Interview with Emilyann Girdner PART 1!!

In December I had the pleasure of interviewing Emilyann Girdner, the author of the Obsidian Series! (Check out the first book HERE)

I know, I know you are all probably wondering why this is being posted almost halfway through JANUARY!? Truth is, this is supposed to be a video interview. BUT YouTube decided to hate that video and it has failed to post every time I’ve tried for the past month. Seriously. I tried shortening the video into 2 parts, and I’ve even googled as many ways as I could think of. It just never posted.

So, here I am. I’m going to just type this interview by hand in two parts (Cause it’s a lot of typing and I should probably be doing school right now… oops). So sit back, grab your favorite hot drink, and enjoy the first half of the interview.

Me: Can you tell me a little more about yourself and your books?

Emilyann: “My name is Emilyann and I’m the author of The Labyrinth Wall. It’s a, I think a really exciting story. It was really fun to write about a girl who was created in a labyrinth and she lives there and that’s her whole existence. She’s created as a servant there so that’s all she knows. But then she catches a guy walking through a wall into the labyrinth. She’s never seen anyone walk through a wall. He’s got special abilities. He’s different from everyone else there. For the first time she questions ‘Where did this guy come from?’ and she has to solve the mysteries of what else is out there. Her whole world has been shattered and she needs o figure out what’s actually going on.”

Me: “What books influenced you as a child?”

Emilyann: “As a child, oh my goodness, I loved so many books. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, loved that. The Serendipity books, I don’t know if you.. yeah and that’s, you know, with the little pink dinosaur and there’s actually a book about serendipity. And then there’s a little cartoon that was made. I absolutely loved that. Anything whimsical, fantasy, you know, that I could escape to and imagine new things… I loved it.”

Me: And did it affect your writing at all? Like the fantasy love as a child?

Emilyann: “Oh I’m sure, yeah, of books and movies, I think that definitely influenced the books.”

Me: When did you decide to write a book?

Emilyann: “Actually, my very first book I wrote before my senior year of college. I majored in creative writing and then I switched to art and I loved all of it. But I really got into art for a long time and I just felt like something was missing. So I decided to get on my computer and start writing again and a whole novel came out of me in three weeks over the summer break. I just loved it. I loved imagining and thinking of these characters and stories. So that’s how that started and then I later wrote The Labyrinth Wall as my second book.”

Me: What is the best part about being an author?

Emilyann: “There’s so many great parts. For me, just the writing, cause, I mean, it’s like breathing to me and I just love to write. I think I’d be a little bit of a kook if I wasn’t writing so that’s beneficial. But, also, what’s been surprising is as writer you don’t necessarily think you wanna get out there and talk to people. You’re kind of talking to people through your writing. But I’ve really gotten the opportunity to do all these events and start to get to know so many people and get to hear their ideas. I love that. I love connecting with other creators. So I would say that’s been my favorite aspect.”

Me: What is the worst part about being an author?

Emilyann: “Insomnia, probably. It can take a toll.”

Me: What do you want readers to take away from your books?

Emilyann: “People ask that and I don’t, at all, wanna be going out there and saying ‘This is something you should think or believe’. I’m very cautious of that. In fact, you know, with my writing, its a learning process for me. That’s part of what I’m doing, is working through life. There’s so much that goes on that it’s hard to process and that’s what I’m doing. What I have heard from people is they’ve said ‘That really connected with me’ or ‘I’ve gone through something similar’ and I love that. I want them to be able to, kind of, work through things like I am, but I’m not trying to really say anything specific.”

That’s all for today! I really hope you enjoy reading this and PLEASE check out Emilyann’s books! (Link posted at the beginning of article) Come back next time for more questions about Disney characters, writing, and being stuck on a desert island!

-Lilian-