Sunday 25 November 2012

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - MIA HODDELL

A Little Author Bio Background

Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading and her preferred genre is Young Adult, Paranormal Romance. Before 2009, Mia wouldn't even pick up a book and was more interested in sports. However she finally found some novels that captured her interest and developed a love of both reading and writing. Mia began with poems and after getting two published in separate anthologies she moved on to short stories. Although she enjoyed this, Mia found she had too much to tell with too little space, so later on she created her first series The Wanderer Trilogy and from there other ideas have emerged which she hopes to turn into novels as well. Elemental Killers is her second series and book two will be out soon.


And Now The Interview!

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I'm Mia Hoddell, I was born in the UK and have lived here all my life, even though I would love to travel around the world some day.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
I started taking writing seriously when I was fourteen but I have always had a passion for it.

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I self-publish my work for now.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
The first book I wrote took me three years as I had to balance it with exams, college etc but now that all that is out of the way I have been able to complete the others in just over a month per book.

Which of your books were easier/harder to write than the others?
I would have to say The Sheol (The Wanderer Trilogy #1) was hardest to write as I started writing it the wrong way,  ie. Without a plan or idea of where the story was going. I did however correct that when I made the decision that writing is what I wanted to do. I'm finding that every book I write gets easier as I am learning more about what to do/not to do but there are always parts in each book that I dread writing when I look at my plan.

What can we expect from you in the future?
I am aiming to have written at least six books by the end of next year (three more). At the moment all my ideas are related to the paranormal/romance genres but once I have completed all the ideas in my head right now I may move onto other genres, you'll just have to wait and see.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
Yes, I have already planned and started writing the final installment in The Wanderer Trilogy and I have also planned all four books in my new series, The Elementals.

What genre would you place your books into?
The Wanderer Trilogy are YA, dark paranormal romances but The Elementals are more of  a romance with paranormal aspect.

Where do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
There are quite a few places. First would have to be my dreams. You probably don't want to know what goes on in my head sometimes, I have some crazy dreams but there are themes or aspects that spark off an idea. I also use my surrounding and people I am around as inspiration sometimes. I feel that by basing a character slightly around a person I know it helps make them more realistic.

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Yes, I also love giving away my books in competitions and giveaways.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
Yes, I must admit that I always get incredibly nervous when opening a link to a review that someone has sent me but I'm guessing most authors do.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
I don't necessarily chose an exact title, I generally come up with a concept and maybe the series title but the official title doesn't really come until the book is written.

How do you come up with characters names in your books?
Sometimes my characters do name themselves, such as Kala (The Wanderer Trilogy) and Serena (The Elementals). However other characters aren't so easy to name. When this happens I have found that using alphabet fridge magnets help. I sat in front of my fridge for two hours trying to find my leading male's name in The Elementals.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
For all my main characters I write a character plan. I include in this, their height, build, looks, colouring, personality, age, clothes and many other things. I find that the more detailed this plan is, the easier it is to keep them the same throughout the book.

What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a hobby?
I love to read and review books while I am not writing but I also do photography. Due to the fact that I live in the country-side it is easy to wander off around fields just to unwind.

Do you think books transfer to movies well?
I would love to think they would as I have tried to think of them outside of just books. I have also had a reviewer say that she could picture The Sheol like a movie.

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
I used to hate reading. My teacher would make us review a different book every month and because I never had I used to make them up (I guess I should have seen the hint then). I have however always loved writing. I started off with poetry and got my first poem published at 12 year old, from there my writing developed.

Are there any New Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? and Why should we watch out for them?
Would it be bad to say myself...?

Where can fans/readers follow you?

Blog: 

Facebook page:  

Goodreads Author page: 

Twitter: 

Amazon: 

Print Books available at Lulu: 

Smashwords: 

1 comment:

  1. Nice interview, I love the picture. The kitty looks content and beautiful.

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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