I am delighted to welcome L. Austen Johnson to the blog for an interview today. Here's a little bit about her.
L. Austen Johnson is a debut poet from Virginia and counts herself lucky to be from the lovers' state. She studied English, Archaeology, and Astronomy in university, which may explain her love for stargazing and time travelling.
She's an avid reader, a sometimes writer, and an attempter of various art projects. When she's not in class, you can find her searching for animals to pet, singing off-key in the shower, and learning the art of making the perfect cup of tea.
And onto the interview!
Do you read your own genre? Is it a favourite?
I definitely do. My only published book is a collection of poems, so I do try to read other poetry collections by young women. Right now, I'm in an academic program studying poetry, so it's definitely a genre I read a lot. My other WIPs are mostly fantasy and magical realism, which are two of my favorite genres.
If you had to describe your style in three words, what would they be?
Accessible, hard-hitting, emotional
Was writing always your dream choice of career?
I've written poetry since I was in middle school. I've always assumed that I'd do some type of writing, prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction.
Do you have a writing space? Pictures or descriptions!
I do a lot of my prose writing at the library, but when I write poetry it kind of just comes to me. I like sitting outside, letting my pen flow while my mind wanders.
Playlists? Yes or no? And why?
Yes! I think music can really enhance the emotion of a scene. One of my WIPs is a fantasy retelling of a Polish folklore, and for that I listened to a lot of remixes of Slavic folk music. I also think it's fun when people make playlists for their characters. I've listened to many an 8tracks playlist when reading other authors' books.
Which social media do you see as a must for writers?
I think Instagram is a great place to connect with other writers and readers. I also think that having a Facebook page when readers can see updates is a must.
Where do you hang out most online?
I post a lot to my author tumblr and have a bookstagram that I post on almost every single day. I have a Facebook and Twitter too, though I use them less often than the other two sites.
Do you have a favourite app for writing?
I use Evernote a lot for writing poetry and OneNote for organizing my prose WIPs.
Organised or not?
I'm not very organized. I usually just spit out my thoughts or ideas and then use editing to organize them. When I try to organize too much, I feel like some of my wild creativity is lost.
Morning or evening writer?
Usually evening, with some warm tea.
You can find L Austen on Tumblr, her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here
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