It's a miracle! I found my senior pics of me. :) Now anywho . . .
What's your name? Hunh?
Larissa Hinton. Grad student. Some even people think I'm a spy. Next question.
Where are you from?
Virginia. Yes, boring but with a nice southern charm.
What do you do?
Grad college student but I will soon be an English teacher. I will be teaching hundreds of kids. Might even be yours. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Are you a writer, teacher or a bookaholic?
I'm all three. I'm a writer who writes young adult and adult fiction that should be published anyday now. I'm a rising teacher, trying to figure out the politics of teaching and learning at the same time. And also I am a bookaholic. You should see my room. Seriously. I don't think anyone can argue that I love books. Reading and writing them anyway.
What's with the sarcasm?
Well, I'm very sarcastic by nature and my family is sarcastic. Hence sarcastic child. Next question.
What do you post about?
Mostly about book stuff. Book reviews, Book covers, Book . . . Don't give me that look! We've already been over the fact that I'm a bookaholic. I warned you. Now moving on.
Why do you post only about self-publishing? Why not traditional publishing too?
I actually intend to publish more about traditional publishing since I do have a little bit of experience with it. I don't knock off trad pub but I do try to urge authors to reconsider their options with self-pubbing. Now don't get me wrong, I don't like trad pubbing but every author has a choice. If they want to trad pub, then please feel free. If they don't know what to do, then they can seek my advice.
Were you ever trad published?
No, but I was offered a contract by a reputable publisher.
What happened to that contract?
I turned it down for contractual issues. Now that's a tongue twister!
Would you take back that decision?
Nope. I did the right thing. And now I can share my book with a wider audience since I didn't sign that contract.
What advice do you have for newbie authors?
Write, write, write and read, read, read. You can never go wrong with that.
And also, edit, edit, edit. For God sakes, if you want to be published, then please edit your work. You are not done when you write the end.
And last of all, don't give up hope. If you get a thousand of rejections from the trad publishing industry, then maybe it's time to reconsider your options. Go self-pubbing. You never know what might happen.
What inspires you to write?
Everything around me. Sometimes I get an explosion of ideas while walking in the mall or walking on campus. I don't think location matters, as long as you have an urge to write, inspiration will come.
Do you ever have Writer's Block?
Of course! Egads did I have writers block. After writing Angel Diaries, I had an S.E. Hinton sorta writers block that last for like four years! (If you don't know who S.E. Hinton is, I suggest you look her up and read The Outsiders and read what happened to her afterwards. It's very interesting.)
Yes, four years. My longest writers block ever! I wrote something completely totally out of my comfort zone and I didn't know where to go next. But I continued to write anyway. That's where my other novel, V, was born. It's another novel that's completely out of my comfort zone but I had a def writers block while writing it. So currently, I am editing the heck out of it but I have no idea when it'll be unleashed to the masses.
To be honest, I have no idea of how it'll be received since it's such an out there book but I guess we will see.
How do you get rid of writer's block?
Easy: Read, sleep, and eat. Usually the sleep gets me out of writers block quite easily. Exercise is another great way to get rid of it. It pumps blood into the brain and releases those ideas and thoughts that have sat there in the dingy corners of your mind too timid to step out into the light.
Reading is also another great way to gain ideas. I'm not talking about stealing other people's ideas but bridging into genre's can really open yourself to new ways of writing and creating books. Recently, I just started reading Graphic Novels and Manga. They blew my mind away. I do not understand why more school libraries don't have them. They are so . . . Wonderful and relaxing to read. I am fully addicted. Main point: They challenged me to think differently about what it is to be a writer and what is a novel versus what is a graphic novel. I loved every second of it. Read Watchmen. That will change your mind on what is literature versus what is "accepted" literature. If you're an English teacher anyway.
Are you an exercise nut?
Yes, I am. I don't exercise like I should though. Yes, I'm a walking contradiction. I'm not slender or thin by any definition even though I did lose some weight thanks to my prior job (at an amusement park, need I say more). I'm not overly obese but I do have some curves on me, no mistaking that.
Oh yes, back to the question. I like to exercise, walk, jump, run, walk up stairs, and eat healthy. God only gave me one body and I've got to take care of it. That's how I view it.
If you are not a religious person like I am, then I would challenge you to think of it this way: You are only getting one body. Nobody can argue that. Why put your body in the gutter? Because that's essentially what you are doing by eating unhealthy foods like McDonalds and Burger King. Seriously.
Did you know that the obesity in this country has increased thanks to the fast food industry? I challenge you to read Fast Food Nation. I have fully stopped eating McDonalds because of it. Seriously. I don't even eat fast food anymore. That book told me all sort of stuff that I think I knew, but didn't want to hear it. But now that I know the truth, I won't eat McDonalds especially. But I do eat Subway from time to time. And when I really want to just go crazy during one of my cravings days? Taco Bell. Yum. But that's pretty rare though. The grease in that beef makes me nauseous. That's why I eat chicken.
Are you a vegetarian or a vegan?
Even though I want to be, I can't. I get easily sick if I don't eat any protein. It's a shame really but it's okay. I have fully dedicated myself to not eating beef ever again which is easy enough since I don't like beef.
I know, hold the phone: An American doesn't like beef?! *faints*
I know, I know. But I don't. It's fatty and even though it can potentially taste delicious, like as in steak (yum!), I don't usually eat it. Especially hamburgers! I do not like hamburgers. At all. Yuck! Now I know why thanks to Fast Food Nation. What they put in that beef should be illegal!
Anyway, no I'm not a vegan or vegetarian but I do support anybody who is strong enough to do so. It takes a lot of guts and strive to maintain that lifestyle.
I didn't even realize how much beef we use in America until I took the vow not to eat beef! You would be surprised at how many products have beef-like products in them! Just go into the grocery store and look around. I was amazed at how much stuff I couldn't put into my basket because of my lack of beef diet, lol.
Do you ever get paid to review books?
Absolutely not! The books I receive are given to me for free under the guidelines that I review, read, and critique it. Sometimes, I buy or borrow books from the library to review.
I receive some books per request through email and others I receive as a gift through LibraryThing or Goodreads.
*questioner looks down at questions then frowns* It looks like this interview is over, Ms. Hinton. You can leave any resounding remark you like.
Why thank you! All I have to say is: Don't stop believing!