Holley Trent: The Author Interview

Please welcome my special guest and fellow Rebel writer Holley Trent. Be sure to check out her Rebel Ink Press release The Spirit of Things!

Tell us a little about yourself:

I spent most of my life in North Carolina and moved west in 2011. I have an English degree from the University of North Carolina. I read a lot of the classics while earning my degree, but I really prefer to read (and write) fiction that's a little bit more…um…low-brow. I love it when a story makes me cry from laughing so hard. I HATE when a story throws me a sucker-punch and makes me cry for real.

I have two kids, one husband (which is enough, really), and two cats but a lot of the neighborhood strays seem to hang around here, too. I think they're probably spraying our back door.

How long have you been writing?

Literally forever. I started reading at four and writing little stories as soon as I learned phonics. That doesn't mean they were good. I'm no savant.

What/ who inspires you?

I get inspiration from mundane real life things. Chances are good if I watch the eleven o'clock news, I will pluck out some odd tidbit and turn it into a campy romance.

What is your creative process like?

I generally start with a very loose outline that tells me what my characters look like and how they behave -- you know, what their quirks are. I usually know where I want a story to end, and I can improvise a beginning pretty easily. The tedious part for me is weaving in the subplots that make a simple story richer.

What do you struggle with as a writer?

Boredom. I have a tendency to work on multiple projects simultaneously in case I get stuck on one. I can finish writing a 50,000-word novel in two weeks, but I have to really put ass-to-chair and stick to it. I just finished one that took 14 days. I feel a lot more satisfied having finished that one project than doing a bunch of works piecemeal, so I need to work on being more consistent with doing only one story at a time.

How do you prepare to write? What do you do to get in the right frame of mind?

I put a cup of coffee near the right side of my keyboard. I read over the last few paragraphs I wrote to refresh my memory. I set my pomodoro timer to keep me off twitter (@holleytrent) for 25 minutes at a time, and then I go-go-go.

What genre of writing would you love to try?

I want to try some straight-up Sci-Fi or a space opera. I fear I'm not creative enough, though. The technology references would stymie me. I've got an idea for something, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle it. It would probably end up being a door-stopper.

What do you enjoy about blogging?

I'm a little bit vain, so having other people read my cyber-blathering stokes my ego.

What's your guilty pleasure?

Hiding my children's candy and then eating it.

What are you totally obsessed with right now?

Downton Abbey! I'm a late adopter when it comes to television shows because I just don't get enough time to watch. I may be two seasons behind by the time I stumble onto something everyone else already knew about.

Many thanks to Holley for taking the time to chat with me! I'll be on Holley's blog on May 11th!

Find out more about Holley via Holley's Blog, Twitter and Facebook.  Her novel The Spirit of Things was released yesterday from Rebel Ink Press. Buy it here on Amazon!