I am so excited to have Samantha Hoffman here today. Yesterday was my stop on the CLP Blog Tour. I posted my thoughts about her book A Contented Mind. You can read my thoughts here. Lovin' it! Visit the rest of the tour stops here.
I asked Samantha to comment on the question I like to ask authors ~~
I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me.
When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?
Let's find out if Samantha has voices in her head. I also have a giveaway going on for a print copy of A Contented Mind at the end of this post.
Hello Susan!
Although I feel most writers have a touch of inspired lunacy, as of yet, I don’t hear voices in my head. But I cannot speak for what tomorrow may bring...(smile). Instead, I see the story. And I think that is why A Contented Mind reads a bit like a movie. Or at least many have commented that while reading it, they see the story as if it were a movie playing in their mind.
I see, feel and hear the story - then work to articulate what’s in my mind. The same is true for my children’s stories; I just articulate them differently.
A Contented Mind started with one image that sat in my mind for nearly a year. And for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, I was convinced the scene was intended for a different story (the one I’m currently writing; Safe People, which is mentioned in ACM). A Contented Mind came about one day when I had been struggling with a suffocating bout of depression. I threw open my laptop and hammered out a few lines; lines so dark, I knew no one would want to read them. So, I tried again. Four weeks later, A Contented Mind was finished, in a very lengthy, rough form. I later cut it down by more than a third. And those first-hammered out dark lines later became song lyrics within ACM.
The sequel to ACM and all the stories I’ve written since have not emerged in the same forceful way. A Contented Mind sits like a deep, rich, complex dessert. Some love it to the extent they wake at night wanting another bite and others just don’t have a taste for it at all. One can’t create and please all at the same time. It’s impossible. ACM is written with soft prose, and with a singular rhythm. I never once fashioned one sentence intentionally. Nothing was premeditated. Heck, I didn’t know how the blasted thing was going to end! In many ways, it wrote itself. For the most part, all my stories write themselves. They flow, as they flow. For better or worse.
If the story can’t be seen within my mind, then I can’t write it. Once I relax and listen to music, the images take shape. And much like being the Invisible Man, I’m allowed to be in the presence of these characters, without them even knowing. My hope is that I do them justice when I put into words what I see. Because their lives feel almost as real as that of my own.
Thank you for the opportunity to meet you and your readers. It was a joy ~
Samantha
Author Bio
Samantha started writing books as a child. Although those roughly hewed works are kept under lock and key, they possess the same need to understand life as her current novels. In the past, Samantha has written numerous columns on health and spirituality for a local newspaper. Currently, she writes the popular blog: Insanity - A Writer’s Commentary On All Things, as well as two novels: A Contented Mind, it’s sequel, Chasing Nirvana, and the children’s chapter book series: Dainty Delaney. Currently she is at work on her third novel. On May 18th, 2012 Samantha will be featured in Art & Entertainment section of The Traverse City Record Eagle newspaper.
Life can get rough at times, loving oneself shouldn’t be. That, in a nutshell, is the message that is imbued within the books Samantha writes.
Connect with Samantha!
Website | Blog | Buy her book
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Love the way you explain it Samantha!
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