Interview With Author Hope Mills
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Hope, a random nobody from Ireland who is currently studying a Master’s in Psychotherapy. I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember – my first love was dance, but I grew to find writing more expansive when I was around thirteen. It was back when I had recently moved to the middle of nowhere in Lithuania. Devoid of a dance career, I took to writing my feelings. Queue the dreams of being an author. But I stumbled through my life thinking I would never get out of my own way and publish something, until two months ago when I finally did.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut book is called “The Year of Rejection”. It’s a reference to the overarching feeling I grappled with for all of 2022, the worst year of my life. At first, it was a self-deprecating joke, but through writing it took shape to include depression, atypical anorexia, and boat-loads of grief. It also features a theme of returning to love and the self, underpinned by one of my favourite books of all time: “All About Love” by Bell Hooks. There’s a lot of corny moments, because that’s who I am, but also prose readers can connect with, I hope.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if it’s unusual, but I do mindmap most projects. Whether it’s a chapter or a college essay, I like seeing words on paper. And I’m a night owl, so you’ll find me doing my best work at 2AM. Other than that, I never write chronologically, and I tend to leave paragraphs and come back to them months later.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anaïs Nin is the author that has influenced me the most. Her lyrical, narrative-driven storytelling resonates with me, particularly in “Incest”. I’m a big fan of exploring topics misaligned with my moral compass, and delving into the why behind an individual’s behaviour. Some books that I come back to year after year are “Eleven Minutes” by Paolo Coelho, “Simple Passion” by Annie Ernaux, and “Men Without Women” by Haruki Murakami.
What are you working on now?
I wrote an album to accompany the book and explore its themes further. I’m hoping to release it in the next year, but this depends on if I can get out of my own way (again). It turns out, even when you’ve reached your goal (for me, it was self-publishing), you don’t magically heal all your childhood wounds and find Nirvana. Bummer. Anyway, the album is called “Universe Woman”, and its mood is just as “excavation-y” as the book’s. If it happens, you might see me somewhere singing rock ballads and folk tunes. There’s a song on the album called “I Loved You For a Second”, and it truly encompasses my angsty soul in one record. But in my “real” life, I’m working on finishing up the first semester of my postgrad. Currently, I’m writing a ten-page paper on how to treat anorexia nervosa. It’s been an eye-opening experience to view myself as the therapist treating my own eating disorder, rather than the other way around.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method has always been word-of-mouth. I’ve given away about twenty books to family, friends and acquaintances, and hearing their honest opinions has filled a vacant spot in my heart. For the editorial side, I’d say pitching your book to relevant organisations and book bloggers is your best bet. It might take them three months to reply to an email, but that cross-promotion is gold.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m right there with you. In my experience, you have to be okay with nobody buying your book. It’s easy to get caught up in your dreams, but the market is so saturated that your work might get lost in the crowd even if it’s brilliant. So, you have to believe your work is good, even when it doesn’t sell. Especially when it doesn’t sell, because you are the one who has to promote it. So, you’re on the right track if you wrote your book for yourself, not because of what your childhood friends might say about it. People supporting your work is a privilege, but it should never be an expectation. I believe being an artist is more of a vocation than a career because it takes over every sphere of your life – and you can find inspiration in stagnation, too.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Your life can change overnight, it just might take years to get to that night.” It’s common for the drudgery of adult life to weigh you down, to retreat into fantasies as escapism, and wish for a quick fix like winning the lotto. But the recognition received from a passion project fulfils like no other. So keep enjoying the ride; revel in your art, and be your own biggest fan.
What are you reading now?
Aside from (boring) academic articles for my paper, I’m reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” for the very first time. While it is a classic American novel, my staunchly European self has always been more drawn to the dark psychology of Camus and Kafka over news from across the pond. That being said, I am really enjoying “The Great Gatsby”, particularly because I have the provocative feeling of being a sort of “double outsider” when reading it. That is, I’m an outsider to 1920s New York, just as much as I’m an outsider to wider American culture.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on a collection of short stories called “Tales from the Deep End.” This project serves as a way to expand my nonfiction catalogue, and introduce myself as a fiction writer, too. It’s a bridge between my memoir and next full project, a novel. Currently, the collection features about seven short stories, with themes of religion, morality, and loneliness. The title itself is a reference to Arctic Monkeys – the lyric is “what I’m trying to say is I need the deep end” from “Are U Mine?” It’s more dark psychology from me.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Damn, I shot myself in the foot by mentioning my favourite books throughout this interview … Without repeating myself, I’d go for spirituality all-rounders to uplift me. “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse, “The Alchemist” by Paolo Coelho, and “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. I imagine I’d resound myself to dying the minute I got stranded, so these books would motivate me and fill my time until I learned to light a fire.
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