Interview with Eowyn

Via Pinterest. Eowyn's inspiration collage for the main character
of the book.

No, I'm not talking about Eowyn from Middle earth (though that would be epicly awesome), but Eowyn of Inklings Press.

You see, back in June, I took part in Anne-Girl's June Crusade, and was pared up with Eowyn. We were supposed to each guest post on the other's blog at least twice ... but both of us got busy, neglected email, so on and so forth ... and we're only just now getting around to interviewing. We haven't figured out what the second guest posts will be yet. Hopefully, we'll figure it out before next June.

She has not yet published anything, but her book, which thanks to the Crusade, I've had the pleasure of beta reading, is really good. Possibly the best Christian Contemporary Teen book I've ever read.

1. Hello and welcome to Knitted to God's Plan! Please tell a bit about yourself.

    Well, I’m just an all-around strange person.  C :  I share a room with my baby sister, and I have a sign taped to my door that says, “A sweet, cutie-pie baby and an insane, nerdy fangirl live here.  Enter if you dare.”  Me in a nutshell.  : D  (I also like to use smiley faces in my interviews.  In case you haven’t noticed.)

    I was homeschooled for eleven years, and am currently getting my degree with CollegePlus.  Not sure what I’ll major in yet, but I know it will have something to do with writing because that’s my favorite thing to do EVAH.  Besides that, though, I enjoy watching movies with my family (and my myself), reading books, listening to Broadway musicals, and climbing trees.

 

2. How long have you been writing and why did you begin?

    I’ve been writing for about eight years now (wow....).  Well, I guess I’ve been writing for forever, but it all started when I heard about a short story competition that the American Girl Magazine was holding.  I entered (pleeeeeease don’t ask to read my submission!!!!), and, needless to say, at age ten, it wasn’t very good, so I didn’t win.  My little heart was crushed for about a week, then I was knee-deep in a full length novel about a family with eight kids whose parents go missing after going on a cruise.  (It involved the CIA and kidnapping and fires and all that.  It was intense.)  I also started writing a sequel to the AG Mag submission.  I’ve been writing practically nonstop ever since then!

 

3. From your username, Eowyn, I gather that you're a fan of Tolkien. When did you fall in love with Middle Earth and what's your favorite part?

    Heehee....  Yes.  I’m a huuuuuuge Tolkien fan.  : )  I fell in love with Middle Earth, hobbits, dwarves, and The One Ring (my preciousssss....) when I was about ten or eleven years old.  I really wanted to watch the movies, but my dad said that I couldn’t until I’d read the book.  It took me about five months, but I finally finished it (with a five hour long marathon one Sunday after a friend told me about how amazing the movies were).  My sister and I watched The Fellowship of the Ring one Halloween night with some friends, The Two Towers with my aunt and uncle, and Return of the King during a summer camp with my dad and another friend.  From the moment Galadriel started whispering in the beginning of Fellowship, I was addicted.  (Well, not addicted, per se.... but.... ya know.)  Since then, I’ve enjoyed learning more about Tolkien’s world and sharing my love of Lord of the Rings with all of my friends!

    I think the part I like most about Lord of the Rings is the story.  I mean, that’s an obvious answer, but it’s such a thrilling story!  Good versus evil on a huge scale, plus some pretty amazing characters and scenery?  Come on!  It’s the best.  : )

    Go Team Faramir!

 

4. What inspired your WIP, Becoming Nikki?

    That’s a great question!  Let me think....  Well, a few years ago, I had an idea for a story about a girl whose younger sister dies in a tragic swimming accident.  I think the younger sister either wanted to be an ice skater or the older sister did...?  I don’t remember.  Anyway.  I wrote the idea down in my handy-dandy notebook and promptly forgot about it.  Then, about a year later, I was watching the 2010 Winter Olympics and remembered the story during a figure skating competition.  I thought about it for a while, messed with it, wrote it down again, and started writing it in June of last year, finally finishing it in January!

 

5. What first sparked your interest in ice dancing?

    Well, I’ve always liked ice skating.  (I once wanted to be a professional ice skater in the Olympics.  LOL.)  It looks so graceful and beautiful, and I’ve always been amazed at the things two people can do on frozen water.  I discovered ice dancing during the 2010 Olympics and have been truly, madly, and deeply in love with it since then.

 

6. What is your goal as an author? (i.e. what would you like readers to take home from your books?)

    I want my readers to be encouraged.  For instance, the theme behind Becoming Nikki is that there’s no greater friendship than that between family members.  Once you’ve lost that, you’re like a ship without a rudder!  I’ve learned this lesson the hard way.  I think it’s a lesson everyone needs to learn, and if just one person reads Becoming Nikki and realizes that for themselves, my life will be complete.  Okay, maybe not complete, but I’ll be on cloud ninety-nine for months.  : )  I also want God to get all the glory, and I want to further His kingdom with it.

 

7. Besides Tolkien, who are some of your other favorite authors?

    Robert Whitlow and Wayne Thomas Batson, without a doubt.  I discovered them both about five years ago and have faithfully followed them both since then.  A few others are Andrew Clements, Elizabeth Enright, Donna VanLiere, and C.S. Lewis.  I just finished The Mysterious Benedict Society, and I think Trenton Lee Stewart might be added to that list pretty soon, too.  And Amy Dashwood, of course.  : )

 

8. What is your favorite fairy tale?

    Confession Time.  I really don’t like fairy tales.  *ducks flying tomatoes*  You can sue me all you like, but I just have never really liked them.  Seriously – have you ever read some of the original Grimm fairy tales?  They’re a little creepy!  Not exactly Disney-worthy, if you get my meaning.  The Disney versions are a lot better.  Mixed-up fairy tales, on the other hand, are pretty good.  I read Ella Enchanted a few years ago and liked it.

 

9. When you publish, do you plan to go the traditional route, or lone it with self-publication?

    Ya know....  I have no idea yet.  I was writing another novel while writing Becoming Nikki, and I was going to try out both with those two, but the second novel kinda tanked around the seventh chapter and I haven’t picked it back up since this past May.  I’ll probably try the traditional route for a while, then, if I don’t get any bites, try to self-publish.  We’ll see.  : )

 

10. What's the strangest thing you've ever done for your writing?

    Heehee.....  I’ve done many a strange thing for my writing, but the strangest thing would have to be to act out my scenes.  I love acting, especially when it’s something I’ve written.  I’ll go through a scene several times, sometimes from different characters’ points of view, tweaking it a little more each time, decide which way I like it best, then run to my laptop and write it down.  Yes, I’m crazy.  But you guys already knew that.  : )

 

Thanks so much for interviewing me, Kendra!!