The big winner of our contest was the talented HammerHips. Not only did she win Reader's Choice with her story Decay, she also won three out of four Judge's categories with another story. More specifically, the collaboration with JamesRamsey, A Normal Halloween.
We managed to pull her aside to answer some questions. Let's find out what she had to say.
Tell me a little bit about yourself. Age, kids, etc? Whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
Well, I’m 32 (almost 33) and when I’m not writing twific, I’m busy taking care of my two kids, four dogs, and the occasional farm animal. I’m also a bit of a hermit, preferring to stay in my hermetically sealed house away from all the crazies…or the normal people, depending on how you look at it.
How did you get into Twilight? What made you like it, specifically? And which is your favorite book from the Saga?
My favorite would be Eclipse, because of Jasper. I started reading the books because my daughter asked to read them and I thought she was a touch too young to be reading young adult, so I gave them a go. I devoured the books and was fascinated by the Twilight universe, but disgusted by Edward’s behavior at the same time. I haven’t let her read them yet because I feel at her age the last thing she needs is to think it’s fine to jump off a freaking cliff if a boy breaks up with her. *rolls eyes*
How did you get into Twilight Fanfiction? Which pairings do you like the most?
I was complaining to a friend about the books and how they irritated me, but how I loved Jasper and wished there was more about him in the books. She told me about fanfiction and I read Colliding Meteors by IdreamofEddy. I was instantly hooked. My favorite pairings are anything non-canon. I love a good Jasper/Bella or Peter/Bella pairing.
What are your favorite Twilight Fic Stories?
Oh gosh, there are SO many, so instead I’ll limit it to authors. I devour anything by IdreamofEddy, givemesomevamp, Edward’sChipper, cullen818 and JaspersIzzy. Man, they are all phenomenal authors and I love all of their stories, no matter what the pairings are. As far as one shots, I’m a crackfic fiend, so I love MissMaj’s CinderBella.
Who are your favorite characters, and who do you hate the most?
I love Jasper and Peter, they’re definitely my favorites. I fluffy heart them so hard and they star in most of my fantasies! I think out of all of the characters, they have the most range to play with as well, so yeah, they’re fun. Both of their “personalities” were created by IdreamofEddy, but it’s fun to twist them and mold them the way I want to, and man, that’s a blast. I also love playing with a dark and twisted Carlisle.
I can’t stand Jacob. UGH! Pushy emo teen that forces himself (even if it was just a kiss) on another is NOT someone I’m fond of. I also dislike Alice—a lot—because she basically manipulates fate and that is so wrong on so many levels!
What are the current fics you are reading? And which ones has your complete attention when a new update arrives?
My favorites right now are The Orbiting Meteor by IdreamofEddy. It’s so full of pure WIN that it’s unbelievable. She is so talented that I’m in awe with every single chapter.
The Quiet Room and Slow Burn by givemesomevamp will always be at the top of my list because givemesomevamp can make me laugh my ass off and cry within a few sentences and I love that!
I don’t read as often as I’d like, so I’m a bit behind on the times to be honest. I just discovered cullen818’s Innocence Lost and I’m really enjoying it. Man, she’s a fan-fucking-tastic author!
The Last Mile by catonspeed is another that I can’t get enough of, as well as Not All Who Wander Are Lost by Stitchcat. I also love Conversations With My Killer by Oracle Vas.
I freaking love Moonlit by StormDragonfly and squee whenever she updates. It’s an amazing Carlisle/Bella fic that has my full attention!
There are two Edward/Bella fics that I’m reading right now that have me SO engrossed I can’t even explain how awesome they are. One is Of Swans and Silence by Edward’sChipper and the other is Love My Hate by JaspersIzzy. They are both worth a read, even if you are a Jasper girl at heart.
Although it doesn’t update very often, I really adore MissMaj’s A Change in Course as well. Seriously great fic!
The Pawns by NCChris and Lady MiaF is completely different than anything I’ve read and I love it so damn much. It’s only a few chapters in but it’s absolutely amazing!
I’m also re-reading Running by MerinaGreen and I have to tell you, it’s even better the second time around!
Gosh, I just fangirled over a bunch of people’s shoes, huh? Well, they’re all amazing and you should read every single one of these stories! Seriously, like right now!
What inspired you to join the writing community?
I read some stories and had my own story to tell, so I said “What the hell!”, found me an amazing beta and started posting. I never expected the outpouring of love that I received for UYS, and now I’m feeling a bit more comfortable about writing outside of the box.
What is the surrounding atmosphere like when you are writing? Do you have to do anything like smoke/drink to relax or bring in the thought bubbles?
Hell, I can’t drink when I’m writing. I tried that once and sent givemesomevamp a FABULOUS one shot that was illegible and full of WTF. So, I prefer it to be quiet, but I have two kids so that ain’t gonna happen. I try to hunker down in my “thinking chair” and ignore the world.
What else do you have on your agenda to read?
Bella’s Secret by cullen818 is at the top of that list! Darlin’ by Remy Kilday is up there too. I’ve read one or two chapters and I just haven’t had the time to get back to it. Those are the only two I can think of off of the top of my head.
What do you like to do in your free time besides writing?
Family fun time! *laughs* Well, I don’t have time to do much outside of writing because it is my favorite thing to do. Outside of writing, my hubs and kiddos have my full attention. Oh, I like to sew. I’m a quilting freak, believe it or not!
Tell us a random secret.
*crickets*
What are the current stories you are working on? What are they about, pairings?
Well, I’m working on Decay—expanding it from the one shot. It’s a Jasper/Bella pairing. I’m also writing The Butterfly Effect, also a Jasper/Bella, and Whiskey & Spitfire, a Peter/Bella. I have a dark Peter story floating around in my brain, and I’ve got a Darkisle I’m considering expanding as well.
Where did you get the inspiration for them?
UYS came to me after reading Eclipse, even before I knew there was such a thing as fanfiction. It was my daydream because I LOVED Jasper. Then, when I was complaining to a friend about Twilight, she told me about fanfiction. I read Colliding Meteors by Idreamofeddy, and I was completely blown the fuck away. I started reading The Orbiting Meteor next, then, I read Insecurities by JamesRamsey and I was in it for the long haul. There were lots of other Jasper/Bella or Peter/Bella fics I started reading (JaspersIzzy’s being one of them), and the more I read, the more I thought that I could write this stuff, too. I looked at Insecurities again, and decided it was time to write my own. I’m glad I did, because I found my best friend and beta in the process: givemesomevamp.
Butterfly Effect came from all the real life shit I’ve been through lately, and it’s full of angst and is more serious than UYS, mainly because UYS was my escape and BE was my way of facing my problems head on. It sounds cliché, but it’s true.
Whiskey & Spitfire came about because I had writer’s block with Butterfly Effect. I just started writing stream of consciousness—it was my way of taking away the angst—and I had the first draft of chapter one written in an hour. After that, I tweaked it a bit and sent it to givemesomevamp for her opinion and she told me I HAD to post it. So I did.
Now about Decay. How did you come up with the idea?
Decay was one insane experience! I was cleaning one of my guns while watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail; I was watching the scene where the dude is arguing that he’s not dead, and a damn gnat was buzzing me. It wouldn’t leave me alone and it got me to thinking. The first thing I came up with in the story was the gun being jammed with gnats, so the working title was Gnats to begin with. I thought about how disgusting the smell of decaying flesh was, and I sat down and started writing—no outline at all. I never planned on sharing it, but since there was a Halloween contest going on, I decided to go for it. I would NEVER have shared it otherwise, because it truly shows how twisted my mind is!
And why bugs and worms?
Seriously, who isn’t freaked out by carrion bugs crawling all over you? Yeah, that’s why!
Was it hard to write?
No! It’s actually really easy for me to write because I didn’t hold back. I let the crazy out full fucking force!
Your collab with JamesRamsey won several categories too. What were your thoughts when you heard about all these victories?
I’m pretty sure I shit two bricks. There were some SERIOUSLY good fics in that contest, so I was in shock. I never thought Decay would win anything, although I’d heard a bit of buzz about it on twitter. I thought if anything would win Reader’s Choice, it would be the collab. I’m pretty sure everyone could hear my squees.
Was it easy to collab with JamesRamsey?
Yeah, our minds are pretty in sync. I would write a bit on it and then pass it to Jamie. She’d go back through and add some detail, then write a bit more. I’d do the same to her stuff and we continued until it was finished. The best part was reading what she’d added and fangirling in my brain because I was able to write with her and see her process. It was amazing and I’d totally do it again!
How did it come about?
There were people on Twitter that had just finished reading UYS, and they were commenting on how they would love to see something written as a collab between the two of us because they loved our Jaspers. So JR and I collectively shrugged our shoulders and gave it a try—the contest being anonymous just added to the appeal, since people wouldn’t know it was us until it was all over. We started out with a name for our own reasons and we came up with the outline from there. I truly loved writing this piece, it was just amazing to work with one of my favorite fanfiction authors.
Do you have any collaborations for the future in mind? Anyone you would like to collab with?
I’ve talked about collabing with a few authors, but nothing concrete because I have so much going on right now. I hope to collab with givemesomevamp again, because the two of us just GET each other. Same with JamesRamsey. There’s a few people I would LOVE to write something with, though…Even if it’s just a one shot. Seriously, collabs are a great way to get to know an author and to push yourself as a writer. Who would I like to collab with? Well, I think I’d have a heart attack and die if I was ever given a chance to collab with IdreamofEddy, cullen818, JaspersIzzy, EdwardsChipper, MerinaGreen, or MissMaj. They all have delightfully twisted minds and I think it would be so much fun! Another person who hasn’t written much but I LOVE her fuckawesome mind and would love to collab with would be JaspersDestiny. Plus, she’d correct all my errors as I wrote which would be an added plus.
Do you have anything you wish to say to your readers?
That was all from the wonderful HammerHips. She's truly amazing. And if you haven't read her work yet, then do it now.
Thank you, HammerHips, for this enlightening interview.
To all the readers, keep a close eye on our blog for reviews on the winning stories soon.
Peace out.
No comments:
Post a Comment