Age: No matter how many years go by, I’m always in a state of 19.
Location: Steamboat Springs, CO
B.A. in Journalism, M.A. in Political Science
The Writer
How long have you been writing?
I remember starting my first diary in third grade. I started playing with poetry during puberty when I felt most awkward and boys didn’t make sense to me. I wrote my first creative nonfiction piece at age 19 when I realized the world wasn’t what Disney had led me to believe. And I became a journalist writing local feature stories at age 21.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
Not throwing myself off a mountain after compiling a shoebox of rejection letters and continuing to write.
What is your ultimate goal as a writer?
I write about the things no one likes to admit to feeling, thinking, or doing. I’m always wondering if there’s one other person out there feeling the same way. I’m writing to that person.
The Work
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
“No Makeup” I had a quarter-life crisis when I turned 25. I suddenly realized I couldn’t use youth anymore as an excuse for my irresponsibility and lack of direction. My body couldn’t handle the undergrad life style I wanted to hang on to. Aging was (and is still) scary to me. The only way I could I stop an over dramatic panic attack about it was to write how I felt.
Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
“Picking up His Remnants of War” but I’m not in love with that title so I’m thinking of changing it to “Twenty-something Nobodies” It’s the story of a twenty-something college student with depression falling in love with a soldier battling PTSD. It’s about their ups and their downs and how the real world can be bullshit.
What inspired this work?
My Life.
Where/When can we find this work?
Excerpts can be found on my website authorhollythomas.com. It’s currently in the works of finding a home to be published in.
The Methods
Where do you write?
I find myself pulling over on the highway when an idea comes to me or jotting notes down on grocery receipts in parking lots. I write wherever and whenever I can. I have a desk in my house, but I don’t think I’ve ever written in that space designated for writing.
What are your thoughts on writing at a computer vs. writing longhand?
I always brainstorm with a pencil and notebook. I don’t actually type until I have an outline and the first paragraph handwritten. There is something that gets my creativity flowing when I’ve got to click an eraser for more lead.
What is your best piece of advice on how to stay sane as a writer?
Sane people don’t write.
The Madness
What is your favorite book?
Perks of Being a Wallflower (long before it became a movie)
If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be and why?
Tigger. I like to bounce.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Dianna Agron
How many of your character have you ended up killing off?
None yet – though I think it may help my anger management if I started to.
Cats or Dogs?
Dogs
Pen or Pencil?
Mechanical Pencil
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
The Smiths
Additional Reading on Holly
Personal website/blog: www.authorhollythomas.com
Facebook profile or page: www.facebook.com/hollyrenethomas
Twitter profile: hollsthomas
Amazon Author profile: www.amazon.com/author/hollythomas