Interview with Holly Christine, author of Tuesday Tells It Slant

Author Holly Christine, whose latest book is Tuesday Tells It Slant, stopped by to answer a few of my questions.

Which book or books are on your nightstand right now?
Right now I’m rereading Saul Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie March. I’m also enjoying Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot and just recently finished Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol.

What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Ah! I loved Nancy Drew and the Babysitter’s Club books. I think I read every book in every series when I was younger. When I was really young, I had these cassette books, where you could pop in a tape and some voice would read the words to the corresponding book to you. My favorite was Cinderella. I couldn’t read yet, but I fooled my parents by memorizing the tape and when to turn the pages. That’s how well I know the story of Cinderella.

What book would you most want to read again for the first time?
I loved Mark Z Danielewski’s House of Leaves. I’ve read it a few times now and fall more in love with his work each time. It’s creepy and beautifully crafted at the same time.

How did you get started writing?
When I was in grade school, I would come home and my parents would ask me to tell them a story about class. I never told the truth. I would tell stories about kids getting hit by cars, someone sticking his arm in the washer and having to go to the hospital, and the whole time my parents are thinking... What is going on at that school? I started to put my stories on paper as soon as I could understand how to get them down.

If you heard someone describing your books (or just the latest book) to a friend out in public, how would you most like to hear them describe them/it?
I would hope to hear that they enjoyed the book and that it made them think.

What's the coolest thing that's happened to you since becoming a published author?
I became more confident in my work. I also began to network with other authors. It’s always fun to pick the brain of another storyteller.

What was the first thing you did when you heard that you were going to be published?
I self-published, and publishing traditionally didn’t even occur to me. I made Tuesday Tells it Slant available for Kindle download after the second or third edit, and when sales proved successful in the eBook world, I made it available as a paperback.

Tell us three interesting or offbeat but true things about yourself.
I sing in the car. Loudly. I’m also an aggressive driver (I have no idea where this comes from... I’m so passive in normal, walking life). I’m a terrible dog trainer.

If you couldn’t be an author, what profession would you choose and why?
I would choose something that challenged my creative side and gave me space to thrive both individually and artistically. Something that mimics writing, I guess.

What’s the hardest thing about writing, besides having to answer goofy interview questions like these?
Separating yourself from your words a bit. A writers group really helps with the critiquing and editing side of writing. It helps to open your mind and take your work to the next level.

Are you working on something new now? If so, give us a teaser for it.
I’m working on creating a few modern parallels to well known and lesser known stories in Greek mythology. The concept came about after a friend told me about the Library of Celsus. I plan to somehow make the work mimic the architecture of the building.

Be sure to check out Holly's webpage, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter.