Q&A With Holly Christine and Giveaway!

Please join me in welcoming Holly Christine, author of Tuesday Tells It Slant (my review) to The Book Chick today! Holly was kind enough to answer a few of my burning questions:

The Book Chick: When did you start writing books?
Holly Christine: After college, when I had time to devote to fictional works, I bought a laptop and started to record the random characters and dialogue in my head. It takes me awhile to understand where the characters fit in, how they relate to each other and the plot. Sometimes, the ideas become a short story. I don’t know what kind of story length I’m working with until the narrative leaves my head.

TBC: You've taken the less traditional route by self-publishing. In Tuesday Tells It Slant there's even a part where you talk a little about the changing face of self-publishing. What made you decide to take this path?
HC: For Tuesday, once I finished editing and cleaning up the plot, I created a cover, converted the book for Kindle and made it available. It was like I was running on auto. Before, self-publishing seemed as if it was the end in the publishing game. Now, larger publishing houses are picking up many authors who self-publish their work, especially those who made their work available for eReaders. I wasn’t worried about committing literary suicide. I wanted opinions. I wanted to test her out.

I had previously published my second work and had a bit of success with it. I knew the process and it seemed to play into my decision to self-publish Tuesday Tells it Slant. I chose to publish The Nine Lives of Clemenza after a year of rejections from agents and traditional presses. So far, I’m pleased with my decisions.

TBC: What inspired the story in "Tuesday Tells It Slant"?
HC: It’s weird. I guess that I’m weird. I was singing along to John Mayer’s (major crush) Who Says and there is a part where he asks why we can’t be free from our past. It stuck with me. I wondered how I could make myself free from my own past and the concept of rewriting my journal entries came to mind because I’ve kept a journal for so long. I could go back so far! I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve considered twisting (or slanting) the truth a bit while journaling to make the day cooler, lying about losing those last five stubborn pounds when I had gained some. But covering the past with lies doesn’t change the truth. This is what Tuesday discovers. She loses her true self.

TBC: What do you have planned for the future? Are you working on a new book now?

HC: I started to work on a story that twists a few mythological stories into modern day parallels, and I also work, from time to time when the inspiration hits, on a work that develops the concept of a universal language. It’s all so philosophical. It’s very challenging and I have to be in the zone and have a full pot of coffee to do it.

TBC: Which authors inspire you?
HC: I realized that writing was my passion after I read Emerson’s Nature. The words were beautifully crafted, and I wanted to create passages of inspiration as well. I got into Kerouac and Tom Wolfe after that. Now, I enjoy Jodi Picoult when I need a good cry and Kate Atkinson when I need a good twist.

TBC: What books are you reading right now?

HC: I’m reading Endurance by Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath and it’s terrifying. I can’t read it at night. I’m also reading Karen McQuestion’s Easily Amused. I downloaded both books to my Kindle because of their price and they are fantastic reads. I wish that traditional presses would get on board with decent eBook pricing. I compare prices, and if the paperback costs less than the eBook, I fight the urge and finally find another with a reasonable price.

Thank-you so much to Holly for stopping by! You can visit her website at http://www.hollychristineonline.com or you can follow her on Twitter here. Tuesday Tells It Slant is available in paperback as well as for Kindle.

Thanks to BookSparks PR I have one copy of Tuesday Tells It Slant by Holly Christine to give away! To enter:

1. Leave me a comment and answer this question: if you could magically erase or alter parts of your past, would you? Please leave me an e-mail address with you comment. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* For one bonus entry, become a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave me a separate comment. Already a follower? Leave me a separate comment letting me know that you already follow.a

3. *Bonus Entry* For one bonus entry, spread the word about this contest. Tweet it, Facebook it, blog about it, just make sure that you leave me a separate comment with a link to how you did it.

This contest is open until September 1, 2010 at midnight EST and is open to US and Canadian residents only. The winner will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!