Interview with Larissa Hinton

Hello, my name is Larissa Hinton. I'm a grad student at Hampton University and hopefully by next year, I'll be a full time secondary English teacher. In the morning, I'll be a teacher but at night I'll become an author. Reference isn't working for you?

Lol, anyway, most of the fiction I write really comes from a life of reading of what I love to read. Some of it, comes from a dark place which I never knew existed until college. Ah, gotta love college. Always discovering new sides of yourself.

If you want to know more about me and my sarcasm, you can just check out my blog and click on FAQ's. Thanks for reading my super short bio! :)


Q. When did you first start writing?


I started writing at the ripe age of 12. At first, I wrote poems because of my lovely English teacher decided that we should write poems and from then on, I fell in love with poetry. The writing bug really bit me a year later when the movie of Nickelodeon movie, Clock Stoppers came out. I thought the movie was going to be horrible, so I decided that I would write a novel that would be better than the movie. Needless to say, my book wasn't as good as the move but I didn't care. I love writing and nothing else mattered. Thus my obsession with writing begun.

Q. What music do you listen to when you write?

Actually, I don't listen to music when I write. The reason I don't listen to music is because it distracts me from writing. My favorite genre is electronic dance. So every time I listen to it (especially Cascada or Rhianna's Please Don't Stop the Music) I want to dance instead of write. So it's more of a hindrance instead of a help.

Q. Do you have any hidden talents?

Apparently, I have the talent of weaving my hair. Everywhere I go people compliment me on my hair and they are so shocked to know that I did it myself. You should see their faces, "You did THAT yourself?" Yeah, of course. You know how expensive it is to get kinky twists done? Over a hundred dollars easy, especially with all of the hair weave I did and how long it is. I'll give you a hint: The hair is longer than you think! I constantly sit on my hair, lol since I didn't originally intend for my hair to be this long when I started out . . . But that's a whole different story.

Q. What was your inspiration to put together this anthology?

Funny enough, there wasn't any inspiration at all! I know, such a bad answer for a writer, but I am telling the truth. You see, I was taking a Creative Writing class and for the first time ever, I had to write short stories. Before this point in my life, I never wrote a short story but I found something funny about it: I loved it. I was able to delve into the characters I loved, create new stories that would inspire bigger ideas, and it was a way to play with the inner thoughts that floated my mind. Even at one point, my professor told me that all of my novel ideas were really short stories. Granted, at that time, I did not appreciate him saying that, but some of my ideas were short stories. I just never knew it.

The poems in the anthology however, were inspired by mostly my personal life. And other times, by the urge to write it down. I don't think I could fully explain it properly, but when an idea hits me, it's like lightening and I'm alert and aware that a poem is in me that needs to be written. I've literally tried to go asleep with that feeling, but I couldn't. I had to write it down into poetic form. It doesn't happen so often (like once or twice a month) but when it happens, I have to write that poem down or I can't think straight.

Oh, and one of the poems, In Death You Speak, it was inspired by boredom in class. I was sitting in one of the English Literature classes listening to them drone on and on about something, so I wrote a poem instead of listening. [Symbol] I know. I'm horrible. A-soon-to-be English teacher not paying attention in an English classroom? Shocker.

Q. What book are you reading now?
I'm reading Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves. It's a gorgeously dark fantasy book from an author I love. Sadly, I'm almost finished with it but I will give it a grand review hopefully sometime next week. I'm so excited to share this book with my followers!

Q. What is the most difficult thing about being a writer? What is the easiest thing?

The easiest thing about writing is coming up with the ideas. I come up with new ideas practically every day I take a step outside. Now the hardest part about writing is putting your idea on paper and making it come across right. Especially for a novel. It's a long journey from the first page until the last and to make sure it's projecting the idea from cover to cover from word to word is the most difficult part. As a writer, you have to be consistent, persistent, and have excellent time management to be able to complete a novel with style, grace and be sane. Seriously. Ask some writers if they haven't pulled their hair out over a story that just wouldn't translate from their brain onto the paper right. Ah, the makings of a novel.

Q. Quick: Vampire or Shapeshifter?

Shapeshifters all the way. Vampires get way too much hype right now and they have become mainstream and valued for their apparent sex appeal. Shapeshifters on the other hand, will always win in a battle, they are scary, and they are sexy. Win win.

Q. What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer? 

I know for me, the most rewarding thing about being a writer is getting back reviews from people who have bought and loved your book. And understood your ideas! I was really wondering about the poems I wrote called WSV (Words Speak Volumes). For the longest time I debated about publishing them in the first place since all they were was words written down a page telling a story in an odd way. I thought that maybe people just wouldn't get it.

It warmed my heart that not only did people understand my poems, they loved them! I couldn't be more thrilled since my poems have never been out to see daylight (yes, I get the Emily Dickinson irony there)! Therefore, I'm always glad to receive somewhat of fan mail on how my writing has made people think in a whole new way once they read Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology.

Q. Any advice for writers?

I have plenty of advice for writer! They can check out these links on my blog here:

http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/11/considering-self-publishing.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/10/tips-and-tricks-how-not-to-request-book.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/10/truth-about-traditional-publishing.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-is-editing-soooo-expensive.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/09/quick-tip-of-day-blurbs.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/07/hot-topic-tuesday-best-of-best-or.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/07/tips-and-tricks-friday-editing.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/05/tips-and-tricks-time.html
http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/11/guest-post-larissa-hinton-author-of.html
http://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/2011/07/official-cover-for-iwishacana.html

But overall, I'd say keep writing and keep reading. Do your research. Do not limit yourself with traditional publishing or self publishing. It is possible to do both.

Q. Anything you want to say to your readers? 

To my readers, I have to say you are the driving force behind my writing. You are the people I am so grateful for and I hope that you will find time to read my books and love them just as much as I do. And if you do love them to pieces, then please express and share your love in reviewing my books online! That is all the thanks I need at the end of the day.

Q. What books of yours should we be looking out for release next?

The next book I'm currently editing that you should look for is the sequel for Everblossom. 

An anthology that will quench your thirst for more than the ordinary.

Everblossom is a journey through poems and short stories that may seem ordinary on the surface but dig a little deeper and the world not only shifts . . . It changes.

The author who brought you Iwishacana/Acanawishi, now brings you a dash of everything from dark fantasy to the paranormal to romance. So prepare yourself to delve into the three stages of the flower from bud to blossom then back to seed; you'll go through them all with a whole new perspective on what it all truly means.

This book is available for purchase here:

Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Createspace eStore

I'd like to thank Larissa for speaking with me today and I wish her luck with her writing now and in the future.