Blog Tour: Interview with Holly Schindler

I am thrilled to welcome Holly Schindler to Fiction Folio today! Holly was kind enough to answer some questions for me about her newest YA novel, Playing Hurt. Enjoy!

What inspired you to write Playing Hurt?

Initially? I wanted to write a story about learning the difference between loving someone and really being passionately IN love with someone. That thread does still exist in PLAYING HURT, though it’s not as dominant now as the healing plotline.

What made you decide to build the story in Playing Hurt around a sports theme? Do you have a favorite sport to watch?

That was me listening to my characters. I knew that the book was missing something, so just before the last rewrite, I re-read the book, and was struck by how athletic Chelsea seemed (she did go on vacation, and wound up having outdoor adventures—and falling in love with—a guide at the resort). So I started building a backstory for her around the idea that she’d been an athlete. About a quarter of the way though, I realized I needed to do the same for Clint.

Does music play a role in your writing or your everyday life? How? Any songs in particular?

I’m a huge music fanatic, and have been into everything from metal to bluegrass. I play piano and guitar. I sing, without much skill, but what I lack in technique I make up for in volume. Sometimes, in my writing, I start to focus on the rhythm of the words, the sentences - I think that’s part of having played music.

Both of your books are set in Missouri—what are your favorite places in the state?

I’m a sixth-generation, lifelong resident of Missouri—my favorite places are really the areas that have the most (personal) history associated with them. For example, I love the tiny little cemetery in a rural area of southwest Missouri where several generations of my family—going all the way back to my great-great-great grandparents—are buried. It’s just so, so peaceful…It’s the only place I’ve ever been in my life where I can’t hear a single car.

I did film a short virtual tour of Southwest Missouri, to give readers a glimpse into my world:

Thanks so much for answering my questions Holly! Feel free to check Holly out on Twitter or her blog. For those of you interested in reading Playing Hurt or A Blue So Dark, here are the summaries from the book jackets:

PLAYING HURT

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown.  But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort.  There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past.  As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home.  Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

A BLUE SO DARK

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.