![]() Introducing tonight's WiHM guest... Best-selling and award-winning author, Rhonda Hopkins, has learned first-hand that truth is stranger than fiction. Her two decades of experience as an investigator provide her characters with a depth and realism that gives truth a run for its money. Having come in contact with the best and the worst that society has to offer, Rhonda's imagination is filled with story ideas. Rhonda writes Horror, Suspense, Paranormal, and YA Urban Fantasy. Social Media Links Website | Amazon Author Page | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Google+ | Pinterest | Rhonda Hopkins Interview What do you do when you’re not writing about the end of days or things that go bump in the night? Well, when I'm not writing, reading, or watching those, I'm spending time with my family. I'm fortunate that we're so close-knit. Of course that means everyone's always in everyone else's business, too. But the trade-off is worth it. My sister is my best friend; although, I'm not sure I would have ever thought that would happen when we were younger and trying to kill each other every other day. :-) Tell me about your latest book, something unusual if possible. Anything in particular that you want to say about it? Where did you draw the inspiration from? Favourite characters? Tell us something unusual. My SURVIVAL series is set in Fort Worth, Texas and I use my knowledge of the courthouses and jails from my days as an investigator to give the current "safe" area realism. Of course, I had to do a little fictional modifying to make the courthouse work for what I needed. For instance, the courthouse I'm using in the story does not have a cafeteria; although, I lobbied for one when they were building it. :-) I also have twin nieces and I use some of their likenesses and differences for my main characters, Sarah and Dana. Don't tell them that though or they'll probably demand some of the royalties. LOL Book Blurb & Cover
Survival Excerpt
What are you working on next and when can we expect it? I'm currently working on the second in the SURVIVAL series: DEAD OF WINTER. If all goes as planned, it should be out by the first of April. I'm also working on a paranormal suspense novel, DEADLY REUNION and plan to start a new YA urban fantasy series soon called GEMINI PROPHECY. I've got a lot of writing to do in the near future! What makes you want to write about dystopia/the apocalypse and or horror? I've always loved the horror genre. I guess I owe that to my grandmother. I would spend most of my weekends with her growing up and we'd settle in with our popcorn and watch whatever horror classic was on. I really miss her! I started reading Stephen King very young and I just haven't been able to get enough of the genre since. I love that creepy sensation and the adrenaline from the fear that good writers can evoke. So, writing dark fiction just came naturally and I hope I'm able to share those senses with my readers as well. But, as much as I love reading about zombies and other dystopian fiction, I never planned to write a zombie story. It wasn't until author TW Brown asked me to write something for a charity anthology (LET'S SCARE CANCER TO DEATH) that the idea came to me for SURVIVAL. It was only supposed to be a one-time creation. However, I loved writing about the characters and zombies so much, I decided to continue their story. Are you a prepper with an apocalypse plan in place, or are you just going to wing it? A little of both. I don't have a large stock-pile, but I'm prepared for a short-time period which is good for any emergency. And of course I have my weapons for self-defense. With my luck, I figure the apocalypse will happen when I'm nowhere near my emergency supplies, so I've thought about what I would do if that happened and I have a plan. But we all know that during chaos, carefully crafted plans can and usually do go awry. So we have to be prepared to just "wing it" to survive. I believe that the horror genre is way more accepting of female horror writers now, what’s your take on it. Absolutely! And thank goodness. :-) I don't recall very many female horror writers in the past. But maybe that was just because of the way the established publishers and book stores marketed books. With many authors now going the indie route, we have many more authors to choose from. I've been fortunate to find a great deal of new authors that I absolutely love. Lots of women that can create that visceral feeling I talked about before. Women like Eli Constant, Billie Sue Mosiman, Alexie Aaron, and of course, Claire C. Riley -- just to name a few. Happy reading my little book whores! Claire XXX
15 Comments
13/2/2015 08:37:33 am
Thank you so much for choosing me as one of your Women in Horror Month features, Claire! And for hosting my cover reveal. You rock! :-)
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13/2/2015 09:11:42 am
I loved hearing about Rhonda's influences. SURVIVAL was great, and I can't wait for SURVIVAL: DEAD OF WINTER!
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13/2/2015 09:17:54 am
Thank you , Dana! I'm glad you enjoyed SURVIVAL and I appreciate you stopping by. :-) Have a great weekend!
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Anna Erishkigal
13/2/2015 12:33:29 pm
I love your Prepper attitude! I know it came out in Survival :-)
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13/2/2015 07:48:39 pm
Thank you, Anna! I appreciate you stopping by. Happy Valentine's Day!
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13/2/2015 02:12:39 pm
SURVIVAL was awesome and I'm so excited about reading this one! The covers of the series are great. You done good, girl. xoxo
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13/2/2015 07:49:54 pm
Thank you so much, Natalie! And thanks for stopping by. I hope you and the hubby have a great Valentine's Day!
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14/2/2015 12:14:37 am
Great interview, Rhonda. It's fun to incorporate people we know and love into our books, isn't it? Just because we may change their names doesn't mean we don't know exactly who they are. It always helps me make them more real.
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14/2/2015 12:19:49 am
Thank you, Patti! It is fun to use folks we know in our work. :-) Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great weekend!
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14/2/2015 01:49:30 am
Rhonda, that's awesome you have those memories with your grandma. I'm really looking forward to the second part of Survival. :)
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15/2/2015 01:07:44 am
Thank you, Stacey! I sure miss my grandmother. Glad you stopped by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :-)
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19/2/2015 01:38:08 am
I guess growing up watching it and then reading helped. I rarely have nightmares now. It thrills me when I find something (fictional of course) that really scares me and gets the adrenaline pumping.
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19/2/2015 07:26:57 am
These books look like wicked, dark fun! Glad to get a closer look at what you are up to, Rhonda.
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