Interview & Giveaway: Victoria Hanley, author of Violet Wings

The lovely Victoria Hanley, author of the upcoming Violet Wings, was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me. Violet Wings officially hits bookstore shelves on August 25th!

What got you interested/started in writing?

Misery. Really, I know that might sound strange, but one of the wonderful things about writing is that you can turn a bad year into a good book. And although I’d always been a writer, I didn’t exert myself to finish a whole novel until I went through a terrible year. I wrote my way through those hard times. (Waiting for misery to hit is not something I recommend, btw, before getting serious about writing—but for me it was quite a motivator.)

What have you learned about yourself since you began to seriously pursue writing?

I’ve learned and re-learned that imagination is a true friend I can count on.

How do you prepare yourself before writing a new book?

First drafts are so difficult and bizarre that the only way I can get through them is by giving myself permission to write badly. If I expect the story to come out beautifully right away, it doesn’t work out. Polishing comes later, after there’s something to work with.

List 3-5 characters from your novel and do word associations for them.

Zaria Tourmaline: naïve, adventurous, reckless, brave, explorer

Meteor Zircon: knowledgeable, witty, strong, stubborn, resourceful

Banbarus Lazuli, aka “Laz”: wily, mercenary, arrogant, opportunistic, extreme

So far, what has been the most rewarding part of the publishing process?

Hearing from kindred spirits around the world.

What else do you have in the works?

I’m writing the sequel to Violet Wings. The working title is Indigo Bottle.

If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would you be? It can be one of yours or any other author's.

I’d be Zaria Tourmaline from Violet Wings. She’s a rebellious, magical being who crosses boundaries between worlds.

If you were an interviewer, what question would you ask yourself? What's the answer to the question?

Q: What do you hope people get out of reading your books?
A: Besides enjoyment of a good story, I hope my books encourage readers to befriend their deepest inner creativity and trust their imagination to help them get the most out of life.

Any final comments?

Whoever you are reading this: I send you good wishes for a magical day.

Thanks Victoria for the great interview!

Visit Victoria's site for more info about her and Violet Wings

Drey's Library is also a stop on the Violet Wings blog tour - make sure to check out her post!

And now for the giveaway...

The great publicists for Egmont have given me two copies of Violet Wings to giveaway! All that you have to do to enter is comment here.

For extra entries:

+1 for becoming or being a follower

+1 for blogging about the contest

+1 for commenting on the review (to be posted this evening)

Rules:

Extra entries MUST be listed in separate comments to qualify

Contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on Thursday, August 20th.

Winners must live in the U.S. or Canada.

No P.O. boxes