Meet Tember Sapphire
My hearts, I am excited for you to meet Tember Sapphire. Tember is a Caribbean author who loves including her culture and local scenery in her novels.
A powerhouse in her own daily life, with a bachelors In Sports Sciences, a masters in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics and a charity organization that supports facilitating the growth of the next generation of strong women in sports, her books have a fun, sexy and very real take on the modern women and the complications of navigating romance.
JEN: Thanks so much for doing this interview, Tember. Let’s start at the very beginning. What’s your favorite genre to read and to create?
TEMBER: Romance. I love a happy ever after, I love seeing characters grow together and come out happy at the end so I love to read it and create it.
JEN: Do you write with music on? Silence? Chaos? What’s your vibe while you’re drafting?
TEMBER: I'm a mood listener so it all depend son what I'm writing at the time. I like to put on my book playlists while I write to really help set the tone. I can work with or without it doesn't really matter.
JEN: Tell us about home. Where are you from? Do you still live there? And how does that place show up in your stories?
TEMBER: I'm from Saint Lucia which is an island in the eastern Caribbean. I do live there currently. It has a huge impact on my work as the FMCs of my debut series are all Saint Lucian. There are also a few scenes in the books that take place in Saint Lucia. She's A Keeper book 1 in the She Can Play Series has Saint Lucian creole in it.
JEN: Are you a morning person? Or a night owl?
TEMBER: I'm a night owl but I'm slowly becoming a morning bird. I create best whenever the creativity strikes.
JEN: When you’re not writing, what fills your cup?
TEMBER: I love binging shows, movies. I enjoy going to the beach, trying new restaurants, and traveling to new countries.
JEN: Those are all right up my alley, too. Let’s talk publishing. Are you traditionally published, indie, hybrid? And why did you choose that path?
TEMBER: I'm self published. I think it's the best way to tell my stories as authentically as I want them
JEN: Well said. Me too. Take us back. What made you start writing seriously? What’s your origin story?
TEMBER: I'm a literature kid at heart. I've love reading and writing for as long as I know myself. Growing up I had a wattpad like most people my age. Unfortunately, school eventually took over and I had to step back from reading. That changed in 2021 when I started reading again. I noticed most of the books I read didn't have characters who looked like me so in 2023 I decided to write a book. I planned the entire series, picked the main characters, the sports I would feature. I published She's A Keeper in November 2023, She's A Grinder in April 2024, She's An Anchor in January 2025 and She's A Catch in December 2025.
JEN: What themes do you most enjoy tackling — and why?
TEMBER: I enjoy touching on various themes in my work. In She's A Grinder I touch on what it means to be a woman in a male dominated field. Catherine the FMC is a sports agent. As a woman in sports myself I thought it was important to highlight it to bring awareness. She's An Anchor shows Marie-Louise juggling life as a single mother while competing at the highest level in her sport. I wanted to show that women can do both. I also showed a vulnerable side of the MMC Alexandre as he opened up about his childhood trauma and his feelings of being abandoned by his mother which impacted him long term. It's a secret baby romance so he faces his fears head on because he's always feared being like his mother. She's A Catch covers more sensitive topics like mental health, grief and infertility. We see both main characters go to therapy on page and face their issues head on. I think it's important to include these different themes in my work because I always believe there's someone out there who needs this story.
JEN: Let’s list the goods. What have you published so far?
TEMBER: She's A Keeper a second chance football romance. She's A Grinder a fake dating hockey romance. She's An Anchor a secret baby athletics romance. She's A Catch an accidental Vegas wedding cricket romance.
JEN: And what’s next? What are you working on now?
TEMBER: I do have two series planned one is a college sports romance series and another is a female cricket series which will be a continuation of the She Can Play series.
JEN: You mentioned Paris earlier — where do your story ideas come from?
TEMBER: The location of my stories are heavily inspired by my own travels. One of my favourite cities I have visited is Paris and it is the one featured the most in the series
JEN: You’re a sport scientist and sports administrator — which is wildly cool. How has your real-life career shaped your fiction?
TEMBER: Yes! I'm a sport scientists and sports administrator. The careers of the FMCs in She's A Catch and She's A Grinder are based on my experience.
JEN: What’s meant the most to you as a creator so far — a compliment, a message, a moment?
TEMBER: I can't single out one compliment because receiving messages from readers who have read and enjoyed my books in general who say they can relate or they saw themselves in my characters is the biggest compliment ever.
JEN: Last one. What advice would you give aspiring writers — or your younger self?
TEMBER: Keep writing. No matter how bad you think it is just keep going. Don't worry about it being good enough or a bestseller right away.
My hearts, if you love sports romance, ambitious women, therapy on page, messy growth, and a hard-earned happily ever after, Tember Sapphire is absolutely an author to add to your TBR.
Go check out the She Can Play series, follow Tember, and show her some indie author love. And as always, if you grab one of her books and it hits? Tell her. Tell your friends. Leave a review.
Are you a human author? A human who narrates audiobooks? A human who designs book covers? Or a human who does PR and promotion for other authors? I'd love to interview you, too. Let me know when you’re ready!
