Author Interview: Cynthia Hand
Cynthia Hand
Books:
- Unearthly
- Hallowed
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For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.
I am thrilled to be a host for The Dark Days of Winter brought to you by the awesome people at Harper Teen! I get to host the lovely Cynthia Hand, author of the soon to be released sequel to Unearthly, HALLOWED! Hallowed hits shelves on January 17! And it is FABULOUS! Add it to your wish-lists!
I was able to host Cynthia earlier this month as a part of the blog tour for Hallowed. You can check out the interview and my review! Stay connected to all things Dark Days on the Pitch Dark Facebook page, including exclusive content features every Wednesday! Since this is the BIGGEST Dark Days yet I asked Cynthia about some of her BIGGEST things…..
What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment, writing wise, to date?
I would have to say finishing Hallowed. Writing Unearthly was fun and slow, no pressure, just my own desire to see how the story happened. Writing Hallowed was an entirely different experience: I was teaching two classes, pregnant, busy with marketing stuff for Unearthly, trying to keep my family in clean underwear, and it was crazy-hard to carve out the time to write, let alone to let my mind settle enough to write well. But I did it, somehow. Not only did I pull off the book, but I thought the quality of the book was just as good, maybe even better, than Unearthly was. I’m so proud of that. Now I have to do it all over again!
What is your biggest fear?
I am most afraid of two things:
1. That I will not be a good mother while I am busy being a good author. When I was writing Unearthly I took my son to the park every day, and I wrote during his naps, and when he was awake he had my full attention most of the time. I can’t give him that now, and I can’t give that to my daughter either, and some days that upsets me a lot.
2. That I will stop writing. This balances out fear #1. Writing is such a huge part of who I am and how I navigate the world. I’m not happy when I’m not writing. So I guess I’m afraid that I’ll get overwhelmed by it all or burned out beyond repair and my ideas will all dry up. Not a good place to be.
What is the biggest book you’ve read and loved?
Hmm, biggest. (does mental check of my bookshelves) The biggest one lately is Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver. I want to use this for my YA lit class this fall but it is almost 500 pages. A big book. I also love Wonderstruck, which gives your arm a workout while you read.
Who was/is your biggest love?
I am fortunate enough to have many great loves: my husband, my children, my parents, but the one that sticks out to me these days is my love for my best friend. So often I think we underestimate the power of a good friend in our lives. I am always surprised at how deep my feelings go for my best friend. I would walk through fire for her. I am fiercely loyal and protective of her. She could ask anything of me, truly, and I would do it. (Don’t go getting any ideas, Linds!) I love her, a true and pure and abiding love. I wish that kind of friendship on everybody.
Do you have a biggest regret?
I don’t want to get into the specifics, but one big general regret I have, having reached the ripe old age of 33 and looking back, is that I wasn’t more careful with my life. I didn’t do so many stupid things, really, (I did an average amount of stupid things, I think) as much as I just floated through a big part of my life, not really paying attention, not being careful with my decisions. So often I was satisfied with mediocre instead of doing the work to make my life extraordinary. I regret that. I’m glad I learned that lesson now and not when I’m 50.
If you have a chance you should defintely attend the Dark Days Author events!! Here is a full list of stops:
Leg 1
Tahereh Mafi (SHATTER ME), Veronica Rossi (UNDER THE NEVER SKY) and Ellen Schreiber (MAGIC OF THE MOONLIGHT)
January 12th @ 7pm | Books, Inc. Opera Plaza | San Francisco, CA | Stories & Sweeties
*Not Your Mother’s Book Club event with Anna Carey (EVE)
January 13th @ 7pm | Mysterious Galaxy | San Diego, CA | Girls in the Stacks
January 14th @ 4pm | Changing Hands | Tempe, AZ | IB Book Blogging
*LIVESTREAM event
Leg 2
Cynthia Hand (HALLOWED), Brodi Ashton (EVERNEATH), Jodi Meadows (INCARNATE) and Courtney Allison Moulton (WINGS OF THE WICKED)
February 16th @ 5pm | Barnes & Noble | Southlake, TX | A Good Addiction
February 17th @ 7pm | Barnes & Noble | Austin, TX | Mundie Moms
February 18th @ 4pm | Blue Willow Bookshop | Houston, TX | Once Upon a Twilight
Leg 3
Lauren Oliver (PANDEMONIUM), Claudia Gray (BALTHAZAR), and Dan Wells (PARTIALS)
March 9th @ 6:30pm | Books & Books | Coral Gables, FL | Harmony’s Radiant Reads
March 10th @ 2pm | Barnes & Noble | Alpharetta, GA | TK
March 11th @ 4pm | Vroman’s | Los Angeles, CA | TK
*LIVESTREAM event
Leg 4
Kimberly Derting (THE LAST ECHO), Jill Hathaway (SLIDE), and Dan Wells (PARTIALS)
April 18th @ 7pm | Books & Co | Dayton, OH | TK
April 19th @ 7pm | Anderson’s Bookshop | Naperville, IL | TK
April 20th @ 7pm | Barnes & Noble | Burlington, MA | TK
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