Interview with bestselling author of the Trylle Trilogy, Amanda Hocking
We sat down (over email) with bestselling author Amanda Hocking to discuss her writing and her upcoming novel The Lost City.
What is the title of your new book?
My next book is called The Lost City, because it focuses on an abandoned orphan who wants to find out the truth about herself and her kingdom, and she discovers legends about an ancient Lost City that just might be connected to her.
Could you describe The Lost City in one sentence?
An abandoned girl belongs to a magical kingdom, and her journey to find her parents leads her startling and sometimes frightening discoveries about herself, love, and everything she’s ever known.
Where do you write?
I have three main spots I write: on my couch, in my office, and outside (when the weather permits). Because I live in Minnesota where the weather is inhospitable half the year, I spend most of the time writing on the couch or in my office.
Where do you find inspiration?
It sounds clichéd, but from everywhere really. If I feel stuck, I find reading good books and watch good movies and listening to good music will always lead me back to inspiration.
What do you do when you are not writing?
I have two dogs, three cats, and a chinchilla, so I spend a lot of taking care of my animals and playing with them. I also read a lot of books, and I play video games (usually Sims). I’ve also started drawing and doing digital artwork, and I’m not that good at it yet, but it’s a really fun hobby.
Tell us about your transition from self-publishing to working with a publisher? Has this changed your writing?
My transition to self-publishing to a publisher was relatively easy, I’d say, because self-publishing is more work than working with a traditional publisher. I was doing it all on my own, and then I started getting some help with it, so it was taking part of the load off my shoulders. I’ve been with my publisher for eight years now, and I have self-published a couple things during that time. My writing has definitely changed over the past ten years, but it’s hard to say how much of an influence my means of publishing had on it versus me just changing with age and time. Publishing is a bit easier, but self-publishing allows for more control. Either way, writing a book can be a lot of fun and super challenging.
Why did you decide to base this story back in the world of Trylle? (*USA Today bestselling books the Trylle Trilogy)
I knew as soon as I wrote Ulla Tulin in Crystal Kingdom (she has a small role in the final book in the Kanin Chronicles) that I was going to return to the world of the Trylle. I loved her, and I wanted to tell her story. This isolated orphan who just wants to be part of the world, to belong to a family. Plus, I still had some questions about the worlds of the Trylle and the Kanin that had been left unanswered, and I thought fans and readers would want to hear those answers too.