Today I’ll be hosting Andrea Hintz on my blog. Her novel series Perception and Deception is available on Amazon.com
Andrea Hintz is a Christian first, wife, daughter, fiction author, screenwriter, songwriter, video game writer, blogger, website designer, and audio engineer. Her goal is to create action, adventure, mystery, thriller, comedy, and romance stories through several avenues of art. Andrea began college at the age of thirteen and graduated at seventeen with a Bachelor’s degree. Her favorite projects at the moment include working on reading through the entire Bible, her books in the Perception and Deception series, her books in The Tesoro Series, her screenplay projects, her music, and her blog called, “Interviews With Professionals!” where she interviews and showcases other professionals in any artistic industry.
It is my pleasure to welcome Ms.Hintz to this episode
Me: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Andrea: I was certainly a bookworm. Aside from reading books, I also came up with a lot of stories in my mind and enjoyed those just as much as I enjoyed reading. Stories were made via several outlets including writing, drawing, music, playing dolls, etc. One night, I thought of a beautiful scene with endless green fields, clear blue skies, a horse, and myself just…exploring all of it. I kept thinking, “if only there was a way I could share what I’m seeing in my mind right now with other people so they can enjoy how beautiful this is.” At the time, I thought it would be amazing to make a movie. But with the resources I had available at just twelve years old (lol) I decided to write instead! That scene ended up being the inspiration for the first chapter book I ever wrote (but I never published it – at least not yet).
Me: How long have you been writing?
Andrea: I’ve been writing in varying forms ever since I first learned how to! Before that, I just used my imagination hahaha.
Me: What inspired you to write Perception and Deception?
Andrea: You know those stories I was making up in my mind? Well, Perception and Deception: A Spy Series came from pieces of those stories I’d been webbing together in my brain for years. I had a lot of different genres playing in my head, but Perception and Deception came specifically from the “spy” center hahaha. After working on my treasure hunting books, The Tesoro Series, for quite some time, I decided to dig into some older story material and take a try at writing a spy book. And I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I mean, I was daydreaming about the life of spies ever since I was ten years old, and now I was finally getting to “experience” it through my writing.
You can now order paperback and Kindle version of Perception and Deception from Amazon.com
Me: Are your characters created from scratch or are they based on people from your life?
Andrea: Pretty much all characters are created from scratch, but I joke that they’re all varying versions of my own personality hahaha. However, I would say that the “relationships” between different characters are often inspired by the relationships and the way I feel about real people in my life.
Me: Where there alternate endings you considered?
Andrea: All the time. Although, I usually have the endings in mind from the very beginning. I do think about and consider alternatives constantly though as I’m writing.
Me: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Andrea: Repetitive editing. A lot of writers don’t like editing, but I actually quite enjoy it. I think because it’s fun for me to “see” the story “alive and constant” as I read through it again. When you’re writing, there’s a lot of stopping and moving around the story (at least for me) so it’s nice to finally see the entire story flowing together from start to finish. However, where it gets difficult for me is once the editing gets repetitive. I read through my books several times before publishing to make them some version of “perfect.” And sometimes, reading the same story several times in a row can quickly become exhausting and even, dare I say, boring. It’s like watching your favorite movie back to back to back to back to back. So the way I’ve solved this is by allowing for a nice break between read-throughs (usually 1-3 weeks).
Me: What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book?
Andrea: That the characters I come up with on a “whim” end up becoming the most important and beloved characters to my readers. And that these particular characters seem to just take over their own stories hahaha. God given, that’s for sure!
Me: Who is your favourite author and why?
Andrea: Well, of course the best author(s) of all time are those who wrote the Bible! They had an incredible responsibility to record and deliver historical information to us in an accurate and understandable matter. It also demonstrates just how important the written word really is.
Me: What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Andrea: I’ve found that my writing is completely different than what I usually enjoy reading! From writing styles, to genres…it’s all very different. I’ve enjoyed a lot of books with lots of detailed descriptions including the Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island series by Terri Farley and The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart. Although my writing styles are different from those, I’d say I learned a lot about characters, groups of friends, and storylines with heart through these reads.
Me: What is the best piece of advice you received about writing?
Andrea: Just get the ideas down on paper. Organize, edit, and perfect later.
Me: What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Andrea: To see what adventure God has in store for me today! Whether that’s in my relationship with God, my marriage, my family, or my writing, I’m always looking forward to progressing and developing in all areas!
Me: If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
Andrea: Godly, faithful, and ambitious.
Me: Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?
Andrea: I’ve been pursuing these dreams for years, and the number one, most important piece of advice I can give is to pray and trust in God’s plan. As long as you’re putting God first above everything else (including your dreams) He will handle the rest. My greatest times of success have always happened when I’ve set my dreams aside and devoted my time to worshipping and studying the Word of God. Honestly. Now, that’s not the reason you should be doing so, but God will suddenly start bringing “favor connections” your way (i.e. people who suddenly pop into your life and can tell you how to be successful). Next piece of advice is to never allow rejection to take away the joy of doing what you love. Easier said than done, I know. I went several years with no success for my books. There were many times that took the joy away. I re-prioritized and made a deal with myself that I would do my part by creating the content and putting it out there for people to see, and then let God do with it what He desired. It would get in front of the right eyes when it was time. And that’s when I began noticing a difference.
Me: Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?
Andrea: I am! First of all, Perception and Deception 5: A Spy Series is on the way! The cliffhanger is almost over! You can expect to see it hit shelves this summer.
You can follow my page @andreahintzstoryteller and website to keep up-to-date on the progress for this project
Also, I’m working on producing a full cast, cinematic-styled audiobook for Perception and Deception (Book 1). The YouTube trailer / commercial was released and went viral right away! Check it out here:
Then the audiobook got featured on Market Watch, a Dow Jones & Company website!
Here it is:
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/andrea-hintz-is-set-to-release-a-newaudiobook-for-her-hit-spy-fiction-series-perception-and-deception-2021-06-01
You can find more details about the audiobook production here on my website: https://andreahintz.wixsite.com/andreahintz/audiobooks
About the book
Ashton Mathis lives in a rural yet cliquey town in Vermont. As the owner of the town’s only grocery store, his life is successfully simple. But life begins to teeter towards something unusual after a strange yet beautiful woman named Felix moves into town. Swearing he will marry this girl someday, his pursuit of her proves to be successful…until she suddenly dumps him and he gets attacked in an alley. His rescuer is surprisingly Felix herself, revealing that she’s really a special agent for a top-secret division of the FBI and has blown her cover. Ashton suddenly finds himself thrown into a mission involving destructive weapons blueprints that could lead to worldwide catastrophe, running from the bad guys who are now after Felix and himself, and trying to win back the heart of this dangerous woman.
Purchase here: Amazon.com
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