Our author today wrote The Violet Hour which the Kirkus Reviews said "[this] should please horror fans. And as fan of horror myself, I'm quite excited to read this book.
Anyway, let us welcome, Whitney Miller!
About Writing:
While you were in the process of writing this book, have you ever doubt yourself or second guess the reason why you are writing this story? If yes, how did you overcome those obstacles?
There were definitely moments of doubt and frustration while writing this book, as there always are for me. Sometimes you write yourself into a metaphorical corner, and can't seem to find your way out. In The Violet Hour, I wasn't sure how to end the book - I wrote three different endings and none of them was quite right. When I hit these obstacles I usually let my subconscious do the heavy lifting...stop trying to solve the problem and just let the answer come to me when it's ready. The ending for this book finally hit me like a bolt from the blue when I was randomly doing laundry one day. I won't spoil it for you - the ending is one of the best parts of the book! Even when you write yourself into those corners, you just have to remember that as a writer you're in control - you can just write yourself a door and walk through it!
About Getting Published:
As an aspiring author, hearing about how authors got published is always fascinating and inspiring for me. So can you tell us your journey to publication? And what was the first thing you did or said after you got the news about the book deal?
I got an agent about a year and a half after I started writing, which was pretty fast, but my first book didn't sell. While that first book was on submission, I began writing The Violet Hour, mostly to keep myself sane. When I finally got the book deal I'd been dreaming of, I was ecstatic. My first thought was something like "LSDIJFLOHSGKIHSFIJLKJLD!!!! I can't believe I have a book deal!!" and my second was "Oh...wow. I really need to work hard and make this book the best that it can be. People are actually going to READ this." Both thoughts were humbling. I just felt really lucky, and really determined to do my best.
About Being an Author:
Tell us what it's like to be a published author? What was your most favorite moment in this whole experience, aside from seeing and holding a physical copy of your book?
The very best thing about being a published author is getting to meet readers who like your book. There's really nothing better, even holding the first physical copy.
About the Book:
Just like superheroes, I think it's safe to say that books also has an origin story before they became what they are right now. It might started out as a thought, an experience, a dialogue you heard, a conversation with a friend, or an idea that has been plaguing your brain for quite sometime. So tell us, what's your book's origin story? And what made you decide to write it?
I travel a lot for work, and am lucky that I get to see incredible places all over the world. This book came to me when I was sitting in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo one Sunday afternoon, watching the Harajuku girls as cherry blossoms fell like snow around them. For some reason I thought, "This would make the perfect beginning to a horror book!" It's totally random, but most readers agree that it made for a pretty gruesome beginning :) From there, I just thought of all the amazing places I've been to in Asia and crafted a creepy, ambient, and thrilling speculative fiction piece around them. It was so much fun!
About the Author:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Whitney A. Miller lives in San Francisco with her husband and a struggling houseplant. She's summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, ridden the Trans-Siberian rails, bicycled through Vietnam, done the splits on the Great Wall of China, and evaded the boat police in Venice, but her best international adventures take place on the page!
Title: The Violet Hour
Genre/s: YA, Science Fiction, Horror
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: March 8, 2014
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository
Summary:
Some call VisionCrest the pinnacle of religious enlightenment. Others call it a powerful cult. For seventeen years, Harlow Wintergreen has called it her life.As the daughter of VisionCrest's patriarch, Harlow is expected to be perfect at all times. She must be considered a paragon of integrity by the other Ministry teens and a future leader in the eyes of the world.Despite the constant scrutiny Harlow is keeping a dark and dangerous secret, even from her best friend and the boy she loves. She hears a voice in her head that seems to have a mind of its own, plaguing her with violent and bloody visions. It commands her to kill. And the urge to obey is getting harder and harder to control ...
