Saturday, July 24, 2010

Interview with Lola-pops

               



For all of you Summer of Salt readers, I got to do an interview with Lola-pops!  (I fangirled HARD when I found out i could interview her.)  She is such a sweetheart!   We attempted at starting the interview at different times during our conversation...but apparently we both are easily distracted.  Before we knew it we were talking about stripper poles and GYNAZOLE/Mrs.TheKing's hilarious tweets.  So anyway....hope you like this!  It was a lot of fun! 


Okay. I am making myself do this now or we will be on here forever. haha

Lola-pops: heee. okay.  Crack the whip.

Okay. so when did you first discover twilight?

Lola-pops: I read it on vacation over New Year's 2009. Two of my friends convinced me to take it with me, and about halfway through I completely stopped talking to everyone and hid and read until I was done. I still feel a little bad about it. I was acting like a total jerk, I'm sure.

That seems to be a trend haha. I ignored everyone too.

Lola-pops: I was just going to say that. I think it's pretty much the universal tale.

I read twilight before everyone knew what it was. the movie wasn't even being filmed yet. My sister was supposed to do a book report on it and didn't want to so i read it for her haha I was hooked.

Lola-pops: You were ahead of the game!

No one I knew had even heard of it haha. I was that girl that owned two sets of the books so i could loan out one to everyone. I got all of my friends and coworkers on it.

Lola-pops: I work with women in their 60's, and we are all equally obsessed with a fictional teenage vampire.

That is amazing

Lola-pops: They try to be all cool about it, but really they're all swooning just the same as all of us. Hee.

I got a lesbian I work with to read the books. She told me the only man she would be straight for is Edward.

Lola-pops: You win!

hahaha. So after reading Twilight, how did you find fanfiction?

Lola-pops: You know...I don't really remember! It's lame, but true. I think I was probably on a Twilight site and inadvertently started clicking on links! I ended up at twilighted.net, and just started reading. I actually had to delete my account and start over when I started writing, so I lost all of my favs from the early days, which bums me out. There are some that I'll probably never find again.

Aww that sucks. I have lost some favorites before.  Do you remember what your first fanfic was?

Lola-pops: It's really sad, because some of them were fabulous. I think that because I was such a newb those first few really stuck with me. I lucked out and found some wonderful ones. Oh man...my first fanfic...when I first found twilighted I went to the "Top Tens" and read a bunch of those. Hiding in Plain Sight was definitely early on...The List (there are two fics by this name, but this one has been complete for a few years)...and I seriously can't remember the rest. I'm not great with names. I was a terrible history student.  Oh! The Office!  Now I'm going to be waking up in the middle of the night remembering random stuff I read a year ago. Hee!

hahaha! I think the Office was a lot of reader's first.

Lola-pops: I bet! It wasn't my first, but it was definitely in the first bunch when I didn't even know that ff.net existed.

How did you get into writing? Did a specific fic/author inspire you, or have you been writing for a while?

Lola-pops: I really hadn't written much before this. Terrible angsty poetry when I was 13 and nobody understood me...but not a whole more. I started writing SoS on the dock at my cabin (I know) on a legal pad, and once that was full I decided to actually type it up and next thing I knew I had 15 chapters. So then I submitted to twilighted and freaked out for a week until I got accepted...and here I am, still getting heart palpitations when I update.  I think (and I bet a lot of people say this) that Jandco made me want to write. Her stuff is so funny and fresh and witty and she mixed in music that I love. It was the first fic I read that really made me want to try.

Oh wow. Ironic that is was written on a dock :)  I loved The Antidote by Jandco!

Lola-pops: Yes! Yes. All of hers. Really wonderful.

Are you "in the closet" with your twilight/fic writing?

Lola-pops: Ha! Hmmm. I would say that I've got one foot out the door, but I'm too timid to come all the way out. I have two RL friends who have been reading since the beginning, and are amazingly supportive. They're also the two who gave me Twilight, so I felt comfortable telling them that I had gone completely off the deep end and started writing fanfic. The are seriously the best. And how could I forget Loladude? He knows, but I didn't tell him for about 3 months after I started posting. He's supportive, almost to a frightening degree. Like, he wants me to tell everyone. Like, EVERYONE. Like, my dad. LOL! If he finds out someone likes Twilight and we're out at the bar or something, he'll start elbowing me to try to get me to tell them.

haha thats awesome!!   Are you reading any books, or are you all into fanfiction?


Lola-pops: I actually really struggle with writing and reading at the same time, but in between times I read a whole lot of books. When I first started fanfic, I couldn't read anything else, but gradually I've started again. lol! That's strange to admit. Anyway, I just finished The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo (because I love champagne), and now I'm reading both Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne (I also love bikes) and Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (I re-read it every summer). I think you could sum me up like this: Books. Bikes. Booze.

lol haha. yes!! do you ever write while drinking??

Lola-pops: Umm...no. Of course not. lol!

hahaha

Lola-pops: Yes. I do. I usually have to go back and edit heavily, because not only do I get wordy and far too melodramatic when I'm drinking, I also think I'm really funny. If you follow me on twitter, you know this.

I have seen some tweets :)

Lola-pops: Yeah...after last Friday night I had to go around and make sure I hadn't said anything too moronic. I did, but my readers are very forgiving, thankfully.

I think most of us who aren't drinking probably wish we were....

Lola-pops: lol! As it should be. Lest I get a reputation as a lush (might already have one), I should say that I'm just a part-time lush. It's fun when it happens but it's not nearly as often as when I was younger. I'm only 28, but after a night of drinking, I easily feel 80.

I don't get to drink that often anymore...lol

Lola-pops: I don't have kids yet, but I think my days are numbered as well!

kids are fun :)

Lola-pops: Yes! Love them.

Are there any fics you are loving hard right now?

Lola-pops: I've been on a writing binge the last month or two, so I haven't been reading much, but I really love The Blessing and The Curse by The Black Arrow, and I read How to Save a Life by unholy.obsession (hottest man in sweatpants ever) and How I Ruined My Life in 14 Days by moon.witche. There are so many more that I love...my fav list on ff.net is woefully lacking in everything I actually read. I just suck at keeping up with that kind of stuff. Again...cannot multitask.

All three are on my fav list actually. I understand about multitasking. It is hard keeping up with writing, reading, twitter..etc..

Lola-pops: Twitter! I am twitter's bitch.

ohhh.....me too.  I wonder how many twitter hours I have logged so far.

Lola-pops: LOL! That's a depressing thought. However, I think that has been a really important tool for me. I mean, I get to talk to my readers, and I get to talk to other authors that I love. What could be better? I love the immediacy of it.

Yes! I love that I get to talk to authors that I love. Its more personal than leaving a review, and its a great way to get unknown fics out there.

Lola-pops: Definitely! When I started twitter, which @stephk0525 convinced me to do, I had like 15 loyal readers. Most of them are still with me! :waves:

Aww! Speaking of having readers...What is Summer of Salt about ? (in a nutshell)

Lola-pops: Bella, Rose and Jasper spend every summer at their family cabin. It's total bliss until a whole bunch of people show up and make things all complicated.  Was that concise enough??? lol!

haha! oh...complications..... I think the one thing that stood out to me was the fact that you weren't scared to make it real. There is hurt and angst...and that sucks....but its what happens in real life. its not always fun and games.

Lola-pops: That's totally true. I also tried to be very conscious of keeping the drama realistic. I very rarely get what I want to say out of my mouth in the heat of an argument, or when I'm upset...but there are times when the stars align and some cosmic force lets you get it all out. I'm really thinking about the scene at Christmas where she finally blows up. I wanted the reader to really feel that satisfaction of the release...and the anger...and the embarrassment.  I'm all about the motivations behind every actions one of them has. If it feels out of character in any way I ditch it immediately.

Oh yes! I love that Bella doesn't just take shit. Most women are so quick to forgive and forget, and if that other person has bad intentions, you will get hurt again. She is hesitant and protected. And I love that. Most fics she goes running back to Edward......

Lola-pops: I love a strong female. In RL and in fic. I find I'm most attracted to characters that aren't just one thing. A person can be both strong and vulnerable simultaneously.  That said, there was a whole period when I was posting weekly and we were in the thick of the angst that I seriously thought some people were going to flounce. There was much doubt that I could redeem Edward as a character.

One thing I have noticed is that some people hate angst and some people live for it (like me. I am a masochist i swear.) I think that angst is a great addition, as long as it fits in the story line. I love that authors can write things that make me FEEL...even if it hurts like hell. If you can make me feel like i'm going through something that i've never been through before, just by reading about it, then you are doing a great job at writing.... I hate it when readers bash an author or flounce a fic because of angst. The writer put it there for whatever reason they saw fit. If I invest myself into a fic, I want to stick through it no matter what.

Lola-pops: I kind of take a "to each his own" stance on flouncing and such. I know my writing's not for everyone, and that's okay! As for the bashing...I just think that's shitty no matter what the situation is. Most of us are adults (at least my god I hope so, b/c I just wrote a skypefuck) and I just don't see the point. I haven't been flamed, exactly, but I have had a few people give me comments that weren't favorable. If I felt like that about an offhanded remark, I can't imagine how it would feel to have someone say that they not just didn't like, but hated what you put out there. I like to pretend I'd be all cool about it, but I'd probably want to beat the crap out of someone and then follow that up with some crying.

There is a HUGE difference between criticism and bashing.

Lola-pops: Yes, and truthfully either are hard to hear, but it's part of the game. If I didn't want to sometimes have someone tell me they thought something was unclear...or whatever it is, I would still just have SoS on my hard drive. But it's hard. I grew up in a family of artists, and they (we? I hesitate to include myself there) tend to be a sensitive bunch when it comes to our work.

Oh I understand. But in my opinion I'm glad that you posted SoS! It's great! :)  Where did you get your inspiration for SOS? Is any of it based on RL?

Lola-pops: So much. I can't even tell you. As I said, I conceived of it at the family cabin, and then all these parts of myself and people I know started weaving themselves in. Little pieces. Like...I can't fucking cook, but Loladude does. I have two friends who both really hate wearing pants when they're at home. My dad LOVES to fish. I can be a complete Rose-style bitch when necessary. My inspiration was watching the way that every group of people is an ecosystem, and my total fascination with that. Cause and effect. Am I rambling? Ha!

No not at all! I love it! What about Ms. Mallory? I think her character is hilarious....

Lola-pops: She is my grandma, who has Alzheimer's. She's probably the most direct translation of a character from RL to SoS. The woman was seriously one of the strangest, coolest people I've ever known. She's not doing well these days, but I love that I could write that and see her again how she was. Smoking, talkin' shit, and wearing something that could be seen from space. Wow that made me tear up a bit! It's very close to my heart, and I was really, really happy with the response to her character. It made me feel like I can see her anytime now.

I love that! Knowing that she is based on your grandmother! I loved her in SoS.

Lola-pops: She truly was fabulous.

Does your Edward have a "ward" name?

Lola-pops: Yes. Yes he does. He is Prickward.  I think it comes from the "I told you I was a prick" line. Really wish I remembered who started calling him that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was RoseArcadia.

I love everyone's "ward" names. Its amazing to me that with thousands of fics, they can still come up with specific ones...and its not duplicated.

Lola-pops: It's very possible that there are like 9 Prickward's running around and I just have no idea! lol!

Hahahaha  That just sounds funny...but yeah probably.  Do you have any specific writing habits or rituals? What do you do for Writer's block?

Lola-pops: This may sound weird, but I need my laundry to be done or I can't write. So, if I'm not writing, it's because we're out of detergent. If I get writer's block I go back and read previous chapters. I'm obsessive-and maybe I even need to bold that- obsessive about the flow and pacing. So if I'm writing something like in the last chapter about Emmett and Edward's father, I go back and read previous chapters that he appears in, or parts where you can see the results of his shitty parenting. I can usually get my head in the right spot then. When all else fails, I mix a drink.  The drink may not help with the writer's block, but it makes me feel better. Hee.

I hate laundry. Its always there.  That is a good idea. Reading past chaps is a great idea to get it going.... But yes the drink....does make you feel better.   I might have heard/seen that you are doing a collaboration with @BelleDean??? *squee*


Lola-pops: You heard right! She's fabulous, and so is Winter of Love. She and I get along really well. We have similarities that make it easy for me to talk to her about RL and fic all mixed together. I made her start a fic twitter, and we've been writing a four chapter "novella" of sorts. Now that SoS is done, that will be my next project, and I have to say, I think y'all are gonna love you some Skateward.

I am super excited. WoL and SoS are two of my fav fics! I've been reading WoL for a while. You don't need any prereaders do you.....:raises hand with a big smile: lol Skateward....O.O

Lola-pops: Hee! I think we have one, but if the spot opens up I'll make sure you're on the top of the list! I have a thing for skateboarders.

Lol kidding. But that would be seriously awesome. My very first boyfriend was a skater....I was 15. I tried to learn. I failed.

Lola-pops: Loladude was/is! It's one of the things that I liked about him when we first met. :swoon:

That's soo cool!! That's pretty much it :) Thank you sooooo much! This was fun!

Lola-Pops:  It really was! Thanks for asking me to do it! I'm honored.

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