Hey everyone! Today’s Interview is with
SKN Hammerstone. Her book is called The Rift; it is a YA gothic horror. Scroll
below to learn more about her.
1) When did you start writing?
I started
writing when I was probably about 4 years old. I’ve
always loved writing and reading. Granted; my writing at 4 was
definitely nothing to be proud of and I believe I have successfully
burned all of it. But it was a start.
2) What is your book about? (Describe it)
My debut novel, The Rift, is a YA gothic
horror/ paranormal
romance. It is about a teenage girl named Rachael who wakes up in a
hospital with no memory whatsoever. She doesn’t even remember her own
name. She is told that she tried to
commit suicide and that she was
saved by another student in her school. Things seem to be normal at
first, until every time she goes to sleep, she wakes up in what is
known as the City of Chaos. This city is what has become of Heaven and
Hell. They have been combined to prevent Hell from reaching Earth and
for some reason; Rachael is suspended between the world of the living
and the world of the dead. It’s a fast paced book with a lot of angel
and demon action and some other types of supernatural creatures that
people have yet to discover.
3) How many books have you written?
I have completed one, including the
publishing.
4) Who influenced you the most to start writing?
My writing was greatly influenced by two
people. As cliché as it
sounds, my mother was a big part of it. She was always a writer and I
learned many of my technique from her. It was my grandfather, though,
who really encouraged me to write for publication. I had always hidden
everything I wrote. I guess I was afraid of what people would think if
they read it. I let him read the first draft of The Rift and he loved
it and has been one of the most passionate people in helping me get my
writing out there for other people to read.
5) What’s your next project? Any new
books in the works?
My next project would be a book to follow
The Rift. It is going to
be a lot darker and more intense than The Rift while still keeping to
the same style and genre.
6) Where can we find your book?
My book is on Amazon in kindle and
paperback. It is also on the
publisher’s website, Create Space.
7) Do you read the same genre you write?
I read a large variety of things,
although the paranormal and
gothic genres are my favorite and by
gothic, and I mean the really
dark, disturbed literature. I draw from authors such as Edgar Allan
Poe, Mary Shelley, and Stephen King. I do a lot of other reading as
well in pretty much every genre. I’m a reading junkie. If it has
words; I’ll read it.
8) Is writing the only thing you do?
Writing is not the only thing I do. I
have a part time day job at a
local coffee shop. Most of the time I would rather be writing.
9) How do you find the time to write?
When you want to do something bad enough,
you make the time. Even
if I only have a few minutes, I try to write something, anything,
every day. Some days, usually on my days off, I can write up to 10,000
words. On days with long shifts, I may only get in a few paragraphs.
But it’s still something. On the days where I can’t find time, I feel
like my day is incomplete. I often can’t sleep without writing
something down.
10) Do you edit your books yourself?
I do some of my own editing, but most of
it is done by a small
group of my close friends. What I will do is send them each a copy of
the manuscript when I think it is ready and then I collect all of
their suggestions and corrections and work them in as I decide they
work along with edits I make on my own copy.
11) What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
I cannot live without a really nice gel
pen. I know it sounds
silly, but I can’t stand regular pens. I need something that glides
across the paper. I do the first few drafts of everything on paper
with a pen, so if I don’t have that gel pen, I’m not into my writing.
12) Did you get a lot of support from your family where your writing is
concerned?
I do. My mother and grandfather
especially, but also my step
father and siblings. They were all very excited about my book.
13) What's your background? Tell us a little about it.
Well my parents divorced when I was about
13 and I haven’t really
had (or wanted) contact with my biological father since. I lived with
my mom and my grandfather until I graduated from a little high school
in Lancaster, PA when I was 16. My mom remarried to a police officer
when I was 17 and he has truly become more of a father to me than my
own father. I was accepted to Albright college with a merit
scholarship after graduation and I am attending there now.
14) Do you believe in god? What religion
do you follow? What's your opinion
on religion?
I do believe in God, but I feel I have a
love-hate sort of
relationship with him. I have issues with how he could let so many
people suffer if he is all powerful. I don’t follow any specific
religion, although it’s probably closest to Christianity. My
grandmother was Jewish, so there is a little bit of that in there too.
My opinion on religion is that I don’t want anyone to tell me what to
believe, so I am not going to tell them. I have a to-each-his-own
attitude when it comes to religion.
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