoyles Gift”, which is part of the Bound by Wing and Fang series, the theme is about reinventing yourself and taking a chance on love. We have a human who is on the run and she changed her entire life and identity and is thrust into the world of the unknown supernatural when her soulmate shows up. She’s swept up in danger and a whirlwind romance and embraces it fully. It also showcases my Puerto Rican heritage and culture with Spanglish writing, and talks of traditional food like coquito and whether or not it has eggs in it or not.
Most of my stories have an element of “spice” in them and I do that for a reason. It isn’t to alienate those who prefer close door romance, it’s to celebrate sexuality. It shouldn’t be treated as taboo to find something that excites us and women should be able to express and explore themselves sexually without having any kind of negative stigma.
Have you faced any significant struggles or challenges during your writing and publishing journey? How did you overcome them?
The list of struggles and challenges is longer than I would have anticipated but I’ve learned from every single one. For starters, as an independent author, we want to see our books in stores but that’s easier said than done. Many stores are not willing to chance shelf space on a lesser known author. So I’ve learned other ways to have readers be able to access my books like online, direct sales, one of my favorite methods is when a reader requests one of my books at their local library. There’s also dreaded imposter syndrome that will creep up whispering lies about not being good enough but surrounding yourself with a supportive community is the best way to combat that. Struggles that are more recent are writing and publishing while in the middle of a move to another state and more recently after having a baby. Trying to write while in the thick of sleepless nights, diaper changes, and teething while juggling school and after school sports for my other children is a bit of a challenge. However, I’ve learned to write in the pockets of nap times, and when my husband wrangles all three of our children when he isn’t working to give me more time to focus on my work. To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to write all the stories I have waiting in que on my work in progress list if it weren’t for his support.
What are some key lessons you’ve learned along the way that have helped shape your career as an author and publisher?
A few things I’ve learned is that it is impossible to know everything and that’s okay! Everyone will give you advice whether you ask for it or not, and it’s important to remember that what worked for one person won’t always work for me. Timelines are a necessity when it comes to publishing. I’ve learned that I needed to build in buffer windows in case something goes wrong, because undoubtedly, something always gets sidetracked. I’ve also been humbled by the importance of marketing and came to understand that marketing my books to everyone is the equivalent of marketing to no one.
In what ways do you incorporate diversity and representation into your stories, and why is this important to you?
One of my favorite ways to incorporate diversity and representation into my stories is by making my main characters diverse. Whether it’s cultural, appearance or mental health. I want readers to be able to open a book and find a character or theme that they can relate to. Reading diverse books can help us see things from different perspectives. It allows us to experience a world outside of our own, perhaps a culture, struggle, belief etc. outside of ourselves that we may never have known or understood before. I remember opening countless books and enjoying them immensely, but I always wondered why the main character never looked like me. I would hate for anyone else to experience that so I strive to add diversity so more readers can see a representation of themselves without the harmful stereotypes.
Can you give us a sneak peek or hint about your upcoming book with the unreleased title?
Fun Fact: The title is “Who Invited The Demon To Tea” it’s a paranormal romantic comedy that will make you laugh, cry and fall in love with an unlikely couple. In Who Invited The Demon To Tea readers can expect to find book tropes such as friends to lovers, fake dating, he falls first. The story is a whimsically sweet and spicy paranormal romance about a woman who accidentally summons a demon and they end up being friends who fake date.
Here’s the blurb: When I inherited my uncle’s old house, I expected the chipped paint, dust bunnies, (sort of) and a sprinkle of nostalgia. It was the sweet escape from a parents house that every thirty-something year old woman needs. What I didn’t expect was the charming, pleasant and tea loving force that would turn my world upside down.
The force in question came after reading a seemingly whimsically innocent nursery rhyme I found from a book long forgotten from childhood. A demon, who I unknowingly helped jailbreak.
What else was I supposed to do when faced with a handsome demon, but invite him to tea? What I didn’t anticipate however, was the fast friendship that blossomed between us. When the demon asked for my help to break his contractual obligation, I couldn’t resist. Except I didn’t realize agreeing to be his fake girlfriend would blur the lines of pretend and reality.
His freedom is on the line … but so is my heart.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers and entrepreneurs who are looking to break into the publishing industry or start their own creative projects?
Do your research and then do some more. It’s impossible to know everything there is to know about writing and publishing. The only way to get better is to keep writing and learning. One of the easiest ways to continue honing your craft is to read other books. Not just in the genre you want to write, but across the board. You’ll learn different writing styles and it may bring something new to your own story.
How do you balance your creative process with the business side of publishing and marketing your books?
Balancing creativity with business and marketing is something that humbled me in the beginning. Now I found a system and schedule that works for me. Every Wednesday morning and Friday, I have “working office” hours where I’ll batch marketing content like graphics, ads, and pulling quotes. With multiple books it’s important to give each individual and equal attention. Those days are also when I work on my newsletter, website, and content calendar for social media. The rest of the week is full of writing sprints whether it’s on the computer, my phone or the designated notebook for the story I’m working on.
Lastly, what are your hopes and goals for the future of Tome Dragon Publishing and your writing career?
There are a lot of hopes, dreams, and goals that I have for writing and publishing. I have an ever growing list of projects that I will publish through my imprint. I want readers to be able to recognize Tome Dragon Publishing and know the level of quality they’re going to get out of their reading experience. Eventually there will be journals for authors to help guide them through writing with different prompts and character sheets. One of my biggest hopes is that one (or more) of my books gets picked up for a show or movie. Will it ever happen? I have no idea but it’d be pretty cool if it did. Then I can make my husband’s dream come true of being a stay at home husband/dad and pool boy. He’s been beyond supportive of me, my dreams, and goals; so if I could do that with my writing, it’d be pretty spectacular.
@marilumoserauthor
