Playing Hurt Blog Tour: Interview with Author Holly Schindler

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I am so excited to participate in the Playing Hurt blog tour, and honored that author Holly Schindler stopped by for an interview. Here it is--I hope you enjoy!
 

PLAYING HURT has vastly different themes and issues than A BLUE SO DARK.  Can you tell us a little about any challenges that arose during the writing of PLAYING HURT?  Was writing your second novel any different from writing the first? 

In some respects, writing number one and number two wasn’t all that different…I actually sold PLAYING HURT to Flux before BLUE was released!  So I had no idea what the reception to BLUE would be when I sold PLAYING HURT…I hadn’t yet gotten a single review.  I wasn’t trying to repeat any critical success, I was just writing what was in my heart…

What would your career have been had you not become a writer?

I’m sure I would have been a literature professor…I initially planned on getting a PhD in lit, but decided, after obtaining my master’s, I really had to give the full-time writing gig a real shot.  (It was my lifelong dream…)

What have you read and loved recently (YA or not)? 

I really do like Elin Hilderbrand (adult romance), for her ability to make her setting a vibrant character in her books.

I also just picked up FANTASY BASEBALL from Alan Gratz—a middle grade book that combines classic storybook characters with baseball…

Can you describe a typical writing day?

Usually, I’m up early—by seven at the latest.  I do about an hour of social networking first thing—status updates and returning emails.  And then I work on my current project—which might be revisions for a book under development, or writing brand-new work—for eight hours.  Just like any other job.  In the evenings, I type up blog posts—guest posts, interviews, or posts for my author blog, my YA group blog (YA Outside the Lines), or my middle grade blog (Smack Dab in the Middle).

Would you tell us a little about your road to publication?

After I got my master’s, my mom encouraged me to stay home and devote full-time attention to getting a writing career off the ground.  It certainly wasn’t easy—it took seven and a half years to get to the first acceptance!  

My experience is more common, I think, than the Stephenie Meyer experience of seeing the first book you ever write becoming an instant blockbuster.  When you start seeking that first deal, know that it’s most likely going to take quite a bit of time—I actually think the industry average is something like ten years between typing that first page and inking the first deal.  But the important thing to remember is that the only writers that don’t get to that first deal are those who give up.  We all find our way eventually.

What kind of research did you do to become knowledgeable about the topics addressed in your books—schizophrenia, sports, and sports injuries, etc.?

I always gobble up everything I can read on the subject…and then I have to put everything aside when I start writing.  If you keep factual material close by as you write fiction, I think you run the risk of being bogged down in the details.  Of writing material that sounds more like non-fiction than fiction…The characters need to drive the book, not factual details.  You’ve really got to digest your research, then focus on creating a NOVEL. 

What do you like to do when you’re not reading or writing? 

I do spend the vast majority of my time working.  Even reading books feels a bit like working, actually—because I even read with a writer’s brain, taking in how another author has managed to accomplish their finished product.

My biggest indulgence is music—it’s truly my “refresh” button—the way I clear out the cobwebs and get my head back in the game…

I enjoy baking whenever I have the time.  Do you have a sweet tooth?  What’s your favorite indulgence?

Do I!  I have an enormous sweet tooth, actually.  I’m actually a huge donut fanatic.  (I break for donuts mid morning, every morning.  Honestly.)

Mmmm....donuts....

Thanks for stopping by, Holly!

Where to find Holly:

• Her blog: hollyschindler.blogspot.com,
• Her website: hollyschindler.com
• Twitter: @holly_schindler
• Blogging with other YA authors at YA Outside the Lines: http://yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com/
• Blogging with middle grade authors at Smack Dab in the Middle: http://smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com/)

About Playing Hurt (Read my review here!)

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown.  But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

  

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort.  There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past.  As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home.  Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

About A Blue So Dark (read my review here!):  

  

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi