What is your name, where were you born and
where do you live now?
My name is Hannah L. Clark. I was born in
central Utah, and still live in Utah
Did you always want to be a writer? If not
what did you want to be? I can’t
remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer.
When did you first consider yourself as a
"writer"?
Well, that’s a tough one. I’ve
always considered myself a writer, but I didn’t consider myself an author until
December of last year when my first novel, Cobbogoth
came out.
Did it take a long time to get your first
book published?
Yep.
Do you work another job as well as your
writing work?
I am a full-time mommy. Writing
is what I do on the side.
What is the name of your latest book, and
if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?
My
latest and only novel right now is called Cobbogoth. It is the first book in a 7 book
series. Cobbogoth is about a seventeen
year old girl named Norah Lukens who, in her search for her famous uncle’s
murderer, discovers an ancient, underground city in Iceland and learns more
about her past than she ever dreamed possible.
Who is your publisher? or do you self-publish?
My
publisher is a Boutique publishing house called KinStone Publishing. My husband and I own it.
How long does it usually take you to write
a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
Well,
I only have experience with this first book, but this one took me 6 years from
start to publication. I REALLY hope the
next one doesn’t take me that long.
What can we expect from you in the
future? ie More books of the same genre?
Books of a different genre?
Probably the
same genre, at least until I finish the Cobbogoth
series.
Do you have plans for a new book? Is this
book part of a series?
Yes
What genre would you place your books into?
YA
Fantasy
What made you decide to write that genre of
book?
I’m not really sure, because I don’t generally read fantasy. I think that my imagination just needs the
freedom to create its own world with all of its own rules.
Do you have a favorite character from your
books? and why are they your favorite?
I really liked my mentor character,
Lylend. He’s just one of those
characters that you wish was real, and had the same relationship with you as
the he has with the main character. I’m
always looking for a good mentor in my life.
If you had to choose to be one of your
characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?
I
would be my main character, Norah. When
I write, I see the world through her eyes, and to be able to actually experience
her world as her, would be pretty cool.
How long have you been writing?, and who or
what inspired you to write?
I’ve been writing since I could write, and
before that, I would record my stories on audio cassette tapes. I don’t know that anything ever really
inspired me to write initially, it was just always kind of my thing.
Where do you get your book plot ideas from?
What/Who is your inspiration? My book ideas come from all over the place,
and sometimes they come from very unexpected places. I watch a lot of movies, read a lot, listen
to music, study people, use my own life experience, mythology, unexplainable
science really inspires me, etc.
Do you have a certain routine you have for
writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
I
usually write my best stuff at night. I
sit at the same desk, but that’s not because I have to in order to write
well. I always have three or four
bottles of water at my desk with me. I
cannot listen to music and write at the same time—too distracting. And, I always have a space heater on under my
desk to keep my feet warm. It doesn’t even matter if it’s 100 degrees outside,
my feet are always cold, and I can’t write or sleep when my feet are cold.
Do you have anybody read your books and
give you reviews before you officially release them? ie. Your partner,
children, friends, reviewers you know?
Yes.
I don’t believe my book could be anywhere close to as good as it is
without all of the people who gave me feedback.
Some of the most valuable feedback I’ve received came from my husband
and my sisters—like myself, they are my best critics, but tend to know me and
get me well enough to help me create the story I want to create.
Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Yes.
Do you read all the reviews of your
book/books?
So far, yes.
What was the toughest/best review you have
ever had?
I got a three star review from
a lady who is, what I call a “literary reader,” meaning, her tastes in books is
rather sophisticated. She started out as
though she was going to give me a bad review, but then it turned out to be one
of the best I’ve ever gotten. She was
honest and said exactly what she thought, and in surprising ways, my book
exceeded her expectations. My intended audience isn’t “literary readers,” so I
was pretty happy with that one.
Would you ever ask a reviewer to change
their review if it was not all positive about your book/books?
No
way! What’s the point of having them
read it if you don’t want their honest opinion. Sometimes feedback is
excruciating, but you can’t become a better
writer/storyteller if you don’t take the good with the bad. I actually get bugged if I feel like the
reviewer has been too nice. I want
honesty, dang it! Otherwise I can’t
really enjoy a great review when I get one.
Now
. . . should I tell you how I really feel?
How do you come up with the Title and Cover
Designs for your book/books? Who designed the Cover of your books?
The
title of my book came from a short story I wrote in high school. I always liked the title, and so when I
finally decided to try my hand at my novel, I already knew what my title would
be. It was a bit long though, and so my
husband suggested I shorten it and change the spelling. He was right.
As for my cover, my sister, Bekah Shakespear of Pink Lime Studio of
Design and I have always wanted to work together, and amazingly enough, she
decided to major in graphic design before she even knew I was writing a
book. As soon as my husband and I
decided to start our company, we knew we wanted her to do the cover, and we
haven’t regretted it for a second. She
also did the interior layout and design of the book, as well as the incredible
illustrations.
Do you choose a title first, or write the
book then choose the title?
With this series, I know all of the titles
for each book, but I can’t remember if they came before or after I’d outlined
them.
How do you come up with characters names
and place names in your books? With the Cobbogoth series, I’ve tried to
stay with words and names that sound like they belong in the same language.
Are character names and place names decided
after they’re creation? or do you pick a character/place name and then invent
them?
I think I do this differently with each situation. Sometimes a place/name comes to me first, and
sometimes, I end up going with something just to have a name and then I change
it when I have a better idea of what/who I’m working with.
Do you decide on character traits (ie shy,
quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
No. Sometimes characters just write themselves as
I go. Other times, like with Norah, I have
to really, really work with them until they finally just click. With Norah, I had to get the way she looked
right in my head, before she started sounding like a real person.
Do you basic plot/plan for your book,
before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and
see where it takes the story?
I started out by “letting the writing
flow,” but found after about five different versions of Cobbogoth that it was way too confusing, and way more work than I
had to put in. Once I tried outlining
before I started in on the actual writing, then everything started to
flow. This doesn’t work for everyone, I
know, but I actually find I can create and write much better when I already
know where I’m going with my plot.
How do you market/promote your books?
Well,
right now, I’m doing it mostly online with social networks and blog tours. I’ve also been to a few schools/book groups
to speak, and will be doing that a lot more come September.
What do you think makes a book a really
good/bestseller?
A few things: characters have to
be compelling; world building has to be rich, unique, and believable; plot has
to be engaging and surprising; there must be a killer love story; and then
there’s the writing. The writing doesn’t
have to be incredible, as we’ve seen in the past, but it must be good enough to
not drive the reader crazy.
Have you ever suffered from a
"writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
No. I don’t believe in it. I think you can work your way through any lack
of motivation by simply sitting down and diving in.
What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you
have a hobby?
I am a singer and a runner. I do
both of those things to distress. I also
love movies and books, though both of those have become more like research for
me since I started writing. More than
anything, I just love hanging out with my husband and son.
Have you ever based characters on people
you know or based events on things that have happened to you?
No.
Never on purpose, anyway. On the
other hand, I think it’s impossible not
to put your own experiences into your writing in one way or another. My book is a fantasy, but if I take a step
back, I can see a reflection of myself in it all.
Are there any hidden messages or morals
contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The
moral of this story is..")
Not necessarily. There is a distinct line between good and
evil and I suppose there is the moral of facing your fears and the importance
of belonging and family, but those are themes, not morals.
Is there a certain Author that influenced
you in writing?
There are hundreds.
Which format of book do you prefer, e-book,
hardback, or paperback?
I love the feel
of a solid book in my hand and the look of it on a shelf, but I also love my
iPad. I tend to finish books much faster
when I read the e-book rather than the hard copy. I have no idea why that is, aside from the
page # being hidden from view.
What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once? My
favorite book?
Well, I think my all-time
favorite would have to be Jane Eyre. I don’t know if I’ve been that affected by
any other novel. But since I’m a young
adult writer, I’ll also tell you my favorite YA book, and that is Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitte. So lovely.
Do you think books transfer to movies well?
Which is you favorite/worst book to
movie transfer?
I think if the director and the author are on the same page, then
yes. My favorite adaption to date is The Hunger Games. My least favorite would have to be Stardust, only it’s flip-flopped; I
loved the movie WAY more than the book.
What are you currently reading? Are you
enjoying it? What format is it? (ebook, hardback or paperback)
I just
finished Spirited by Nancy
Holder. It’s Beauty and the Beast meets Last
of the Mohicans. (I know, I would’ve
never thought to put those two together either.) But I liked it. I love Native American customs and
mythology—my great-grandfather was Native American—so that part was pretty
cool, but I did feel like the romance aspect of the book was lacking. It was a
paperback.
Do you think ebooks will ever totally
replace printed books?
I hope not, but they sure do make it easier
to take your library with you, which I am often prone to do.
Do you think children at schools these days
are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?
I
don’t really know. I’m an English major,
so I’ve been reading to my son since he could hold up his head. I think his love of books and reading came
from me. As far as the writing, no! I never had enough opportunities to do
imaginative writing in school. But then,
I really liked to write, so of course I couldn’t get enough of it.
Did you read a lot at school and write lots
of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
This
is a tricky question. I’m actually
dyslexic, so when I was going to school, I didn’t really start reading for
enjoyment until I was in about 6th grade, and even to this day,
picking up a book gives me a bit of anxiety.
As far as writing, I’ve always done it, even when I couldn’t spell very
well. My imagination was just always
overflowing with stories I needed to write down, whether anyone besides myself
would be able to read them or not.
Did you have a favorite author as a child?
Yep.
Louisa May Alcott. I have seven
sisters, so I really got Little Women.
Do you have a treasured book from your
childhood? If yes, what is it? I have two. My dad and mom gave me a nice copy of both Little Women and Jane Eyre when I graduated from high school. You couldn’t pay me enough to get rid of
them.
Do you have a favorite genre of book?
Funny enough, I love the British Lit from
the late 1700s and Victorian period (Jane Austen, the Brontes, Dickens,
Elizabeth Gaskell) and American Renaissance (Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, etc.) Those literary periods had some major social
and philosophical shifts happening, and I’ve always felt like that made for
great art and literature.
Is there a book you know you will never
read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't finish?
I
don’t know if I’ll never try and read it again, but I picked up Great Expectations when I was a senior
in high school and got three quarters of the way through it, but I just
couldn’t finish it. Despite how much I
love Dickens, I haven’t felt the desire to pick it up since. As far as a book I know I’ll never read, Wuthering Heights and Tess of the d'Urbervilles—way too depressing premises for me.
Is there anything in your book/books you
would change now if you could and what would it be?
There
are a few typos and some rough transitions I would like to fix, but other than
that, I’m done with it.
What do you think about book trailers?
I love
them. You can view mine on my website @
www.hannahlclark.com.
What piece of advice would you give to a
new writer? Never, ever, ever, EVER give up.
The only person who can stand between you and success is you.
If you could invite three favorite writers
to dinner, who would you invite and enjoy chatting with?
J.K. Rowling, Madeline L’Engle, and Jane Austen. I think I’d like to ask each of them if they
knew they were revolutionizing the literary world for women when they were
writing.
Where can readers follow you?
Your blog details? www.hannieclark.blogspot.com
Your web site? www.hannahlclark.com
Your facebook page? http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cobbogoth/201603626565950
Your Goodreads author page? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5139659.Hannah_L_Clark
Your Twitter details? https://twitter.com/#!/hannieclark
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