To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Winterviews is conducting interviews with various book and author communities across the internet. Once a week, we’ll interview a new community to find out what makes that community great.
Note: Our interviewee for this week ran into some struggles. But we hope to catch up either later this week or in early spring.
Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or join in the fun with tonight’s community spotlight #13Winterviews on twitter! Without further ado, lets get down to the interview!
Can you tell us a little bit about #13Winterviews?
Winterviews began as a two-fold way to a) meet members of the writing community and b) to push through the long weeks of winter, which here in the Pacific Northwest tend to be months of doom and gloom weather. The community name is a mashup of ‘winter’ and ‘interviews’ and intended to highlight one person (or community) each week for thirteen weeks.
What prompted the idea to start #13Winterviews?
Honestly, ninety percent of the idea came from the weather. Starting in October every year, the sun disappears behind a barrier of clouds and we don’t see it for months. The fall foliage helps brighten things up in the beginning, but by December everything just feels dreary. In February it’s still cold and cloudy, and a lot of people tend to go stir-crazy up here. Having a project to hold focus during those dark months really helped count down the weeks until the sunlight returned and the weather warmed up a little. And what better way to add a little sunshine to those dreary weeks than talk to writers, artists, burlesque dancers and music therapists about their creative work.
Who are some of your biggest/most positive influences in the community or in general?
The interviewees, honestly. They’re all such amazing people with a strong passion for their art. But for me the most beautiful moment was spawned from the 2017-2018 interviews. Author Alon Shalev spoke about his passion for writing fantasy stories with his sons, which spawned the Wycaan Master series. Author L. B. Lillibridge was so inspired by his words, that she set out to write a story with her own boys, and this May she’s releasing Dragon Brothers, a brand new fantasy book.
What one tip did you learn from #13Winterviews?
Storytelling comes in so many forms—from Burlesque dancing to community theater to books to how we build our perspective into the world around us. No matter your medium, keep sharing those beautiful tales.
Any advice or quote that you live by?
Write without limits, edit with purpose.
Hosting Authors
K. J. Harrowick
Lexi Miles
Ellie Doores
