Hi everyone!
It’s time for another interview with one of our talented anthology authors: Tyler Wittkofsky!
Thank you for joining us! For those of you who may not be aware, Tyler Wittkofsky will be featured in our upcoming Anthology We Deserve to Exist with his story “Sleep Tight.” I had the pleasure of chatting with Tyler about his new publishing company and a few new releases he has planned.
So exciting! And I want to get to all of those things, but first I’d like to start by asking you to tell us a little about yourself – your writing, things you are passionate about, and maybe something we may not know.
So hey, I’m Tyler Wittkofsky. Growing up, my grandma was a high school English teacher and principal. I spent a lot of time with her at work, and she pushed me to write while we were together. It became a passion, then a hobby, then I all but forgot about it when I got to high school and college and had to write research papers. About 2018 / 2019 I was living with my grandma while I was waiting for my house to be built, and she encouraged me to start writing again. I had the first idea for my novel ‘(Not) Alone’ based off some true events that happened in my life due to my mental illness. I wanted to tell my story, even if it was just family who read the draft. But everyone who read it loved it so much and I finally decided I wanted to publish it.
I want to inspire people with mental illness, and give them hope. Show them that they aren’t alone, despite what they may feel. I had moderate success in sales with the book, but more importantly, I felt like I made a big impact on several people. I had book signings at tattoo shops and charity events and was so moved by the people who told me how my book and story made a difference in their lives. Then I decided to publish a collection of poems that I wrote during 2012-2016 during my unmedicated dark period. They were inspired by mental illness and that made me realize I wanted to include Mental Illness in as much of my writing as possible.
Since then, I’ve published The Seeds of Love: Sunflower Kisses Book One, “A Deal With the Devil” in the Creative James Media anthology Dark and Stormy Night, ‘Breaking Point’ in the CJM anthology Happily Ever Never, and have been accepted into the Inked in Gray anthology, Those Who Deserve to Exist with my story ‘Sleep Tight’ and in Bag of Bones anthology ANNUS HORRIBILIS with my story “Airokae.” I’ve included themes of mental illness in almost all of my published writing.
Outside of writing, I love spending time with my wife Grace and dogs Dutch and Belle. We rescued both of them and they are our only kids for now. I’m an avid Matthew McConaughey fan and have every single one of his movies. I also have a cardboard cutout of him, his book in hardcover, e-book and audiobook, and his special edition bourbon. Very fond of the man [laughs].
It’s so great that you had your grandmother encouraging you! She sounds like an amazing and inspiring person. It can be daunting and scary to write something so personal. We never can have enough narratives in the world that speak honestly and authentically about the realities and the struggles. Was writing these narratives also therapeutic for you? Were there times when it was difficult to write? If so, what were some techniques you used to cope or keep balanced?
Writing and telling my story is one of the best therapies for my mental health. It’s one of those things that relaxes me and helps transport me to a whole new world. It gives me great pleasure to be able to inspire other people. There were scenes that I wrote that are impactful to me, scenes that make me tear up when I write them.
“I want to inspire people with mental illness, and give them hope. Show them that they aren’t alone, despite what they may feel."
Usually to deal with stress and anxiety, I use smells to cope. For example, I have a gray mist wax that I put in my wax warmer, lavender incense that we burn, calming essential oils and a diffuser, or a variety of candles. I rely a lot on my senses besides vision because I’m nearly blind in both eyes. I grew up for about fifteen years without glasses. So I learned to use my senses like smell and hearing to navigate life. Using the scents, I’ll close my eyes and just slowly breathe, taking deep breathes to get the scents. Slowing down my breathing helps calm me down as well, but closing my eyes I’m able to transport myself to a place or situation where I can forget the stress. A beach or a forest, maybe a field of lavender or my grandmas house on Christmas. It allowed me to step away from the situation and go to a happy place for a moment.
That sounds calming! I like to ask that question because I’ve found that sharing coping techniques can be beneficial to others who are looking for other ways to cope and manage. Even simply knowing you are not alone can be comforting. I hear you are working on another book? A sequel? Would you like to tell us a little about that and maybe share a little about your writing process?
Yeah! I’m working on the sequel to The Seeds of Love, (exclusive content heard first here) which is going to be titled Love and Growth! Sunflower Kisses is my first series and is kind of inspired by my wife and mine’s relationship. I’ve drawn some inspirations from it because we’ve had some crazy adventures and ups and downs. People have always said that our love story was one out of a book, so I decided to make it into a book. Of course, it’s not all based on true events because it is a fiction book, but the whole series is dedicated to my wife. The five book series will cover the first five years of the protagonist Clay and Bailey’s relationship. The stories have been described as feeling real, which is what I was going for.
The first book is more laid back and happy, but the series takes a darker tone as it continues. The opening chapter of Love and Growth starts off with a major plot twist that throws a whole new wrench in Clay and Bailey’s story. I used to be a complete pantser when I started out writing again in 2018. I knew what I wanted to write, but I didn’t make notes or outlines or anything. Now, I have pictures of my main characters, character style sheets for all the characters in the series, an outline for the entire series, along with chapter titles and plans for spin offs
And turning from a pantser to a plotter?! Gasp traitor! I jest, but that is so very interesting! Transitioning from pantser to plotter. It seems like the series is really coming together for you. Will you be continuing to self-publish that series or will you be transitioning that to your publishing company? Congrats on that, by the way. It is certainly a great endeavor. I can see the passion you have for mental health and inspiring work and can’t wait to see how that manifests within Tea with Coffee Media.
So, the second book should be out in August of 2023. It’ll ideally be August 15, 2022 because that’s when my wife and I got married. The first book came out on the day my wife and I met. I like having significant events that wrap with the theme of the book. I’ve moved all of my books to Tea With Coffee Media. They’re all ‘under contract’ with the company indefinitely. I’m really excited about the company, I have a great team beside me that I believe will help us succeed. We want to be able to tell stories from the unheard, the stories that people tell but may not have the followers to attract the bigger presses, or authors who want to find a home where they can build a community of friends and family. My VP of Operations Aaran Jolly, VP of Publishing Kelsey Lovelady, and Editor-in-Chief Victoria Moxley have been some of the best teammates I’ve ever had. Whether work, personal, or sports, I’ve never felt more confident with a team I’ve had. They’ve inspired me to keep pushing with their dedication to our mission.
I’ll have to mark my calendar. Having a support system and good people beside you is the best. I wish you the best of luck with your press. I’d ask you how/why your press came about – however I can tell a lot of it came out of your passions. We can never have enough platforms out there for stories that need to be told. There’s so much red tape and discrimination in traditional publishing that many stories that should have a platform get ignored or rejected. The stories themselves have been the inspiration for Inked, and I can’t wait to see the releases Tea With Coffee has coming up. Are there any on the docket for this year or next?
Yes! We actually have our first publication coming out June 22, 2022. It’s by a new trans author, Kaitlyn Kalor. She is a super talented author, who we’re glad to have on our team. The story, Dawn of Humanity: Generations of Humanity Book One. It is an alt-history book that takes different pantheons from history and combines them into one realm. Then we have a Viking lesbian enemies-to-lovers romance book by Destiny Swallows and Ruby Marley coming out July 21, 2022. In September, Titan of Light Book 1: Remaking the Sorceress is coming out by author Natalie Bartley. This story is a retelling of the Medea myth. Indifferent by Kelsey Lovelady, which is a new adult novel surrounding a new drug that cancels emotions in humans.
That’s an excellent line up! So much to look forward to! I bet you and the team are super excited. These stories are intriguing! Check out the links below to find Tyler and Tea with Coffee Media and their upcoming releases.
