Interview with Hope Ann

Today I have the honor of inviting a special guest to visit my blog. I hope you will all make her welcome and enjoy getting to know a little bit about the lovely Miss Hope Ann and her books. I have read one of her books, and I must confess to enjoying it so much I got a little fangirly. So without further whatnot from me, I am going to turn the floor over to her.

Hope Ann is a Christian wordsmith, avid reader, and dedicated author. Her time is taken up with writing, reading, playing with inspirational photos, blogging, helping care for the house and eight younger siblings, and generally enjoying the adventures of life on a small farm at the crossroads of America. She has self-published fairy tale retellings on Amazon and is currently working on several projects including a fantasy novel and futuristic trilogy. You can find out more about her on her website.

Now, a few questions for Hope Ann.

Tell us, Hope, why do you like to write stories?

Why does one like to breathe? I love creating worlds and characters. I love to weave plots and themes together. I love the reactions of readers or learning that something I wrote inspired someone else. But in the end, I can’t quite explain it. It’s just… it’s what I do. And I love it.

If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and why? What would you do together?

Either Ethaniel, from Fidelyon, or Torin from my Cember Earth series (the first is a work in progress and the second is in random planning stages). Both characters have a way at setting people at their ease (if they care to, that is). Ethaniel is quiet and steady, while Torin would plot the kidnapping of a king as some great prank. But either of them would be quite fun to spend time with.

Would you want to live in your story world? Tell us why or why not.

Which one? I’ve three worlds right now, plus the future of our current world. Most of them I’d love to visit, both so I could write about them better and just because it would be cool. Live, though? I like my computers, thank you very much. One of these days I will come up with a story that merges technology with fantasy, but right now I’d prefer to be here. That’s why I work on writing, after all, instead of researching portals.

Can you recommend any authors/books that have inspired you and your style of writing?

I love anything by Tolkien. He was one of the first fantasy writers I read much of. I also love Brandon Sanderson; the imagination and characters and plots of his books are brilliant. Also, I love my friend, Kate Flournoy’s writing—I’ve learned so much from it and love everything she’s written.

Can you share one lesson you have learned from your writing with your readers?

Don’t ever stop, if you are committed to it. Writing is about nothing if not perseverance. It gets hard. Sometimes plots don’t come together. Or they don’t work. Or a book ends up doubling the word count you need. Or a hundred other things. But don’t stop. Keep moving, keeping staring at a blank screen and muttering to yourself and pacing the floor until you figure out your problem. Because, given time and dedication, you can figure it out. You just need to keep at it.

If your writing style could be compared to weather, what would it be?

A breaking storm with quick bursts of rain and heavy wind, followed by the golden light of a rising sun that turns the rain to diamonds.

Thank you for stopping in to visit with us today, Hope. I know we all enjoyed getting to know you and hear about some of your fascinating story worlds.

Before she goes, I wanted to share with you a little bit about her book Burning Rose. Before we get to that, I just have to fangirl for a moment because…THIS COVER! Isn’t it absolutely stunning? Her book is on sale right now and I highly suggest you dash over to her website to learn more about the details.